Planning for spring

[crowbar032]

So here recently, I've already received 6 seed catalogs. I've been pondering for quite some time on getting some black raspberry canes and this spring I think I'm finally going to do it. I think I'm also going to have room for some strawberries (my personal favorite). I have a small area behind the house that is steeper than I want to mow. I'm in zone 6 and was wondering if anyone has any recommendations/pictures on variety or trellis setup. I would like thornless black raspberries but I haven't seen any listed, and I know I want the everbearing variety of strawberries.

And yes I know it's January but I've got cabin fever something fierce. And the sad pathetic thing is I really enjoy doing this kind of stuff. There is no money in gardening and small farming, but you eat really really well.

 

[Gunny]

I've got four large tiered gardens in my backyard for my strawberry's. I grow 200 plants back there in a fairly small area and it's a lot easier to keep the weeds out and mow around them. The downside is that they need to be watered a lot more than if they were in the ground, but I like the fact that I can raise so many in such a small area.

I built mine out of treated lumber - the bottoms are about 6 feet wide and 12 feet long. Then I built two tiers that sit above the bottom. I placed them so that I had plenty of room to mow around them. It did take a lot of top soil to fill them, and I made sure that I incorporated a lot of manure into the dirt. I also send samples off every year for soil analysis, I tell them it's for strawberries and get back a report on just what, if anything, I need to keep them growing well.

I don't have any experience with raspberries, but I do have a lot of thornless blackberries, love em!
You might want to plant some June bearing strawberries, real handy to have a bunch come ripe all at once if you want to can the, make jam, freeze them, etc

 

[Western]

I haven't ever had good luck with "mail order" plants, love the catalogs though, they sure have a way of making you want to get out and do something productive.

I'm thinking it has to do more with where I am in relation to what the catalog companies sell, even if a plant is rated for my area, I think they really need to have been cultivated in my region to actually have a good chance. Now I try to shop the local garden centers and even then you have to know what really grows well in your area, I have seen Douglas firs for sell here and those really dont do well in this area per se. Fruit trees are another one you have to be mindful of here.

2 -3 years ago I bought 10 Blackberry plants from Turner seed I believe, beautiful little plants when they arrived, but all died over a 2 yr period, so this last summer I finally found a native cross strain (Brazos River) that seem to be doing quite well their 1st year.

 

[KTurner]

We've only seen one seed catalog so far. I'm thinking about trying the strawberries in rain gutters idea this year. Still need to research varieties, watering, etc. Also thinking about something for the summer squash to keep the vine borers away.

We tried strawberries in a raised bed two years ago. Put down wire fence and landscaping cloth under it to keep critters from invading it, but that was no match for the wiregrass we have.

Keith

 

[crowbar032]

I'm probably going to use a locally nursery to get the plants, but the arrival of seed catalogs always starts my thinking.

 

[Western]

I'm probably going to use a locally nursery to get the plants, but the arrival of seed catalogs always starts my thinking.

Sure does, with all those purdy pictures and everything:laughing: Doesn't show all the hard work involved growing those plants!!

 

[Gunny]

Sure does, with all those purdy pictures and everything:laughing: Doesn't show all the hard work involved growing those plants!!

Yes, but dig into a fresh out of the garden tomato, strawberry, cantaloupe, etc and tell me it wasn't worth it!!

 

[Western]

Yes, but dig into a fresh out of the garden tomato, strawberry, cantaloupe, etc and tell me it wasn't worth it!!

Gunny, you are 100% correct, I think I can buy corn for instance cheaper than I can grow it, but it taste better knowing "I did it". Take all the "labor of love" out of it, I still think it's the best "free" therapy that is available:laughing:

Side note: My 22 YO daughter , raised pretty much "country", has hit the age of electronics and the draw of the "city life", but she still loves to work in the garden, so my thinking is she will always have the knowledge to fall back on, or at least the memory's.

 

[Gunny]

Western - glad to hear you daughter still loves garden work. I can't even get my daughters to learn how to can tomatoes and other garden produce, but they still know how to "drop by and borrow a few quarts of this and that" Most of the time, I consider myself lucky if I get the jars back!

 

[Mickey_Fx]

My recommendation is to check with your local extension office or a Master Gardener club. Need to know what varieties do well in YOUR locale.

Lived many yrs in the Salem Or. area and this is berry country. The town I liven in was once know as the berry capital of the world. In that area cane berries are supported similarly. Treated posts with horiz wires (2 rows) between posts. Each variety of berry seems to have it own stringing pattern. Berry plants mid-way between posts and runners wrapped around the wires. As I said, each variety has it own pattern for wrapping around the wires.

Couldn't fins pictures but here are a couple links that may be useful to you.

Marionberry | Eat Your Oregon Berries | Oregon Raspberry & Blackberry Commission

Marionberry - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sorry both these links focus on Marion berries. While a local variety I have seen Marionberry jam/preserves on the shelf on the East coast.

 

[jimmyj]

Mmm, spring garden stuff....

I'm with you, getting the fever. We've had a ton of success with everbearing raspberries. As for strawberries, learn to have them grown in "succession" so the baby plants takeover from the mother plants every other year. The harvest will be much better. The dang birds like fruit too though!

Mmmm, berries....

 

[Western]

Western - glad to hear you daughter still loves garden work. I can't even get my daughters to learn how to can tomatoes and other garden produce, but they still know how to "drop by and borrow a few quarts of this and that" Most of the time, I consider myself lucky if I get the jars back!

:laughing: I understand where your coming from, that is the same for most of the other stuff. She still lives at home (the last one yeah!) She will stay until she finishes nursing school:thumbsup: My hopes are that she gets a job and can provide for herself vs depending on some "guy". The boys, shoot, they took off early, oldest is 31 :thumbsup::drink:

I'm really looking at some fruit trees this year, moving the garden so may not be able to get that in, but the trees will need more time in the ground, so want to move on those soon.
BTW is "Gunny" ment at to your work I.E. "GSgt"??

 

[sseelhoff]

I finished fencing off a 40x40 area (picket fence with Arbor entrance. Built two 8x12 raised beds. We have spinach and lettuce in one, and onions in the other. For us, tomatoes can go in in another 6 weeks. Yikes. Better get those seedlings started. Should probably start work on a cold frame soon to harden them off before putting them in permanently.

 

[Reyer Farms]

Remember when planning your garden: you can't pick your family, but your family can pick! Here is a pic of our strawberries. I need more cold weather and hope for little less rain. Getting ready to start plowing for corn. Hoping high tunnel gets here quick!!!



A tomato from last year, I named it Floyd.

 

[Reyer Farms]

So here recently, I've already received 6 seed catalogs. I've been pondering for quite some time on getting some black raspberry canes and this spring I think I'm finally going to do it. I think I'm also going to have room for some strawberries (my personal favorite). I have a small area behind the house that is steeper than I want to mow. I'm in zone 6 and was wondering if anyone has any recommendations/pictures on variety or trellis setup. I would like thornless black raspberries but I haven't seen any listed, and I know I want the everbearing variety of strawberries.

And yes I know it's January but I've got cabin fever something fierce. And the sad pathetic thing is I really enjoy doing this kind of stuff. There is no money in gardening and small farming, but you eat really really well.

I plan to build out trellis for blackberries very soon. I will post when I work on them. I believe they are just called "v" two wire. Ours are semi-erect thornless varaities.

 

[Gunny]

:laughing: I understand where your coming from, that is the same for most of the other stuff. She still lives at home (the last one yeah!) She will stay until she finishes nursing school:thumbsup: My hopes are that she gets a job and can provide for herself vs depending on some "guy". The boys, shoot, they took off early, oldest is 31 :thumbsup::drink:

BTW is "Gunny" ment at to your work I.E. "GSgt"??

We have a few things in common, my wife is a nurse and two of my daughters are also nurses! Those two are the ones I was talking about.

My handle: Actually, I retired from the Army as a First Sergeant, but I was in Field Artillery and I always liked my time spent as a gunnery sergeant on the gun line. In the Marine Corps, all E7's are Gunnery Sergeants as a rank, but in the Army, it's a duty position, even though it's also an E7 slot.

 

[Gunny]

I plan to build out trellis for blackberries very soon. I will post when I work on them. I believe they are just called "v" two wire. Ours are semi-erect thornless varaities.

My blackberries are in rows with two strands of hi-tensile wire running down the rows, lowest one about 2 feet from the ground, highest about 4 1/2 feet. I kinda wrap the canes around the lower wire and tie them to the top. You can't let a first year cane touch the ground or it will start roots for a new plant and you don't get any berries from that cane, so it's pretty important to keep them tied. I also prune the tall canes back some in late spring to encourage more berries. I set the rows far enough apart that I can run a bush hog between them to keep weeds down, then use a gas trimmer to clean up between the plants. I get about a gallon of large berries from each mature (3 year old) plants, right now I've got about 36 mature plants. It's not hard to find people that don't mind picking blackberries from thornless plants, everybody on my side of the family and my wife's side tear them up.
I have started another patch, letting the canes start new plants to be replanted back into the rows so that in a year or so I can sell some. Around here, U pick blackberries on thornless canes go for $8 a gallon! That'd be an easy way to make an extra 300 or 400 dollars during the summer and they don't take a lot of care. Just keeping them tied up, a little pruning, cutting out the old canes and running a bush hog down the sides.
We make a lot of blackberry and strawberry jam and there ain't much better than some biscuits and homemade jam on a wintery day or a good hot blackberry cobbler!

 

[Western]

We have a few things in common, my wife is a nurse and two of my daughters are also nurses! Those two are the ones I was talking about.

My handle: Actually, I retired from the Army as a First Sergeant, but I was in Field Artillery and I always liked my time spent as a gunnery sergeant on the gun line. In the Marine Corps, all E7's are Gunnery Sergeants as a rank, but in the Army, it's a duty position, even though it's also an E7 slot.

Got it! My FIL, retired 82nd Command Sgt major, he currently still lives outside Ft Bragg. When he was down for Thanksgiving, he was telling me about his 1st tours in V Nam as a Sgt. over the artillery, was telling me how deadly the 104mm (??) cannons where. You fellas may have "chewed" the same dirt, so to speak.

 

[forgeblast]

I use baker creek now for all my seeds. I love the company and the product I am getting is top notch.
I use nourse farms for any brambles. The product I recieved from them is amazing. We had picked so many blackberrys, froze and canned them and still could not pick them all.
My trellis is shown here it is part of my garden fence and off some old sign posts I have hung angle iron and then ran wire so that the blackberries hang over the electric fence and dont short it out.

 

[Reyer Farms]

Thanks for the info gunny!