Judging from the dimensions that you listed, your pots are just under 10 gallons in size and should be perfectly fine for raspberries and blackberries. I have healthy raspberries in pots as small as 4 gallons, and I have a bunch of newly planted raspberries and blackberries that I intend to grow long term in 7-10 gallon pots. Of course, the larger the pot, the larger the potential fruit yield, but you can grow happy and healthy plants even in small pots as long as you provide the proper conditions (see the linked thread below for some good tips on growing plants in containers). Here is a link that might be useful: Container Soils - Water Movement and Retention XVII

Hi Everyone! Thanks again for everyones input, my comments below Oregonwoodsmoke Thanks for the suggestion in terms of using a cross line between wires, Excellent suggestion! It is simple enough but at the same time, I would have never thought of that. In terms of mowing down the fall berries, that is my plan as well. I plan to remove the clothes line from my turnbuckles and mow away. As for the clothes line, Im actually using a more heavy duty version of the green vinyl coated line. This line is stiff but not quite as stiff as many of the wire coils you mention. Glen Thanks for the suggestion on the deer spray. I hate to put money into the garden in lieu of a more permanent solution but this might be the best option. How long does the Deer Out last? We usually get hard thunderstorms throughout the summer so do you have to continually reapply? As a side note, I was talking with my "mystical friend" and she said that I have to release my fear of the deer! She claims that my continual worry is what is attracting them to my beds. She might be right (laughing)!! Ive been paranoid of the deer every since I put in my main garden (1000 sq ft) five years ago. I think your advice on waiting to see how the plants grow is good. Ill watch their growth patterns this year and make adjustments as I go along. athenainwi Thanks for your advice. I didnt think about keeping the varieties separate, that is a great "note to self." In terms of keeping different varieties separate in each bed, does everyone have any recommendations given that fact that I already have multiple varieties in each bed? For example, if either Heritage or Anne crowds out the other, should I just prune the shoots of either variety to keep them in check??? Ive also noticed that Heritage is starting to move in on my Jewel plant in Bed 2. backyardener Yes, that is the exact same line that I purchased from Lowes. It seems to be pretty sturdy for the most part. socalliegal You might try doing a Google search on each species to get their growth habits. Im new to this too and Ive had to do a TON of homework to get this all figured out. I am surprised that more vendors dont offer information on growth habits or trellising when they sell their plants. You might also post this as a separate topic on GardenWeb. You will probably get more replies that way. For what its worth, here are my suggestions Canby This looks like a fall bearing raspberry so you will probably want to mow the plants down after they fruit. You could go with a simple "T" trellis design with your crossbar at 3 feet. This should keep them contained. But you dont necessarily need to use a trellis for these berries due to their growth habit. If you grow these in a hedgerow, Ive heard that for good light penetration and growth you should keep the hedgerow at a width of (12-15"). So the only pruning that will be done on these is on the suckers (new plant shoots) that grow outside this width. Someone please correct me if Im wrong. Black Satin I believe these are considered "semi erect." So they will grow upright for a while and then the canes will flop over. When the flop onto the ground, the canes will tip root (mine did) and multiply. So you will need a trellis to keep them off the ground and additional support as the plant gets larger. You can prune the tips of the canes at (3-4 ft) (depending on the height of your trellis lines) and then attach the canes to your line. The plant will start to produce lateral branches once cut which you can train to your lines as well. I will see if I can find the page I used for my trellis designs and then send it to you. In the meantime, you can check out the following page for info: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/html/ec/ec1303/ They have a good page on raspberries as well. Thanks again everyone!!! Terry

How long they take to bear fruit depends on what type they are. Fall bearing raspberries (like Caroline & Anne) bear fruit on this year's canes so I will have some fruit this fall. I can't remember if they will bear a light crop next summer on the same canes as well - I'll have to look up when to prune them. Those canes will die and need to be pruned out. The patch will continue to grow as the plants send out suckers and fill in the area. Summer bearing plants (like my Canby and Triple Crowns) bear fruit on one year old canes. I got a couple of berries from my Canby this year and have a few trying to ripen on the Triple Crown as well - they are growing on the part of the plant that was above ground when I planted them this spring. Next year's berries will grow on the canes that grew this summer. If you have summer bearing plants, you'll likely need to bend down the canes (though Triple Crown may be too thick) and mulch them or if they don't bend, try to shelter them somewhat from the dry winter winds to protect next summer's crop. If those canes die, no fruit for you next summer! Also, Caroline and Anne aren't thornless although my Anne bushes don't seem to have very many thorns. I would like to try some black raspberries too but I think it's advised to plant them quite a ways from the reds. I can't remember exactly why, but it may be a disease issue. I'm waiting on getting those for a little while.

I have the following from which I can take cuttings soon: elberta peach, moorpark apricot, burgundy plum, hosui and shinko asian pears, stella cherry, fuyu persimmon and brown turkey and celeste figs. I would be interested in Blackberry Thornless Triple Crown cuttings and Kazake Pomegranate cuttings.