On Wed, 12 Sep 2012 11:13:01 +0200, Emery Davis
wrote:

On 09/11/2012 07:00 PM, Jake wrote:
On Tue, 11 Sep 2012 12:08:42 +0000, Mitulove
wrote:


I've read that blackberries and raspberries can be grown in pots with a
diameter of at least 15". Will a pot that size really only accommodate
one plant? It just seems to me that when we had berries growing in a
pasture as a kid, they were quite happy to grow in a great tangled heap.

I grow raspberries in 30 litre tubs, 5 canes to a tub with a wigwam of
bamboo canes for support. With three tubs, we have enough for
ourselves and some to give away. I use a mix of John Innes No 3
compost and Perlite (you can use grit but the Perlite does the same
job - helps drainage - and weighs less so tubs are easier to move
around) with 25 litres of compost to 5 litres of Perlite. Initially I
mixed in a couple of handful of bone meal. I work another handful into
the compost each spring and feed with a high potash fertiliser (e.G.
tomato food) once the flowers start to develop.

One tub is now in its fifth year; the others are in their second. All
are doing well.


You can use Tesco "Dustless" cat litter instead of Perlite (actually
it's used as a substitute for vermiculite), it is also sold as a soil
amendment in Holland, but for 5 times the price...

I think doing blackberries and raspberries in tubs sounds like a
brilliant idea. I always have a terrible time keeping them weeded in
the open; fresh compost would keep it down to light pot maintenance.

Two questions: do the pots need protection in winter? and how well to
they handle missed watering?

Thanks,

-E

The tubs stay out in winter with no protection and no problems (I also
have dwarf apple trees in tubs). I can't answer your question about
missed watering as so far I haven't plus the weather's been wet enough
this year anyway. The tubs I use have drainage holes in the bottom and
around the side so don't get waterlogged, by the way.

Cheers, Jake
=======================================
Urgling from the East End of Swansea Bay where sometimes
it's raining and sometimes it's not.