Berries in Heat?

ButterflyGarden · Wed Jul 27, 2011 9:40 am

I'm already thinking about next year's garden. Are there any berries that would do well in intense heat? I live where the Mediterranean and the desert meet (Meaning its HOT here). Are there any berries (not strawberries) that I can grow?

soil · Wed Jul 27, 2011 9:51 am

we live in a hot Mediterranean climate as well, our summers are toasty. we have strawberries, blackberries, boysenberries, raspberries, blueberries ( full shade) currants(shade) gooseberries( shade) elderberries, and a few more.

CharlieBear · Wed Jul 27, 2011 5:28 pm

You have little water to spare, so berries are likely to be a problem for you. There are Blueberries like Blueray that do well in very warm climates, but you need acidic soil, lots of humus and they require water from bloom time until about 2 months after the crop is picked. They may also require some afternoon shade. Caneberries require a lot of water and grow well on the west coast of the US, but not well elsewhere even in the US so I wouldn't suggest it. It occurs to me that you might check with the Kabuts that grow fruit for export and ask them, one of them should know. I love berries and have lots of them and dread the day that the world climate make immigration there necessary for our very survival.

ButterflyGarden · Thu Jul 28, 2011 5:37 am

The kibbutzim that grow berries here grow them in hot houses where they can carefully control the conditions, not something I can easily do on my balcony. I'm blessed to live in one of the most (if not the most) agriculturally advanced countries in the world but sadly I don't have lots of room to take advantage of it.

rainbowgardener · Thu Jul 28, 2011 6:32 am

You might need to look for some more exotic fruit: Goji berries (Chinese wolfberry) like hot, dry climates and quandongs are berries high in Vitamin C that are native to the Australian desert.

CharlieBear · Thu Jul 28, 2011 4:43 pm

The problem is goji berries can be very invasive if the seed gets loose. Also one plant in a pot will yield about 1 cup at maturity and they are an
aquired taste, we tried them. We have tried just about anything resembling a berry. Once you introduce a pot on a balcony things become difficult. I have had even miniture type blueberries die in pots and they were bred for pots, it is difficult to keep them from getting either over or under watered. Still, a blueray blueberry in a large enough pot just might work.