Can anyone ever have enough fresh fruit? I know there’s never enough to go around on our farm. There’s nothing like fresh-off-the-vine, homegrown, juicy berries to satisfy our cravings. The raised bed trend is amplifying and for good reason. Raised beds save growers from back pain and are perfect for growers with less-than-ideal soil health or poor soil drainage.
Select berry bushes have specific soil needs, which are easier to tend to in a raised bed. Others benefit from the height protection from critters. While all crops don’t thrive in raised beds, these nine berry plants will perform well.
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Let’s dive in.
Goji Berries
Grow vibrant goji berries for beauty and health benefits galore.
If you want to add a fun berry to your homestead or garden, start with this one! Finding fresh goji berries at a store is difficult, so growing your own is a great option. This superfood is becoming popular among home gardeners for its high antioxidants and vitamins, unique flavor, and striking beauty. Purple flowers bloom in late spring, turning to green berries. The berries transition to a gorgeous reddish-orange in late summer when they’re ready to harvest.
The goji berry is very hardy. Established plants can tolerate temperatures of -15°F (-26°C) and perform well in heat. Their growing habit is weeping, and they’ll need some support. Well-maintained plants can live abundantly for up to 15 years.
These bushes don’t like “wet feet,” so they work well in a raised bed with ample water drainage. Use the finger test to monitor the soil moisture levels, and don’t let it dry out. Water your bushes about one-half inch per week. Bushes also won’t tolerate salinity, so they’re best grown in raised beds or containers if you’re on the coast. Give them several feet of space to bush out. Goji berry bushes don’t need much fertilizer but will benefit from a nitrogen boost during the flowering and fruiting phases.
‘Pink Lemonade’ Blueberries
Indulge in sweet and citrusy ‘Pink Lemonade’ blueberries from home!
‘Pink Lemonade’ blueberries are a standout hybrid of rabbiteye and highbush varieties. Their fruits are blush pink and transition to a deep reddish pink at maturity. The flavor is just what you’d expect from the name—uniquely citrusy, bold, and sweet. Fresh lemonade, anyone?
This compact fruit bush was made for raised bed growing, reaching only about five feet at maturity. When preparing your raised bed, amend the soil to lower the pH to 4.5 by adding elemental sulfur, iron sulfate, cottonseed meal, or ammonium sulfate.
Dig a hole double the size of the root ball to transplant into. Give each plant about 5 feet of space to avoid overcrowding and nutrient deficiency. Generously mulch around the plants to help retain water and suppress weeds. Water regularly but slowly, about once a week. Do not let the shallow roots dry out.
‘Heritage’ Raspberries
Enjoy bountiful, easy-care berries with a simple raspberry setup.
‘Heritage’ raspberries are a popular everlasting variety that can produce fruit in its first year. It produces dark red, juicy, sweet berries in two flushes from July to September. ‘Heritage’ is low maintenance but prefers well-draining loamy soil. This variety is self-pollinating.
Raspberry bushes will perform well in a wooden raised bed or one of Birdies raised beds, which range in size, shape, height, and color. Before adding raspberry bushes to your raised bed, ensure it’s free of weeds and adequately amended—mulch to retain soil moisture.
Prune your plants annually, remove dead canes, and thin them out to provide healthy airflow. Support the bushes, which can reach up to six feet, and water plants consistently, especially when establishing their root systems.
‘Sunshine Blue’ Blueberries
Create a vibrant blueberry haven in your spacious raised bed.
‘Sunshine Blue’ blueberries are compact and bushy, stay low to the ground, and perform well in large raised beds. Get the acidity right, give them lots of water, and position your raised bed in a sunny location, and plants will thrive. Bushes are highly adaptable across growing zones.
‘Sunshine Blue’ is a June-bearing southern highbush variety with lovely pink flowers and dark, glossy foliage. Each bush provides five to ten pounds of berries and is self-pollinating.
When fruiting stops, its foliage transitions to beautiful red and purple, providing an exciting fall flair to the garden. Provide fresh potting soil each season and fertilize annually.
‘Texas Pink’ Pomegranates
Create a vibrant pomegranate oasis in your spacious raised bed.
Pomegranates, a true botanical berry, grow quickly and remain compact, making them perfect for raised beds, so long as you give them enough space. Once established, they are drought and cold-tolerant, making them low-maintenance and adaptable. ‘Texas Pink’ should be fed in its second year before new growth and pruned in the winter when the plant is dormant.
This plant is considered ornamental for its bonsai-esque vibe and beautiful spring blooms, but it also features sweet, juicy, nutritional fruits. Hardwood cuttings are an easy and fun way to expand your stock. Do this in the winter before new growth appears.
Plant annuals nearby to encourage pollinator presence. Tap on the fully colored, bright pink fruit and listen for a metallic sound, which signifies it’s ready for harvest.
‘Prime-Ark® Freedom’ Blackberries
Transform your urban oasis with luscious, thornless berry abundance!
‘Prime-Ark® Freedom’ is perfect for small-space, urban, and container growers. Plants produce extra-large, classically sweet berries. Leave them on the plant a few days after the color fills in for ultra-sweet flavor.
Adjust the pH of your raised bed to between 6.5 and 7.5 and install irrigation before transplanting. Berry bushes benefit from consistent deep watering as they establish, but don’t let their feet remain wet. Avoid letting their roots dry.
This variety produces fruit on new wood. If you’re not already adding this variety to your wishlist, it’s also thornless, so harvesting is a joy. Plant several together in a cluster for the best yields.
Strawberries
Elevate your garden with bountiful, disease-resistant strawberries in raised beds.
Strawberries are great for raised bed growing, particularly trailing varieties. Growing in raised beds helps contain runners, provides better drainage, and the height will keep away hungry critters like mice and rabbits. Scout for slugs and keep your eyes peeled for leaf spot symptoms, powdery mildew, and other common strawberry diseases.
For best results in a raised bed, select an everbearing variety like ‘Albion’ or ‘Allstar’ and consider planting companions. Everbearing strawberries produce fewer runners, fruit in several flushes throughout the season, and require less maintenance.
Don’t overcrowd your plants; keep them well-watered and protected from inclement weather. Adding mulch will keep weed pressure down and your berries clean.
Figs
Experience the fig phenomenon in your raised bed garden oasis.
Figs are having a moment for their unique flavor and culinary versatility. Growing figs can remind us of simpler times and are high in antioxidants and polyphenols. ‘Black Mission’ makes growing figs a breeze, even for beginners. It’s low-maintenance, self-fertilizing, high-yielding once established, and great for warmer region growers. Cooler region growers can opt for ‘Brown Turkey’ figs, which can withstand temperatures down to 10°F (-12°C).
Trees typically take three to five years to bear fruit, but some varieties take just six months. In warmer regions, harvests will be in spring and fall. Cut back on watering while your figs are ripening to allow the sugar to condense, helping them ripen fully and develop robust flavor. Note that figs do not ripen once removed from the tree, so do not pick them underripe.
When your plant arrives, allow some time in the shade to acclimate to its new home before transplanting it into your raised bed. Shade-loving crops will benefit from the shade beneath your fig tree.
Honeyberries
Savor the unique flavors of honeyberries, a garden treasure.
The honeyberry resembles a misshapen blueberry and tastes similar, too, with undertones of raspberry and blackberry. Common names are haskaps and blue honeysuckle. The plants emit a sweet honeysuckle fragrance, and a yellow flower blooms in the winter, providing ornamental flair to your garden—plant more than one for proper pollination.
These plants are hardy and long-living if well-maintained. Once established, they are drought-tolerant and aren’t picky about pH or temperature. Soil should be well-draining and compost-rich. Prune honeyberry bushes to keep them more compact. Fertilize annually.
Harvest when the fruits are a deep, rich blue. They will not ripen once picked. The most common issue with growing honeyberries is that birds want to eat them, so keep them protected.
Final Thoughts
Many berry bushes will perform well in raised beds, whether you’re looking for ornamental interest, berries to make jam, or fresh eating. If you’ve got some extra space and love berries, I encourage you to try one of these nine great options for raised bed growing.
