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Berry growing in Rialto, CA
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Posted by creaky CA (My Page) on Sun, Jul 25, 04 at 22:14
| I'm interested in planting berries bushes - blueberry, blackberry, etc - in my back yard. I have a small width terraced area - about 18 inches wide but 80 feet long and about 12 feet deep (I can dig it deeper). It has a brick wall against one side of it that the bushes can grow up.
Would berry bushes do okay in my area of California? I'm willing to dig out the area for the plants, so what type of soil? What varieties might do well?
Thanks for your help.
Christy |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Berry growing in Rialto, CA
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| I wouldn't think berries are going to do well in Rialto. The San Bernie, Riverside, Rialto area used to be-and still is to some extent-citrus land. Citrus are not planted in areas that get really cold, and berries need a certain amount of cold to bloom/fruit. I wold expect that you could find a variety of grape that would do well in that area. Berries don't grow well here in Phoenix for the same reason-citrus love it here and it doesn't get cold enough for grapes and many fruit that require much winter chill. |
RE: Berry growing in Rialto, CA
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| I have seen several varieties of blackberries that will do well there. Also, there are varieties of southern highbush blueberries that only need a couple of hundred hours of chill. Check bluegrassblueberries.com. Raintree nursery in Washington has a nice selection of blackberries |
RE: Berry growing in Rialto, CA
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| blackberries grow fine in hot weather....just have to plant them in jan-mar in calif....do the proper fertilizer and watering...then it takes two years to get fruit... |
RE: Berry growing in Rialto, CA
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| What about boysenberries? Weren't they hybridized in Buena Park by the Knotts of the berry farm noteriety? Is the climate in Buena Park that much different? I graduated high school in Colton in 1970. (Have church friends in Rialto.) I know it's hot in the Inland Empire. But like most deserts, it's extreme on both ends of the spectrum and also colder in the winter time than the coastal areas. I remember the grapefruit and orange groves very well. They needed smudge pots every winter. Boysenberries are my favorite berry. Plant some for me, if you can. |
RE: Berry growing in Rialto, CA
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| This is kind of kewl. Boysenberry is New Zealand's #1 ice cream flavor! But it looks like they are heat sensitive. It's an interesting page: http://www.wai-west.co.nz/boysenberries.htm |
RE: Berry growing in Rialto, CA
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| Not to belabor the point, but I just happened to notice there's a berry discussion going on in the Arizona forum. Somebody was asking about blueberries, and another poster put in a link to the "low chill fruit" page at the UA extension site online. I'm glad you brought this up, because I love blackberries, and they are one of the types the UA recommends. Particularly: "*BRAZOS: Very vigorous, thorny, erect plant which produces an abundance of large high quality berries. Berries are large, attractive appearance and heavy yields, tart acid flavor. *ROSBOROUGH: Vigorous moderately upright canes which produces well in a wide variety of soil and climatic conditions. Fruit are large, attractive in appearance and have a sweeter flavor than Brazos." The discussion and link are under "blueberries" here: http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/azgard/msg0800502721981.html?4 |
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