Off The Grid Living: 4 Perennial Berries You Can Plant Once And Enjoy For A Lifetime

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4 Perennial Berries You Can Plant Once And Enjoy For A Lifetime

Many of us living off-the-grid have a robust garden to supplement the homestead’s food supply. Usually, the garden relies on annual plants like tomatoes, corn and squash.

However, a great way to supplement the food supply longer term is with perennial berries. While it takes two or more years to reach the fruit-bearing stage, the extra time is well worth the investment.
For those living in the northern parts of the climate, the good news is that a lot of berries prefer moderate summers and cold winters. While southern gardens often outperform northern gardens in colder climates, when it comes to berries, colder is better than hotter.

1. Blueberries
While blueberries are commonly found in supermarkets today, it wasn’t until 1909 that varieties were developed that could be reliably cultivated. Before that, you had to pick them wild.

For the northern garden, choose northern highbush varieties. Cross-pollination is essential, so choose two or three different types to plant together. Place the plants four to six feet apart in a sunny or partly sunny location.
For blueberries to thrive, three conditions must be met: adequate water, weather that is not blazingly hot, and the right soil. You may have heard that blueberries require acidic soil, and this is not an exaggeration. They thrive in a pH around four. Therefore, when planting blueberries, remove the original soil and replace with a mix of 50 percent peat moss and 50 percent potting soil (or a mixture of compost and vermiculite). A water-logged soil with a high pH simply won’t work. (Recommended: How to Successfully Grow Blueberries.)
2. Gooseberries (Ribes hirtellum)
Never had a gooseberry? Well, your ancestors probably did. These tart green, pink or red berries once were common but it was discovered that the plants were carriers of white pine blister rust. Many states made it illegal to grow them.

However, removing gooseberries had little impact on combatting white pine blister rust, so they are legal again in most places. Still, permits are required in some states like Idaho, New Jersey, Washington and Vermont. If you decide to grow them, just check with your county…..more here

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