Mark,
I won't tackle all of your questions, but I think now is a fine time to plant, assuming you can get container-grown plants at this time of the year. These are in your backyard, so you'll be able to take care and water all summer, and planting now should allow lots of time for growth before fall, giving you a big head start on next year. If you want neat rows that will be close together, I would certainly recommend some sort of trellising. all brambles have canes long enough to span the area between your planned beds. I personally don't like to use flashing or other root control. I find that eventually the roots or rhizomes or whatever get around the barrier, bind it up, and then the barrier becomes more of a problem than the berries. They will spread, so I would simply plan to keep an eye on them and remove/dig canes you don't want. I know others do things differently, so this is just my preference.

Hi Mark-
Just some random thoughts...
I think if you search the past postings, you'll find a lot of information. I like a mix myself. I'd recommend adding some yellow/gold raspberries too (Fall Gold, Kiwi Gold, Anne). They are my best producers and I think they taste better than red ones too. They're also unique enough that others enjoy trying them for the first time. If it were me, I'd use 40% of the space for yellow, 25% of the space for red, 25% of the space for blackberries (but trellis them high), and 10% of the space for black raspberries.
My two Triple Crown blackberries have been going insane this year in RI. On my extensive 8 foot tall trellis, I'd estimate that the 2 plants will give me about 600 berries total in this, their 3rd year. (Maybe it's normal, but it was much more than I was expecting, so I'm pleasantly surprised!)
A really good source for bare root berries is Nourse Farms in MA which may not be too far from you. I've always done my planting in the early spring. You might want to buy a couple nursery plants too just because they'll get established faster, and you have some berries sooner. But, it's much more expensive to buy 'em this way.
As for 'how many per bed', it's usually best to just follow the recommendations of the nursery/site. Raspberries are like weeds... if you plant them too far apart, they're just going to fill in anyway. If you plant them too close... well, you can't do that because they're always going to fill in closer than you could ever plant them anyway. Blackberries are different though... You'll definitely want to follow the recommendations for your particular variety on the spacing.
Maybe a blueberry plant too?
Good Luck!
-Glenn

Here is a link that might be useful: Nourse Farms

Thanks for the feedback - I'll skip the idea about flashing but will nonetheless plan on raised beds unless someone gives me a reason not to.

Glenn, do the blackberries naturally grow up a trellis or do they need to be woven into it like you do for a tomato?

Any pics of successful plantings in a small area would be really useful.

Hi Mark-
I think they might weave their way through my wires, but really, I go out there every couple of days and push a cane behind this wire, and pull another out in front of this wire. Really, it only takes a couple of seconds. I'll try to post some pics of them later today. -Glenn

Mark,
You just blew my mind this morning. I also am planning on planting berry bushes and I also have a house north of NYC and I looked straight to this forum and find you asking the exact same questions! So I really have nothing to add, but I'm watching for every answer, thanks so much!

Mark,

I second Glenn's recommendation of Triple crown blackberry. They taste great, have no thorns and are highly productive and disease resistant -- probably the most productive fruit in my garden. Like Glenn's, mine have gone berserk with fruit this year. Blackberries need to be trellised and pruned. I have a twenty foot row, with two 4X4 end posts with two wires stretched between them, one a few feet above the ground, the other about 5-6 up. I then tie the canes to the wires as they grow. Some people get into weaving the canes horizontally along the wires as they grow or separating next year's canes from this year's fruiting ones, but this is all too much work for me. You definitely do not want to weave growing blackberries through a cage or mesh as you might do with tomatoes. You will also need to space your blackberries out a bit. Mine are probably a bit too close, but I would say 3' between plants would be a good minimal distance. They will send up new canes each year, on which next year's crop will be produced. You prune off the old canes after the harvest -- some do it in fall, some wait until winter or even early spring.

I am less big on Fall gold raspberries. I have had them for three years now, and this will be their final year. They are pretty productive and very vigorous plants, which in the case of raspberries means they are very invasive. If you plant them in your raised bed, they will end up taking up the whole raised bed in a few years unless you work hard to prevent it. They are delicate and very sweet tasting raspberries -- some like this, others find them a bit cloying; I tend to the latter view. Their main advantage, I think, is that they produce in fall at a time the birds and insect pests are not interested so don't require netting. (I have to net my blackberries to keep off the birds.)

I have not grown black raspberries, but I believe their culture is similar to that of blackberries. I'd check out from the library Stella Otto's book "The Backyard Berry grower" for more information or go to the Cornell University web site and find their on line book on fruit growing. Sorry, I don't have a link offhand.

Actually, now that austransplant has agreed with me, upon further review, I think my blackberries are actually Chester and not Triple Crown. I mean to add some Triple Crown this year. Anyway, here are the pics that I promised:

Chester Blackberry Trellis bird spikes added a few weeks ago to keep the bird poop off:
{{gwi:120772}}
Full sized pic: http://image60.webshots.com/760/1/2/56/2779102560015790651gfqzId_fs.jpg

Some berry closeups:
{{gwi:120773}}
Full sized pic: http://image60.webshots.com/760/1/26/9/2204126090015790651RiqCdi_fs.jpg

IÂm not positive that other people train their blackberries so high. But, IÂm trying to make the most of my space, and IÂve got lots of berries all the way up, so it must be OK. IÂm 6Â4 and donÂt have a problem reaching up the 8Â for the berries. These are on their 3rd year.

HereÂs another posting where we were talking about blackberry trellises:
http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/fruit/msg0317595330372.html

HereÂs a posting where I showed my bad original raspberry trellis, and then the improved version:
http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/fruit/msg0711580020272.html

As for my black raspberries, I'm finding that they are the thorniest of the bunch. I can't seem to get a berry without getting stabbed. *sigh*.

As you can see, opinions differ on the yellow raspberries.

-Glenn

Mark,

I had some Chester but pulled them out last year. At least here in Maryland, Triple Crown blew them out of the water in both taste and productivity. Your Chester's look pretty productive, but I think you'd be amazed out how productive Triple Crown are if given good fertilization and soil. (I am told that Doyle are even more productive, but not so good in flavor.)

Wow, I can't imagine having more berries on there than I do, but I'm looking forward to being surpirsed. The next ones I add will indeed be TC. -Glenn

Glen,
Where did you get the bird spikes from?
And are they effective?
I have bird poo all over my cucs, tomatoes and berries.

Hi RaiderRick22
My inlaws own the local hardware store in town. Their supplier is "Do it Best", so I got the spikes through them:

http://doitbest.com/Sprinkler+Stakes-Bird+Ex-model-SP-10-NR-doitbest-sku-738897.dib

But, doing a little searching, you can find them elsewhere... here they are again:

http://www.amazon.com/BIRD-X-SP-10-NR-Bird-Spikes-Kit/dp/B0019F8IX6

The very first day I put them up, I had one stubborn catbird who was really bummed out. He tried landing on the spikes for a few minutes, but then decided he didn't like it. He hasn't been back to that perch since. Good luck! -Glenn

Hi. I'm new to this site so don't know the ins and outs. I would like advice on what red raspberries to plant in Northern VA. Also, this might not be the place to ask, but has anyone tried Navaho blackberries? Are they better then Triple Crown?

I read on one site that one should not plant red raspberries near either black raspberries or black berries. There was no explanation given, though I think it might have to do with disease control. I just bought one red and one black raspberry plant and am about to plant them. Has anyone else heard anything about planting them "700 feet apart?"

Will birds eat the berry's when ripe . Should I put a netting over the plant . Or do I need to do nothing .

2 years ago I had a small cluster of wild black raspberries growing along the east side of my barn. I decided to leave them alone for 2 yrs and then this spring I tied the canes of 5 plants up the face of the barn. Also growing on this barn is a wild grape vine.(i loved the look and left them alone. It is now mid July and I have never seen so many berries. Beautiful clusters 5-7 lush berries in each cluster. The berries under the shade protection of the grape are larger then those receiving
just the afternoon shade. Canes have grown 8-10ft and by tieing them up the face of the barn they are so easy to pick. If making jams with black raspberries omit some of the sugar and know that the jam will set very thick. I no longer buy tasteless fruit and vegetables from the stores.
Let mother nature take care of your berries. She seems do do a wonderful job.