I am growing blueberries and raspberries for the first time....they are both doing well and are full of berries. I have been told that I must not pick them the first year but leave them as to encourage a better growth next year. Is this true? Surely if I don't pick them then the birds will, so what is the point? Also do I need to cut away some branches from my raspberry bushes as they are really thick? Thanks

You should be able to pick as many berries as you want. I grow two types of raspberries. Some types have berries on new growth and some have berries on canes in the second year of growth and on. I only prune out the dead canes. I always harvest all berries that the birds dont get. I will however occasionally thin out my rows and fill in spots where the plants have died. Also your raspberries will spread by sending out underground shoots, I leave these in until they go dormant in the fall then dig them out to fill in or increase my bed size. I am not totally sure about the blueberries but to be one the safe side in my first year I picked off the flowers before they became berries and picked the second year. I did see an increase of flowers in the second year over the first.