I feel like this first paragraph could just read “Because they are obviously delicious. The End.”, but alas we are all adults with limited time and broader food requirements than just “mmmm…”. So beyond the obvious, why do I think that berries are an amazing addition to your garden, no matter the size?
My first reason is that many of them are extremely easy to grow. At least in my climate (Southern Ontario), there are many berries that thrive and many variations of each berry as well. In some cases it is more a matter of being careful of where you plant them! Raspberries come to mind, as well as strawberries that have runners. The common ones are inexpensive to buy or are often available for free, especially if you offer to dig them up. This obviously isn’t true of every berry, but if you want something that is hardy, low maintenance, and will come back year after year, then berries can be a great choice.
My second favorite reason is cost. Think of how much a tiny clamshell of berries costs in your supermarket. There are a lot of garden plants where growing them yourself is providing some other benefit (organic, fresh, etc) that justifies the time and the cost for most people, but berries also make economic sense. They cost nothing for me to grow and are easy and abundant.
Thirdly, berries preserve well. We often freeze ours, or can them as jam, but we have also made things like syrups, pie fillings, baked goods and Christmas gifts. I understand that they also dehydrate well but we have never had enough left over to experiment!
Lastly, if you grow your own berries then you can choose what varieties you grow. Almost any berry you like has multiple options beyond what you find in the grocery store. The picture above is a variety that stays white and tastes like pineapple. It’s very popular with my family and I have never seen it for sale. Raspberries come in several varieties of red, some that ripen at different times, as well as yellow and black. Some do better in different climates or locations. For example I have been told that the black raspberries I have will grow under black walnut trees, when almost nothing else will. Some varieties of strawberry do wonderfully in pots, which are great for truly small garden spaces. Certain species of blueberry can live in pots as well, which some gardeners do on purpose to help control soil acidity.
So don’t be afraid to experiment! Look up what grows well where you live. There are probably some interesting kinds that you have never heard of because they don’t grow well commercially. Personally for me, even without all of these reasons I would still grow berries. Watching how excited my kids get to find the very first ripe ones every Spring is always rewarding to me. It means the world to us that our kids are able to grow up casually snacking on fresh fruit and veggies straight from the garden every summer, even in the city.
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