By Rennie Phillips

It's pretty easy today to get some good-tasting berries, like blueberries or raspberries or plums or such, at our local grocery store. Most of the time a grocery store is fairly close. We live about 2 miles from a grocery store here in Scott City. Then it's about 8 or 10 miles to a bunch of grocery stores up in Cape Girardeau or the one in Chaffee, Missouri. It's pretty easy just to buy your berries.

This was not so back a few years. If you didn't raise your own, you were out of luck. Mom and Dad had a bunch of wild plums. They also had a couple grapevines as well, with them being kind of like a Concord grape. Then up by the corral fence they had a row of either currants or gooseberries. They might have had both.

Down where we live, most everyone has raspberries or blackberries growing in their yard. Most turn these into pies or crisps or jellies. A couple years ago we picked a good bunch of Russian autumn olives and elderberries along the country roads. (You have to be careful the county or state hasn't sprayed them with some kind of weed killer.) Marge turned some of these into jellies, while I turned some into wine. We have both growing on our property.

We get the most satisfaction when we can pick the berries in our yard. We planted blueberries a number of years ago, so we pick a good amount every year. It is pretty neat to be able to toss some frozen blueberries we have raised into the pancake batter. Or go down to the basement to get a jar of jelly made of berries we picked in our yard. Or get a quart jar of grape juice from the basement to drink. Marge has canned from the time she was a little girl, so she knows the ins and outs of canning.

Most berries don't take a lot of area to grow. Most will be fairly self-sufficient once established, but they will take some care at first. One of the first berries that comes to mind is blueberries.

Blueberry bushes come in all sizes, from little ones that aren't even knee high up to some that are 8 feet tall or taller. All of the ones we are growing, and have attempted to grow, were bigger bushes. Blueberries have a fairly shallow root system, so consistent moisture is a must. They don't want their feet to stay wet, so plant them where excess rainfall will drain away.

The bushes turn a vivid red in the fall, so they would make an outstanding border with benefits. I've wondered if the smaller or shorter blueberries would be easier to start and grow.

One kind we have in our yard is Saskatoon blueberries. It really isn't a blueberry, but simply a berry that tastes like blueberries. They are native to northern states and can reach heights of 20 feet or so.

We have two bushes that are probably 15 years old, and both are less than 6 feet tall. They are fairly easy to grow and are not fussy about where they are planted. Our one bush has produced probably 8 to 10 quarts of berries just this year.

Another favorite in our area is raspberries or blackberries. You can buy plants that tend to be thornless, but most people raise the ones that can stick you. They are easy to grow and fairly easy to start.

The one drawback is they want to spread out. If you have a patch that's 2 feet wide, they will want to make it 3, then 4 and so on. One needs to clip out the old canes and let new ones grow. They are great berries for pies, or desserts, jellies or wines and such. They also are pretty tasty when raw, or you can add some sugar.

One of our favorites is boysenberries. They are fairly big, with some as big as the first joint of your thumb. They put off runners that will want to root, so you need to train the runners where they need to be. Or you can bury a runner and let it root. Once rooted, you can transplant it to a new spot. Boysenberries will work for pies, desserts, wines or even a tasty raw one.

When we moved out where we live, I planted some chokecherries we had brought from Nebraska. I also ordered some from Gurney's. Today we have a fair amount of chokecherry trees and in a good year pick quite a few berries. Chokecherry jelly is probably my favorite jelly bar none. They are a tart, sour little berry, so you will have to add sweetener or sugar. Mom and Dad waited until they were black to pick them, while Marge's mom picked them when they were still a little red. It is interesting that American Indians used chokecherries in some of their cooking.

We have planted gooseberries and currants but haven't had any success. Both of these were easy to grow in Nebraska, but we have really struggled down here in Missouri. Both have a small berry that will make super pies, desserts, jellies or even wine. They are pretty tasty right off the tree or bush. Most garden supply catalogs have them for sale. They are a gem if you can get them to grow.

There are other berries listed in some of the garden supply catalogs. I've just touched on ones we or our neighbors are growing. If you have a spot in your yard going to waste, consider planting some type of berry.