Planting Berries

To get the most out of the growing season, you must be planned, prepped, and ready to execute your gardening plans by the time the season arrives. Berries are a plant growing in popularity and a great use of space. Some of these plants like the cane berries (raspberries, blackberries) can be planted as early as February in the Snohomish area and blueberries as early as March!‍

Space Planning

Draw a basic map of where you want your berries to live in your garden. This will help you to account for how much space you have and utilize it as best as you can, making the work as simple as possible when the time comes.

Here is an example of one way to do your map:

Cane Berries: These need to be planted 2 feet apart with rows wide enough for a tiller.

Blueberries: These need to be planted 6 feet apart with rows wide enough for a tiller.

June-Bearing Strawberries: These should be planted 1 foot apart with rows 3-4 feet apart.

Everbearing Strawberries: These should be planted 6-10 inches apart with rows 2 feet apart.

This will give you an idea for when you start your space planning map.Measure your area and write the dimension on the map. Once you decide what type of berries you want to plant, then refer to the spacing needs of that particular plant and determine how many plants you can put there and appropriately fill your garden space with.‍

Site Prep

Somethings that can start to happen now so you don’t have a bunch of work all at once would be to start weeding your garden area. Make it as weed-free as possible, that will reduce the amount of nutrients being drained from the soil.

Work the compost into the soil. This is a process that can be done often and will help create an evenly rich soil in your garden. The composted soil should be down at least six inches in depth. After these steps are done, start measuring your rows and our layout. Make it easy for yourself to enjoy the planting process and set yourself up for success for a great berry season this year!