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Selecting And Planting Small Fruits
Blackberries:
Varieties
Blackberries grow on erect canes or on trailing vines. Cane varieties
thrive everywhere except in extremely cold or extremely warm regions; vine
types are limited to warmer climates. Boysenberries, Loganberries and
Dewberries are popular trailing varieties. Dewberries bear large, near
black berries; Loganberries and Boysenberries are redder. In the cane
group, Bailey and Darrow are god selections.
Planting
Choose a well drained site for your blackberry patch. At planting time,
soak the roots in water an hour or two. Set out plants 3 to 5 feet apart in
rows spaced 8 feet apart for cane varieties; for railing varieties allow 10
feet between rows. Make holes deep enough to accommodate roots, then set in plants at the same depth they grew before.
Care
Provide support for trailing types to keep them healthy and make picking
easier. Erect types are self supporting, but adding support can make
pruning and picking easier. Fruiting and good growth depend on regular
pruning practices. Because all canes are biennial (they sprout the first
year and bear fruit the second year), remove canes after fruiting occurs.
Thin new growth in spring to four or five healthy canes per plant. For
trailing varieties, leave twelve to sixteen canes per plant.
Blueberries:
A wide range of blueberry varieties means you can choose early, mid, and
late season types. Keep in mind that since blueberries are not self
pollinating you'll need to plant at least two different varieties.
Planting
Plant blueberries in a sunny location during the early spring or in fall. A
light, sandy, acid soil, down to a ph of 4.0 is essential. Condition the
soil several months before planting by adding peat moss, pine needles and
oak leaves. Buy only two or three year old plants and space them at seven
foot intervals.
Care
To keep weeds at bay, mulch a six inch layer of peat moss, pine needles or
oak leaves. Once bushes are well established (in about three years), remove
old and weak stems in late winter or early spring every year. As the many
side shoots sprout, thin some out.
Raspberries:
Varieties
Raspberries are either summer fruiting or everbearing. The summer fruiting
raspberry produces berries on the previous season's canes in early to
midsummer. The everbearing types bear fruit twice, once in early summer on
the previous season's growth. Red and black are the most common types, but
purple and yellow varieties also are available.
Planting
To improve the soil, work in well rotted manure or compost before planting.
Red raspberries can be planted two or three inches deeper than they grew
previously; Plant all other raspberry varieties at the same depth. Space
the plants 3 feet apart in rows five to eight feet apart.
Care
When plants are dormant in early spring, remove weak and spindly canes and
suckers that have grown up between rows. Head back black raspberries to
eighteen to twenty four inches; prune purple, yellow and red varieties to
thirty to thirty six inches. Because canes are biennial, remove spent canes
after each harvest.
Strawberries:
Varieties
Most strawberries grown usually fall into two popular types: June bearers,
which produce one heavy crop in early summer, and everbearers, which
produce several small crops throughout the early summer and one large crop
in late summer. Also available are day neutral varieties, which produce
flowers and fruit all summer long, regardless of how much sunlight they
receive.
Planting
Spade the soil to 8" to 10", working in plenty of well rotted manure or
compost. When setting in a strawberry plant, make sure the soil covers all
the roots, but not the crown. Space the plants according to the size of
yield you desire. Close, dense planting will produce large yields of
smaller berries. Open, well spaced planting will produce smaller yields of
larger berries.
Care
When first year blossoms appear, remove them to divert all energy to root
and runner growth. You'll get a bumper crop the second year. Strawberries
lose vitality after 2 or 3 years, so to ensure constant berry production,
plant new seedlings every year in alternating beds.
Grapes:
Varieties
Grapes fit even postage stamp size gardens because they grow up, not out.
Keep in mind that at least 150 days of frost free weather are needed to
grow them successfully. Although most grapes self pollinate, you'll get
better results by planting 2 different varieties.
Planting
Choose a site that is protected from winds and late frosts. Before
planting. work rotted manure or compost into the soil. Set 1 or 2 year old
vines in the soil so the line matches the original planting depth. Allow 7
to 8 feet between vines.
Care
If you want shade or screening from a patio grape arbor, limit pruning to
the removal of scraggly growth and old canes.
Source Unknown
Every gardener knows that under the cloak of winter lies a miracle ... a seed waiting to sprout, a bulb opening to the light, a bud straining to unfurl. And the anticipation nurtures our dream.
- Barbara Winkler
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Blackberry (Rubus villosus): Used in a tea, blackberries are good for settling the stomach, and as a system stimulant. Some people have found relief from rheumatism. Blackberries also make a quick, delicious snack.
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