Berries are packed with nutrition and deliciousness. A recent study found that blackberries contain some of the highest amounts of antioxidants of almost any fruit. They often require some patience to grow, but if you can get a plant well established, you'll be raking in some amazing flavor for your kitchen.
So here's the pros and cons of some of the most common kinds of berries, plus a few oddballs you might not have heard of.
Raspberries: There's a saying that you can't grow raspberries in Oklahoma, but I've had the most success with raspberries. (see photo) When you put some raspberry canes into the ground, keep in mind they won't produce much (or at all) in their first year. If you take good care of them, you can get better and better harvests as time goes by. Be sure to mulch and weed the area well, plant in full sun then trim back the secondary canes (the ones that grew in the most recent season) almost to the ground after the season is over to encourage more fruit growth. As the berries ripen from the flowers, you'll see them turn from a green-white to pink, to red and finally to purple depending on your cultivar. If you pick them when they're more red than purple, they will be more tart. Wait until they darken if you want them sweeter.
Strawberries: I'll start by saying I'm mad at strawberries. I've put a lot of time and energy into strawberries and I haven't gotten a lot in return from it. I ended up destroying some plants one year when I got especially ticked off at them. If you want to do strawberries, don't try to grow from seeds. Get some transplants and give them some room to spread out. Strawberry plants reproduce by sending out runners that start new plants. One of the worst problems I had with strawberries was I'd watch them turn from an unripe white to red, and just when they'd turn red, a bird would peck a single hole in the fruit, leaving the rest to be eaten by ants. Allegedly, you can prevent this by constructing a modified coldframe with a screen or netting to keep birds and other pests from damaging your fruit. The only person I've known to grow a large number of strawberries was my mom, who let them take over an entire area of her garden (maybe like 30 square feet, all told). She was able to get enough berries to make a batch of homemade, home-grown strawberry ice cream. So that result might make it worth the hassle for you, but if you ask me I'm done with strawberries.
Ground cherry: One of the seed companies I buy from (Seed Savers Reserve) likes to ship you free packets of ground cherry seeds, kind of as a novelty. Also known as physalis, or cape gooseberries, they're interesting plants. They grow kind of like tomatoes, or tomatillos even as their papery, green husks remind me of those veggies. I actually found a ground cherry plant growing wild on a hike in Missouri. The small, orange fruit tastes like a mixture of pineapples and tomatoes, weirdly. But they're easier to grow than most berries. People say they're good to make muffins out of.
Blueberries: Blueberries seem to enjoy slightly chilly weather, partial shade and acidic soil. Keep them well-watered when the plants are immature. You might consider pine mulch or pine needles to mulch with around the base of the plants. They will grow much more gradually than raspberries or blackberries. The berries will grow from small, bell-shaped flowers into white spheres that will slowly darken into the familiar blueberry color. Blueberries supposedly work best when they're planted in bunches because their flowers are imperfect, meaning one plant can't pollinate itself.
Grapes: When it comes to grapes, you're on your own! I've always been too intimidated to try to grow grapes. There's thousands of years of history to viticulture, from the Fertile Crescent to Ancient Greece to modern winemaking Europe and America. As long as there have been people, there have been people growing grapes. So there ought to be plenty of information out there for you to find if you want to try it. Lots of luck, and let me know if it works for you. But for the purposes of this blog, I'm just going to say "grapes aren't berries" and let that be my excuse.
Wonderberry: Another favorite of the seed companies, the "wonderberry" (aka: sunberry) is an heirloom shrub that is related, as tomatoes are, to the deadly nightshade vine. But relax, these fruit are perfectly edible provided they are ripe. The flavor comes out more when the fruit are cooked with sugar.
Garden Huckleberry: These upright, branchy plants produce clusters of shiny purple-black berries. The wild cultivar of this plant was foraged by American Indians and used to make pemmican, as well as by European settlers, who baked them into pies. Some gardeners call these berries "mock blueberries," and they are probably easier to grow than blueberries. The fruit are rather bland when eaten fresh, but are good for baking and cooking desserts.
Blackberries: These berries grow much like raspberries, but they prefer a light, loamy soil. If the hole is easy to dig when you plant, your blackberries will probably do well. You can train them to a trellis, which is what I'd recommend if you're growing the type that has thorns. If you're growing the thornless variety, the berry is the same and they're easier to handle. Remember: Each cane that bears fruit should be pruned back to ground level in the fall.
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