By Tom Kalb, Horticulturist

NDSU Extension

Nothing tastes better than fresh, ripe berries from the garden.

When I was a child, my family grew berries for the farmers market. While harvesting, I ate about half of the berries. My motto was “one for me, one for the market.” They were irresistible.

Homegrown berries are absolutely delicious, and now is the best time to start a berry patch.

Pick a sunny site that gets at least eight hours of direct sunlight. Stay out of low spots and frost pockets. A sheltered area is preferred, although that is challenging for us in the Dakotas.  

We need to kill any existing turf or weeds at the site. Glyphosate is a useful herbicide because it kills weeds, including their roots. It is very effective and has a very short life in the environment. I give the chemical 10-14 days to kill the turf and weeds entirely. Then our patch is ready to till and plant.

If you prefer not to use chemical herbicides, you can kill the turf and weeds by covering the plot with a black tarp. This will take about four to six weeks.

After the soil is prepared, it is time to plant our berry plants. The most popular backyard berry is strawberry. There are three types: June-bearing, everbearing and day-neutral.

I prefer the June-bearing types. A new planting will create a big crop every June, beginning in June 2027.

Select more than one June-bearing variety to maximize the harvest throughout the month. AC Wendy is the top pick for early harvests. Honeyoye is a vigorous choice for the midseason. Jewel will produce huge berries at the end of the month. All these varieties are hardy and productive. A well-managed June-bearing planting will produce well for about three or four years.

Everbearing types will give you a decent crop in June and a small crop in fall. Ozark Beauty and Fort Laramie are popular choices.

Day-neutral types will give you a small but steady stream of berries all summer long. Albion and Seascape are best. Day-neutral types are often grown in containers. Everbearing and day-neutral types can be harvested the year of planting, but the plants lose vigor after only one or two years.   

Raspberries grow well in the Dakotas. Summer-bearing types are most popular. Notable varieties include Latham (great flavor), Boyne (super hardy), Killarney (easy to grow) and Nova (nearly thornless).

Purchase strawberry and raspberry plants as bare-root plants. Strawberry plants often come in bundles of 25 plants. Plant them about 12-18 inches apart. Raspberry plants often come in bundles of five to 10 plants. These are planted about 24 inches apart.

Bare-root plants are sold online or may be found in refrigerated coolers at major garden centers. Potted plants are too expensive in my opinion.  

Now we need to add a blue fruit to the patch. Forget about blueberries because they struggle in our dry climate and prairie soils. Grow haskaps (aka honeyberries and yezberries) instead. Haskaps are hardy and thrive in our soils.

Have you ever eaten a haskap? Probably not. That’s because they are rarely grown on farms. Haskap fruits tend to drop soon after ripening, making them difficult to harvest by machine. 

That won’t be a problem in your backyard, because you will be snacking on the berries as soon as they ripen. Haskap fruits are juicy and flavorful with essences of blackberry, cherry and grape.

The Canadian varieties Indigo Gem, Aurora and Honey Bee have done well in our trials. Japanese varieties such as Keiko, Kawai, Maxie and Solo look promising because they are easy to harvest.  

You should plant two different haskap varieties for production. The varieties must bloom at the same time. The labels on haskap plants will indicate compatible varieties. Haskaps are typically sold as small, potted plants.

For more information on growing berries in your backyard, start with the website of the Northern Hardy Fruit Evaluation Project of North Dakota State University. Other good sources of information include the University of Minnesota, the University of Wisconsin, Nourse Farms, Jung Seed and HoneyberryUSA.

Growing berries in the backyard will be a joy for you and your entire family. Let’s get started.

For more information about gardening, contact your local NDSU Extension agent.

NDSU Agriculture Communication – May 5, 2026

Source: Tom Kalb, 701-877-2585, tom.kalb@ndsu.edu

Editor: Dominic Erickson, 701-231-4435, dominic.erickson@ndsu.edu