Бабушка сказала, что лучше было бы сажать малину дальше от яблони, потому что там больше солнца.

Сказала is the past tense of сказать (to say, to tell), and it agrees with the subject in gender and number.

Because бабушка is grammatically feminine singular, the verb becomes сказала.

Compare:

• дедушка сказал = Grandfather said
• бабушка сказала = Grandmother said
• они сказали = They said

Also, сказать is perfective, so it presents the act of saying as a completed whole: Grandma said...

Что here means that and introduces a subordinate clause.

So:

• Бабушка сказала = Grandma said
• что лучше было бы... = that it would be better...

This is very common in Russian after verbs of saying, thinking, knowing, etc.

Examples:

• Он думает, что это правильно. = He thinks that this is correct.
• Я знаю, что ты устал. = I know that you are tired.

In English, that is often optional, but in Russian что is normally stated.

Лучше было бы means something like it would be better.

This is a very common Russian way to give advice in a softer, less direct way.

Breakdown:

• лучше = better
• было бы = would be

Together:

• лучше было бы сажать... = it would be better to plant...

This sounds more cautious or polite than a direct instruction.

In лучше было бы, the verb is used impersonally. There is no concrete subject like it in English, but Russian often uses neuter singular past tense in these impersonal expressions.

So было бы is the normal form in phrases like:

• Лучше было бы подождать. = It would be better to wait.
• Хорошо было бы поехать летом. = It would be good to go in summer.

The neuter form было does not refer to a neuter noun here; it is just the standard impersonal form.

Бы adds the idea of conditionality or hypothetical meaning, similar to would in English.

So:

• лучше было = it was better
• лучше было бы = it would be better

Without бы, the meaning would change a lot. Here the grandmother is giving advice, not describing a past fact.

Сажать is imperfective, while посадить is perfective.

Here, сажать is used because the sentence is about general advice or the preferable action, not one single completed planting event. It has a more general sense: to plant / to be planting / to plant as a practice in this situation.

Compare:

• лучше было бы сажать малину дальше от яблони = it would be better to plant raspberries farther from the apple tree
• лучше было бы посадить малину дальше от яблони = it would be better to plant the raspberries farther from the apple tree (more like one concrete act)

Both can be possible in different contexts, but сажать sounds broader and more general here.

Малина is in the accusative case here because it is the direct object of сажать.

Dictionary form:

• малина = raspberry / raspberry plant / raspberries

Accusative singular:

• малину

So:

• сажать малину = to plant raspberries

For many feminine nouns ending in -а, the accusative singular changes -а to -у:

• яблоня → яблоню
• книга → книгу
• малина → малину

От requires the genitive case, so яблоня becomes яблони.

Breakdown:

• дальше = farther/further
• от яблони = from the apple tree

So:

• дальше от яблони = farther from the apple tree

Dictionary form:

• яблоня = apple tree

Genitive singular:

• яблони

This pattern is very common:

• далеко от дома = far from the house
• близко от дороги = close to the road
• дальше от яблони = farther from the apple tree

Because the preposition от specifically takes the genitive case.

The forms are different cases of яблоня:

• яблоня = nominative
• яблони = genitive
• яблоне = dative / prepositional
• яблоню = accusative
• яблоней = instrumental

Since the phrase is from the apple tree, Russian uses от + genitive, so от яблони is the correct form.

Потому что means because and introduces the reason.

So the structure is:

• advice/opinion: лучше было бы сажать малину дальше от яблони
• reason: потому что там больше солнца

This is one of the most common ways to say because in Russian.

Example:

• Я остался дома, потому что шёл дождь. = I stayed home because it was raining.

Там means there, and in this sentence it refers to the place farther from the apple tree.

So the meaning is:

• it would be better to plant raspberries farther from the apple tree,
• because there (in that spot) there is more sun.

Russian often uses там like this to point back to a location just mentioned.

After больше (more), Russian commonly uses the genitive case for the thing being measured or compared.

So:

• солнце = sun
• солнца = genitive singular

Thus:

• больше солнца = more sun / more sunlight

This is very common:

• больше времени = more time
• больше воды = more water
• больше работы = more work

In this sentence, больше солнца is best understood as more sunlight / more sun exposure, not more suns of course.

Russian often uses солнце this way in everyday speech:

• Здесь мало солнца. = There isn’t much sun/sunlight here.
• Комната полна солнца. = The room is full of sunlight.

So it refers to how sunny the place is.

Yes, Russian word order is flexible, but the original order is very natural.

The sentence:

• Бабушка сказала, что лучше было бы сажать малину дальше от яблони, потому что там больше солнца.

This order flows logically:

1. who said it
2. what was said
3. the reason

You could rearrange parts for emphasis, but the meaning would stay similar. For example:

• Бабушка сказала, что малину лучше было бы сажать дальше от яблони, потому что там больше солнца.

This version puts a bit more focus on малину.

Russian word order often changes emphasis rather than basic meaning.

Yes, it is very natural. It sounds thoughtful and not too blunt.

Russian has several ways to give advice:

• Лучше было бы сажать... = It would be better to plant...
• Надо сажать... = One should plant...
• Стоит сажать... = It is worth planting...
• Нужно сажать... = It is necessary / advisable to plant...

Among these, лучше было бы... sounds softer and more tentative, which fits a grandmotherly recommendation very well.