Is it too late to plant raspberries/blkberries in Dallas TX?

Hi out there - I'm new to Dave's Garden and I am sooooo excited I found this site. It's been very educational.

This is my first garden and although I think I was a little overzealous in my expectations and planning for this year, things are coming along nicely. If you look at the attached image, you'll see that I have planned to put raspberries and blackberries on the left side of the garden. However, because of time restraints I haven't had time to put in the berries yet. Should I wait until next year and just amend the soil and let it sit or should I go ahead and plant them now?

Is it ok to plant them next to a fence or do they need to have full space around them? Can I plant the two different types of berries next to each other or are there issues with this?

Any info would be much appreciated. :)

Fruiting trees and shrubs need maximum sunlight to produce fruit. Blackberries and raspberries can get very large and heavy, damaging your fence. What's usually recommended for growing raspberries and blackberries is a wire fence: Two heavy posts buried in the ground and angled away from each other with 2-4 stands of wire strung between the posts. The free standing fence allows access from either side making harvesting and pruning easier.

Raspberries are more susceptible to some diseases and should have plenty of air circulation. There is also a question of whether they should be planted near each other (disease and pest problems) although some people have been successful in growing them together. In a small fruit and vegetable garden, you may want to look for thornless varieties. Contact your local extension agent and find out what varieties are best for your area. The following link gives some general information on both.

They both like slightly acidic soil. Since most of Texas soils are basic, you will need to amend the soil and do some soil testing. You can do it yourself or take a sample to your county agent to have your soil analyzed.

http://www.chicagobotanic.org/plantinfo/pp/PPBerries.html

The plan you showed for the berry plants looks crowded. Did you plan and make room for the mature size of each plant? Harvesting may present a problem in the existing plan.

Hope this helps. If you have any other questions, I'll be glad to answer them if I can.
BettyDee

Thank you sooooo much :) I'm going to rethink that area of the garden and maybe put in something smaller. Any suggestions on what grows well next to tomatoes?

Do you want flowering plants or vegetables? If vegetables, there are some pole beans with very colorful flowers and you get the fruit to boot. Some people swear by the companion plants idea, plants that either seem to like growing together or repel pests from the desired plant. Marigold is supposed to repel tomato hornworms and a few beetles. I've seen honeydew melons or the small type watermelons trellised up next to fences to control the sprawl. Old pantyhoses are used to support the growing fruit. The fruit seem healthier and the bottom doesn't rot as they have a tendency to do. Annual vines look really great. Just don't plant morning glory or you will never get rid of them. They send out roots up to 6 feet deep and are almost impossible to get rid of. I used to have a yearly battle with a neighbor's morning glory. It grew under the fence and wrapped itself around my camellias.

Well that's a bummer about the morning glory because it's in already :( They're tiny, so maybe I should pull them up and put in pole beans instead. I do have some spots for marigolds and had considered them, so you've definitely sold me there. I like the watermelon idea! Looks like I'm off to Home Depot this afternoon LOL! Thanks for the tips!