Bartender’s Garden: Step-By-Step Guide To Growing Fresh Berries For Your Cocktails
The freshness, flavour and vibrancy of homegrown berries can add a flavour to your drinks that can be hard to substitute. If you’re tired of buying store-bought, preservative-laden, overly-sweet berries for your cocktails and mocktails, growing your own berries will not only serve as an effective alternative, but will also result in a bonus hobby of gardening for you to indulge in.
Whether you're a professional bartender or just an enthusiast, here’s a guide on how to grow fresh berries for cocktails—from planting till harvesting.
Choosing the Right Berries
The first step in creating your bartender’s garden is choosing the types of berries you want to grow. Berries commonly used in cocktails include raspberries, blackberries, strawberries and blueberries.
Each has its own unique flavour profile and works differently in cocktails.
Raspberries: Sweet and slightly tart, raspberries work well with classic cocktails like a Gin Fizz.
Blackberries: Being rich and earthy in flavour, blackberries pair with dark spirit cocktails like a Bramble or a Blackberry Old Fashioned.
Strawberries: Strawberries add a light and sweet flavour that pairs well with gin and rum-based drinks.
Blueberries: Their mild, sweet taste lends itself perfectly to cocktails like blueberry mojitos or spritzers.
Choosing varieties suited to your climate is key. If necessary, speak to your local nurseries or do some research about which berry plants thrive in your area, particularly if you have specific weather conditions such as cooler summers or limited sunlight.
Planting Your Berries
Berries need the right conditions to thrive, and this starts with properly planting them.
Location: You need to choose a sunny spot in your garden. Berries need at least 6 hours of direct sunlight per day in order to develop their full sweetness. Raised beds or containers can work magically if your garden space is limited.
Soil: Berries thrive in well-draining, slightly acidic soil. A pH between 5.5 and 6.5 is ideal for them to grow in. In case your soil is too alkaline, you can amend it with organic matter like compost or well-rotted manure.
Spacing: You need to give your plants plenty of room to spread out. Blackberries and raspberries, in particular, can grow quite large and require support, like a trellis, to keep them manageable. Strawberries and blueberries are more compact but still need adequate space to ensure proper airflow, so that the risk of fungal diseases is reduced.
Caring for Your Plants
Once your berries are planted, ongoing care is crucial in order to ensure a healthy crop.
Watering: Keep the soil consistently moist, especially during the flowering and fruiting periods of the plants’ life cycle. Berries have shallow root systems, so regular watering is essential, but you must take care not to waterlog the soil.
Pruning: Pruning is extremely necessary for plants like raspberries and blackberries. You should regularly cut back old canes after they fruit to encourage new growth for the next season. Strawberries benefit from having their runners trimmed to concentrate the plant’s energy into producing fruit.
Pest Control: Keep an eye out for common pests such as aphids, spider mites and birds. Netting can help protect your fruit from birds, while organic insecticidal soap can expertly handle insect infestations.
Harvesting and Storage
Timing is key when it comes to harvesting your berries. Pick them when they are fully ripe to ensure the best flavour for your cocktails. Berries don’t continue to ripen after picking, so it’s important to harvest them at their peak.
Raspberries and blackberries: Harvest when the berries are plump and easily come off the plant.
Strawberries: Pick them when they are fully red with no white or green spots.
Blueberries: Wait until they are fully blue and give a little resistance when touched.
Once harvested, try to use the berries while they are as fresh as possible in your cocktails. If you have an excess, freeze your berries to use later or turn them into syrups which enhance the taste of a drink.
