I am looking into starting a small berry farm , I have 2 1/2 acres to play with , What raspberries have you done good with and what ones didnt do good ? I am in zone 4 to 5 LOL kinda boarder line right here
You might want to check in with your local Soil and Water Conservation. We get our berries from them. They are really cheap, and grow very well...I'm sorry I don't what type they are.
I would check with your conservation district like lesa suggested. Also you could find out what variety other farms in your area are using, they ussually grow the best types for the area. Good luck with this endeaver. Let us know what you find out.
I agree with the others. All gardening is local. Zones do mean something, but local conditions such as rainfall and wind mean a lot more. Your best bet for success is to find out what does well in your specific area. A good place to start is your county extension agent, in the phone book under county government.
I'll be watching this thread, too. I would like to get into berries also. We have lots of wild blackberries and wild raspberries around the perimeter of our property and they are delicious. We go to farmer's market almost every Saturday morning to either hang out with buddies, sell stuff, or buy stuff and there are vendors who specialize in these gigantic black berries. Some are the size of golf balls! But they are not nearly as sweet and flavorful as the wild ones here. I have about a half acre in mind for my berry and grape patch.
Dang smiles I would be picking them wild ones and selling those too , there is no berry farms in my area that I know of , a few people have small 25 plant patches is about it
The only trouble with our wild berries is that the birds always get 99% of them. Sometimes I think they sit in the trees and wait until the berries get just right and swoop down and devour all of them. And then go poop on my pickup.