Raspberries | Photos by the writer
Many of us dream of growing luscious soft fruits in our gardens, and the health-promoting raspberries, blueberries, goji berries and other vitamin-rich berries are way up on our ‘must try some day’ list.
These popular berries, however, generally require certain conditions for cultivation, which make them difficult to grow in our increasingly fickle climate but, whilst most of them are difficult, it doesn’t mean they are impossible.
Take raspberries for instance: known as a cool-climate species they have been successfully cultivated around Malir (although I have no precise information as to exactly where and by whom). If this is true, then they can, with care, be grown elsewhere in Karachi, too. They do grow — and produce well — around Lahore, Rawalpindi/Islamabad, Peshawar and can be found both in cultivation and growing wild in odd spots in the Murree hills and around Nathia Gali. The canes, as the plants are known, are sometimes available in Islamabad and via an internet plant business in Lahore.
Growing berries is not impossible in our climatic conditions
Raspberries (Rubus idaeas) are members of the huge and surprisingly-varied Rosaceae family to which roses also belong. The berries can be red, yellow or even black. The short-lived canes continually reproduce themselves, so it is important to cut back and remove old shoots to prevent congestion and reduce the possibility of fungal diseases such as mildew. Raspberries like their roots to be cool and moist and their heads in the sun although, having said this, they thrive underneath shade netting as long as the sides/ends are open to allow a breeze. Soil should be rich in compost/manure with an acid to neutral pH value. In hot climates such as ours, laying a thick, moisture retentive, cooling mulch is highly recommended.
Blueberries (Vaccinium spp) are successfully being grown, on a small scale only so far, around Islamabad, Abbotabad, Mardan and other locations where the soil is highly acidic or where a specialised, acidic soil which is also very high in natural humus, has been provided. Tall growing blueberry species need moist conditions more than medium and dwarf ones. Ordinary tap water kills these plants, as does brackish water or water from an area where lime is present. They should only be irrigated with rainwater or naturally acidic water and, during the growing season, they become very thirsty plants. I believe that a number of people in and around Lahore are experimenting with blueberry cultivation but do not, as yet, know how they are doing. Plants can be purchased in specialist Islamabad and Lahore nurseries over winter months.