growing berries and kiwi in Oklahoma

12 years ago

I am trying to decide what my best options are for growing fruit in my small suburban backyard (and possibly front yard too). From what I have read here and elsewhere, it sounds like fruit trees and grapes may not be the best options for me. How about blackberries and strawberries? Do you have any recommendations for me as to which varieties are best for my area (zone 7a, north OKC/Edmond area)? I had read that Triple Crown blackberry can produce up to 30 lb. of berries per plant - does that sound feasible for our area? What I would like to do is plant them along the inside of my back fence on either side of the house and trellis them up cattle panels attached to the inside of the fence. I could make small semi-circular beds along the fence say every 6 feet and plant a blackberry plant in each one, then let them spread out along the fence. Has anyone else tried this? How far from the fence would these plants stick out? I want to make sure I have room to get past them :)

I was thinking about edging the beds in front of my house with strawberries, but I am concerned that this will make them too hard to cover with netting to keep the birds off. Or do I need to worry about that?

Finally, I've been reading about hardy kiwi, and wondering if anyone in my area has tried growing these vines? The Arctic Beauty variety sounds as if it would be a little smaller and more manageable than some of the others, not to mention pretty, but I don't want something that is going to engulf the back yard either! I'd love to hear from anyone who has tried growing these. I know there is a kiwi farm out east of me near Eufaula that I would like to visit some day. Has anyone been there?

I was going to plant a crape myrtle in the front of the house with my knockout roses and herbs, etc. But if there are any shrubs/small trees that would provide fruit as well, I would love to hear recommendations. Some things I've thought of are service berry, chokeberry and some type of sand plum, but I don't have any experience with any of them.

Would love to hear everyone's thoughts/experiences on this. I have not done much with the landscaping so far, so my yard is pretty much a blank slate.

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Comments (2)

theflyingace
12 years ago
canokie -

i can't speak to the blackberries, kiwi, or landscaping, but i've grown strawberries in okc before (i currently don't due to lack of space). i had problems with both birds and cockroaches eating my fruit (netting and diatomaceous earth worked well as deterrents, although i needed to reapply the diatom. earth every so often, like after a rain).

i wouldn't use strawberries to "edge" anything - they have a tendency to send runners everywhere and, if you're not dutifully snipping or re-situating those runners, they can easily spread. if you've got a few square feet, though, you could probably accommodate a couple plants and their subsequent runners.

- katie k.
telow
12 years ago
Canokie, I too am a fruit nut am I'm always looking for something that will beat the late frost or take the heat. Anything you try to grow is going to take a certain amount of tending to or spraying. I grew strawberries when I lived in Bethany years ago and my only problem was pillbugs.That was 40 years ago and there are lots of things you can use nowadays that I was'nt aware of back then to make growing them easier. There is a sweet cherry called Blackgold and a sour cherry called Surefire that are both late bloomers and late frost tolerant that grow well here and generally will always produce a crop.You take your chances with apricot, plums, peaches and nectaurines with late frosts and are lucky if you get 1 crop out of 3. Thats just my opinion of course. About the Artic Beauty, I think it eventually gets quite large and needs a pollinator so you would have 2 very large vines to contend with.I personally dont have any problem growing grapes here as long as you are willing to spray them 2 or 3 times for black or brown rot. Nanking cherry bushes and Hansons bush cherries both do well for me.Several people on this forum have alot of luck with blueberries. Blackberries grow well here and even some raspberries as evidenced by a large blackberry and raspberry farm over by N.E. 50th. and Luther rd.
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growing berries and kiwi in Oklahoma

Comments (2)

theflyingace

telow

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