I potted up blueberry and raspberry plants this week so I thought that might be a good subject to talk about this week.
Berry plants are pretty easy to grow and provide you with fresh, tasty berries that are so... expensive in the store. What a treat to be able to just go outside and pick what you want eat. In the case of blueberries you'll probably even have enough to freeze some as well.
Blueberries are super because they offer the extra bonus of being a beautiful landscape plant. Blueberry foliage turns a bright red in the fall that rivals any ornamental. When mature(10 years old plus) blueberries can also produce 15-20 lbs of fruit. Imagine what that would cost in the store (or even at the Farmer's Market)!!
Raspberries require a little more pruning and care than blueberries in theory, but I just set some plants in pots out a few years ago that I had dug up and was going to transplant then forgot about them. The next thing I knew the plants had transplanted themselves in of all places a mostly shady spot. I thought well that's not going to work, but last year I had some of the biggest Willamette raspberries I have ever seen. Imagine what I would have if they were in a good sunny spot like they are supposed to be.
We are going to have two varieties of blueberries this year. You always want to plant at least two different kinds so you get good cross pollination to get the heaviest crop. We will have my two personal favorites Duke and Darrow.
Duke is a late blooming, but early crop med to large sized berry. That is a big advantage if you tend to get late frosts. This variety has proved to to be very productive in my yard.
Darrow is a late VERY large berry. It is a lot of fun because of those large berries that really amaze people. It produces fewer berries because of that large size, but people who like to eat fresh berries or freeze them for their cereal in the winter really like these.
We will also have Willamette raspberry plants this year. This is a variety developed for this area and is an industry standard. It rarely gets crumble berry and is large, firm and sweet.
We will also have Tribute strawberries again. We like these because they can be container grown as well as in small space gardens. They are "ever bearing" or "day neutral" so they produce from the time the weather warms up in the spring until we get a hard freeze in the fall. They will sometimes quit producing flowers if we have a really hot period, but will start again as soon as it cools. I like this one because the berries are sweet and have a genuine Strawberry flavor. These make an especially fun "kid" project to learn about growing something to eat.
Now is the time to start to plan space for some of these great additions to your yard, patio or garden. Grow what you eat!!!
Berry plants are pretty easy to grow and provide you with fresh, tasty berries that are so... expensive in the store. What a treat to be able to just go outside and pick what you want eat. In the case of blueberries you'll probably even have enough to freeze some as well.
Blueberries are super because they offer the extra bonus of being a beautiful landscape plant. Blueberry foliage turns a bright red in the fall that rivals any ornamental. When mature(10 years old plus) blueberries can also produce 15-20 lbs of fruit. Imagine what that would cost in the store (or even at the Farmer's Market)!!
Raspberries require a little more pruning and care than blueberries in theory, but I just set some plants in pots out a few years ago that I had dug up and was going to transplant then forgot about them. The next thing I knew the plants had transplanted themselves in of all places a mostly shady spot. I thought well that's not going to work, but last year I had some of the biggest Willamette raspberries I have ever seen. Imagine what I would have if they were in a good sunny spot like they are supposed to be.
We are going to have two varieties of blueberries this year. You always want to plant at least two different kinds so you get good cross pollination to get the heaviest crop. We will have my two personal favorites Duke and Darrow.
Duke is a late blooming, but early crop med to large sized berry. That is a big advantage if you tend to get late frosts. This variety has proved to to be very productive in my yard.
Darrow is a late VERY large berry. It is a lot of fun because of those large berries that really amaze people. It produces fewer berries because of that large size, but people who like to eat fresh berries or freeze them for their cereal in the winter really like these.
We will also have Willamette raspberry plants this year. This is a variety developed for this area and is an industry standard. It rarely gets crumble berry and is large, firm and sweet.
We will also have Tribute strawberries again. We like these because they can be container grown as well as in small space gardens. They are "ever bearing" or "day neutral" so they produce from the time the weather warms up in the spring until we get a hard freeze in the fall. They will sometimes quit producing flowers if we have a really hot period, but will start again as soon as it cools. I like this one because the berries are sweet and have a genuine Strawberry flavor. These make an especially fun "kid" project to learn about growing something to eat.
Now is the time to start to plan space for some of these great additions to your yard, patio or garden. Grow what you eat!!!
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