Care for your berry bushes the right way

Berry bushes have a place in every garden. They're chock-full of vitamins and antioxidants, and they don't require a lot of care. Here's how to make them a part of your surroundings.

Berry bushes thrive best in a partly sunny yard sheltered from the wind. They prefer deep, rich soils without too much moisture. In heavy, clay soils, they can age quickly and bear less fruit.

• Plant bare-root berry bushes (like blueberries and raspberries with roots not in soil) when you can work the ground in spring so that the plants are well-established before summer arrives.
• Plant on a cloudy day or late in the afternoon.
• Plant potted berry plants any time, as long as you can work the soil; however, bushes root better when planted in the fall or spring.
• Buy bushes without thorns, so that even kids can pick their fill.
• Plant the root ball of a currant bush around seven to eight centimetres (three inches) below ground to encourage strong growth at the base. Add a little rock dust along with compost in the hole for a red currant bush. Sprigs should be bare of leaves to a height of about 15 centimetres (six inches) above ground.
• Form a depression around the base of berry plants to capture water.
• Leave enough space between plants to prevent competition.
• When planting raspberries, don't choose a location where raspberries have been grown in the preceding five years.
• Incorporate organic matter into the soil before planting blueberries to make them grow better. Try peat moss, well-rotted manure, straw, compost or aged sawdust. If possible, water with rainwater.

Dig a hole for the plant about 50 centimetres (20 inches) deep and as wide as the root ball. Loosen up the soil thoroughly to prevent waterlogging. Add a little rotted compost to the hole, then carefully insert the well-watered bush. Fill in with dirt and compost, tamp down carefully and water thoroughly.

• Prune berry bushes before the onset of winter or right after harvest. Raspberry bushes bear on one-year-old shoots; gooseberries and red currants on one-to-two-year-old shoots; and blueberries after three to eight years.
• A good harvest requires proper pruning to provide the bush with light and air. Remove damaged canes or shoots, as well as sick shoots lying on the ground.
• After planting, cut raspberry shoots back about five centimetres (two inches) above the ground. With blackberries, cut off brown, dead shoots right down to the soil and remove them in spring. With currants, cut back the previous year's main shoot by about a third.
• Currants need a total of eight strong base shoots: two each of one, two, three and four-year-old shoots. Ensure the oldest shoots on black raspberry bushes are only three years old.
• Keep gooseberry bushes from having more than five strong shoots at the base, otherwise it's difficult for them to develop new shoots. Cut shoots back by about a third, and ensure that no shoots are more than six years old.

• Blueberry rakes aren't a good idea for harvesting, as they tear off the leaves of your plants; it may be time-consuming, but handpick blueberries instead.
• Use small containers to prevent them from being crushed under their own weight. You can harvest with both hands if you hang a container with a handle over your arm. Line the containers with paper towels to pick up any stains.
• If the gooseberry harvest looks promising, pick some of the fruit green and preserve them; the remaining berries will grow bigger and better.
• Protect bushes from birds with hanging nets high enough that you can walk beneath.