Cultivating Wild Berries as Edible Hedges

Few things are quite so wonderful as standing at the edge of a berry patch on a summer’s day and eating warm fruit right from the vine. Berries are a delicious, nearly ubiquitously beloved treat, and they are incredibly healthy as well. And, berry plants are just begging to be part of most yards and gardens.

Where wild berries grow, they tend to grow abundantly. Most cane varieties, particularly blackberries and raspberries, are known to be voracious growers and stifling spreaders. In other words, they don’t so much take careful cultivation as cautious control. A wild berry patch can take over a yard if things aren’t regularly maintained.

That said, this makes them perfect candidates for cultivation and, in particular, growing within an edible landscape. Wild berries are easy to find, they are easy to transplant, and they are incredibly productive. For those looking to grow an edible hedge, they are also a fast way to get that done for free.

Source: CaptPiper/Creative Commons

Finding Wild Berries

There are many edible wild berries to be found, but blackberries and raspberries are special. Not only are they easy to id safely (there aren’t really any dangerous lookalikes), but also they are rugged plants that will endure transplanting.

The best place to find them is along the forest edge, along fence lines or in overgrown fields. With that in mind, the more dangerous part of picking these wild berries is their location: Overgrown areas tend to have more snakes, insects and poison ivy to watch out for, not to mention the fact that bears are voracious foragers as well.

Finding berries is not so daunting for the person who’s looking for them. Moreover, just about anyone who has them growing will be more than happy to let an interested neighbor or friend dig up a few canes.

Digging Wild Berries

Digging wild blackberries and raspberries isn’t difficult. They have shallow root structures and recover well from root damage. The best specimens to dig are young shoots that are still manageably short, no more than a couple of feet tall, and green. These are first year canes, so they won’t produce the same year they are dug, but they last longer and transplant more willingly.

While digging up the plants, the gardener/forager will like have to sever the roots of the transplants from the mother plant. As long as there is a little clump of roots at the bottom, the young cane should settle in happily elsewhere.

To grow an edible hedge is probably best to figure on digging up enough plants to put one every two to three feet. By the next year, the hedge will be forming well.

Source: Udo Schröter/Creative Commons

Planting Wild Berries

Logically, once wild berries are cultivated, they are no longer wild, but in this case, they are still considered wild. The difference is that wild berries tend to produce fewer and smaller berries than cultivars. That said, many foragers and gardeners find the taste of wild berries to be more intense and enjoyable. Plus, if there is an entire hedge of them, that’s a lot of berries.

To plant them, scrape up the sod—roughly a square foot— around the planting area. Put the young plant in the center and mulch heavily around it with three to four inches of straw or hay or, better yet, pine needles. For a hedge, repeat this every couple of feet. Water the canes in just after planting them.

Caring for Wild Berries

Wild berries are easy to care for. They are hardy plants that endure drought or thrive in sodden soil. They’ll reproduce by themselves, so much so that it’s important to maintain the area around them to prevent them from spreading where they aren’t wanted, which they will most definitely do.

The other challenge, at least for those looking to harvest some berries, is that wildlife tends to be just as, if not more, excited about these sweet treats as we are. Birds will devour them, sometimes to the extent that none are left for the human cultivating them. There are several methods for keeping wildlife off the berries: netting, dangling reflective objects, fake predators, birdbaths and abundance.

A wild berry hedge is a fantastic way to use up the space next the fence and provide the edges of the yard with color and culinary utility. Canes will readily tangle through fencing, and if kept regularly maintained, blackberry and raspberry brambles are easy to keep under control and even easier to expand.

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