Cane-do: Blackberry Season Tips

Primocanes need to be trellised.

The first of the blackberries are ready and they are large and luscious this year!  The hard winter killed off about 1/4 of the floricanes, but those plants are sprouting vigorous primocanes for next season!

They won't produce this year, but
next year has possibilities!

While picking the first pint-or-so of berries, I realized it was time to tie up the primocanes.  Most of our canes are thorn-less, semi-erect Triple Crown, but tying-up will simplify mowing this year and harvest next year, while preventing layering.

Tie jute to the trellis wire first.

In previous years I used the soft plastic tape for tying up, but, this year, I am using jute.  It's inexpensive, unobtrusive, and compostable.  I start by tying a 12-inch jute string to the lower trellis wire with a tight square knot:  this allows me to use both hands to control the knot and the primocane.

Gently pulling the primocane erect, I tie the jute into a loose loop (about 1" bigger than the cane), and repeat if the cane is taller than the top trellis wire.

If your primocane is taller than your top trellis wire, "top" it about 6" above the top wire.  This will help it develop laterals and, it seemed this year, bear more heavily.

Your berries can be fertilized during bearing season, but I will be waiting to fertilize (balanced with a little added nitrogen) after I've trimmed out the spent floricanes.  If your fruiting season is dry (like last year, but this year is quite wet), then don't forget to water for juicier fruit.

Any blackberry cane trimmings, especially diseased ones, should be burned to prevent the spread of diseases to the new canes.  If your land is suitable (wild blackberries are a pioneer species in my area), blackberries can be a suitable cash crop.  The yield is seasonal (mid-June here in Zone 8) and time investment is seasonal, but not constant as with annual vegetables:

• Spring, after the hard freezes are over:  Tie-up, prune (consult an extension service bulletin), fertilize (balanced), mulch with pine needles for moisture retention.

• Summer:  Water, pick, tie-up & top new primocanes, trim out spent floricanes & burn them, fertilize with a balanced fertilizer, fill-in mulch as needed.

• Fall:  Tie-up, leave some length on the canes if you're expecting a hard winter, mulch deeply with pine needles.

Do you think they'll root?

The frugal among you will be wondering what I did with the green trimmings when I topped the primocanes:  I'm trying to root them.  I've tried rooting hormone and "sticking" them with NO success, so, this time, I've stuck the trimmings in water and will see what happens.

It's a busy time here in my Savory garden!  What's happening in yours?

Nancy

Lessons from My Organic Garden 2013 Edition

Muscadines

Well, I'm not putting a current picture of the garden in this post because, well, the crop I grew best this summer was grass.  Yup.  Grass.  All in the garden.  I was ill for about 2 weeks early in the summer and it just took over.  Yes, I've tried some to keep ahead of it, but it's stronger than I am.  In the next week or two, I'll be fishing the soaker hoses out of the grass and tilling it all under.  All is not failure, however, although the vegetables just could not compete with the grass for nourishment.  So, lessons learned from this year, so far:

Cucumber!

Weeding

• I hate weeding.  I don't weed.  I don't care how cool it is; I do not weed.  This is a major problem for an organic gardener.
• If I will not weed, I must either mulch or plant in rows.
• No-till isn't working for me; the aforementioned grass takes over the mulch crop.
• Intercropping is not working either.  The grass takes over before the "inter" crop establishes itself.

Sprouting bulblet of a "walking" onion.

Gardening method

• "Strip" gardening (tilled strips 3' x 25') has too much opportunity for grass incursion.  It's just not working.
• Raised beds have worked well for the ginger and turmeric.  Consider planting more, but do make them 3' wide rather than 4'.
• "Market garden" crops should be grown either in rows, cultivated with a tiller, or under plastic mulch/gardener's cloth covering soaker hoses.

Ginger and turmeric

Crop Selection

• Even heat-tolerant varieties of broccoli and cabbage can't tolerate the unrelenting direct sun of my garden.  Plant them earlier or later.
• San Marzano, Rutgers, and Oxheart tomatoes have done well.  Plant them again.  Currant tomatoes should be planted in single rows with harvest space all around.
• Although White Wonder, Sumter, and Edmonson cucumber varieties have produced well, I need to find a smaller variety for pickling.
• Go with the same pepper selection next year, but be sure to mulch with plastic as well as feed more heavily:  jalapeno, Tennessee cheese, serrano, King Arthur, among others.
• Annual "garden" crops are too labor-intensive; increase blackberries and find additional perennial crops.

A luscious fig!

The Future

• Blackberries!  They like my dirt and their cultivation schedule works with mine.
• Turmeric?  What's above ground looks good, but we'll see how the rest turns out.  It is planted in a raised bed with . . .
• Ginger?  It's really scruffy looking, but new leaves mean new "fingers" on the hand-shaped ginger root.
• Figs:  The fig trees are producing more this year, and enjoying the heat.
• Catawissa/Egyptian/Walking Onions:  They grow well in a pot, and every part of the plant is edible.  The bulb is like a small shallot and tastes like a spicy scallion.
• Other specialty crops:  Do you have any suggestions for specialty crops?

So, I'm shutting the garden down early this year.  I've already started the container garden on the porch and am considering a low tunnel outside.  There is so much to learn, but . . .

The greatest lesson about gardening is that there is always next year.

A Thank You!

I'd like to share a little "next year" with you.  I'll send 10 "walking onion" bulblets to five of you who take the time to offer suggestions for next year's specialty crops in the next two weeks.

What about you?  What's growing in your Savory garden?

Nancy

June wanes, July waxes in my organic garden

The fence is completely screened by the hibiscus and day lilies.

The heat and humidity have really settled on the farm like a hot, wet blanket which means the day lilies and the hibiscus (and the weeds) are thriving.  A busy week kept me out of the garden last week and this morning brought some surprises.  The pleasant surprises were peppers, tiny tomatoes, and blooms on the squash, cucumbers, and beans.  The unpleasant surprise was the inevitable incursion of nutgrass and purslane.

The turmeric (near) seems to be doing better than the ginger (rear).

The turmeric is adapting well to the heat, but does expect to be watered almost every day.  The early shoots were scalded by the hot sun, but most have rebounded after watering.  Given the long growing season both ginger and turmeric require, I'm already planning a low tunnel to stave off the cold nights which will come in November.

The squash seems to be thriving, despite the grass.

No squash bugs, so far, but I saw the first marmorated stink bug on the driveway this week.  My cousin has suggested daily dousing with a tea made of garlic and geranium oil.  What do you think?

A tiny cabbage!

The Resident Dragon is most excited about the development of the tiny cabbage.  It's been so hot, I fear that the heads will never form, and am already planning to plant more in the fall.

The beginning of a broccoli floret!

My daughter is excited to know that the broccoli is developing.  The broccoli in my father-in-law's garden seems to be bolting (from the heat, I suspect).  I'm hoping to avoid the same fate.

The currant tomatoes are loaded with blooms!

Once again, the currant tomatoes are thriving while the others are lagging behind.  Some are blooming, but there are only two ping-pong-ball-sized tomatoes maturing.  This means it's time to add bone meal to help with fruit set and to ward off blossom-end-rot.

The cucumbers and beans are blooming well.

Three varieties of cucumbers means I will be pickling and sharing this year.  My daughter likes to snack on cucumbers so I'll be sending some home with her.

These heirloom beans thrive in the heat!

We're growing green/filet beans as well as dragon's tongue and kidney beans this year.  I hope to dry the dragon's tongue and kidney beans, but will probably freeze the others.  The little pods are about an inch long!

The blackberry primocanes are growing tall.

The blackberries are finally in full season and that means the RD is still enjoying his "drive-by" snacks as he rides past on the lawn mower.  Oddly enough, the blackberry bramble is the best-mowed area of the yard!  We've harvested enough to freeze about 3 quarts, with more still on the canes.

It's time to tie up and tip the blackberry primocanes
so they will produce lateral canes and more fruit next year.

The primocanes are flourishing and I "tipped" them 4" above the top trellis wire this week and tied the remaining cane to the trellis.  I'm trying to root the cuttings to expand the bramble next year.

It's July, which means it's about time to start seeds for the fall garden.  Do you have any suggestions?  I'd like to try some onions again, but I've just not had much luck with them.  What do you think?

What about you?  What's growing in your Savory garden?

Nancy

Organic Gardening: Too Tired To-Do

One blackberry variety (Navaho?  Apache?)
is fruiting while the
Triple Crown is just now blooming.

I'm burning daylight again.  After a ridiculously busy week at work and in the garden, I'm sitting inside on the most beautiful morning we've enjoyed since the heat set in.  There's only one reason I'm doing it:  I'm tired.

I've spent the past two weeks making trellises, repairing trellises (after a night of squall lines and heavy rain), planting seeds, and mowing.  Those are the things I actually did.  The undone items on the garden "to-do" list are:

• weed garden, 
• till unplanted garden bed,
• plant remainder of vegetable seeds,
• deadhead roses,
• weed roses, 
• harvest rose petals, 
• work on rose petal dehydrator, 
• put together bird house, 
• set bird house, 
• plant clematis, 
• fertilize everything, and 
• WEED!

I raced the storm to make repairs on the trellises!

Yes, the grass is already encroaching and the weeds are making serious inroads.  I have a new

The Wolf-brand "Crumbler":
It's a combination garden "weasel" and stirrup hoe!

tool which is great for open spaces, but too big for weeding between intensive plantings.

The Resident Dragon is tired, too, and he suggests a movie.  I have errands to run in town so we combine trips.  Car loaded with the results of our expedition, we settle in to watch the latest installment in the Star Trek franchise while sharing buttered popcorn.  It is a nice break from the demands of the garden.

Soon enough, the movie is over, and we're back on the farm with six hours of daylight to accomplish the day's task list.

The biggest goals for the day are weeding, planting, and watering, and, thanks to the new stirrup-hoe, we accomplish all three!  (Well, we do have some fill-in planting to do, but we're done with the big stuff!)

I'm relieved.  I'm really counting on the garden this year, and this is the earliest I've ever completed planting.  I'm hoping that I can devote more energy to staying ahead of the weeds and the insects.  Of course, that's my plan every summer.

Perhaps a baby Green Zebra Tomato!

It's long after dark now, and I'm dozing off to a cool breeze.  I am still tired, but it's not from mental fatigue; I've rediscovered muscles I'd forgotten about.  I accomplished something today; something worthwhile.  I'm actually a little proud of myself;  there's something invigorating about that.  In fact, I think I'll make that a daily rule:

Today, do something you can be proud of.

I did that today and tonight I will not just sleep, I will rest.  It's about time.

So, how are things growing in your Savory garden?

Nancy

Gardening in the South: Is Spring Springing in My Organic Garden?

Could it be spring????

 It's still February and buds are swelling on the ornamental pear.  Tree branches are turning rosy, and the fruit trees are showing just the beginning of buds.  It was balmy and breezy last Saturday, and I took the opportunity to walk around the yard before a cold front thundered through.  My daughter says we have had all four seasons this week:  last Saturday was summer, Monday was spring, Tuesday was fall with thunderstorms and wind, and Friday was winter with highs in the 30s despite the sparkling sunshine.  Today is predicted to be both winter and early spring:  we awoke to a thin coating of ice, but the sun should warm us up to the 50s later.  For now, I'm snuggled inside.

First blooms

The forsythia is just beginning to bloom and the blackberries are leafing out.  Just a few more dry days and I might just be able to turn under the garden strips before the spring rains.

The "scout" blossom

The roses are also beginning to leaf out so it's time to trim them back. They were not trimmed at all last year so the pruning will be severe, especially for Mrs. B. R. Cant and Duchesse de Brabant.  I should have plenty of cuttings.

Does anyone have a good rose cutting propagation method for a beginner?

I tried rooting cuttings last year, but with little success.  I've read about several techniques, but what do you think?

Time to prune blackberries?

Baby blackberries leaves!

If I'm reading correctly, the blackberry side shoots should be trimmed to 18"-24".  This is really scary since some of them are several feet long.  We had such a good crop last year and I am greedy:  I want an even better crop this year.

Time to turn up the heat

Well, as I suspected, the fluorescent lights do not produce enough heat to warm my seed starting greenhouse.  Since it's in an attached garage (someday I'll have a real greenhouse!) I need to be especially cautious about it.  I've seen several methods, many of which have involved incandescent Christmas lights and rope lighting.

Have you tried them?  Do they work?  How have you used them?  Have you seen mine????  I should have some around here somewhere . . .

Any other suggestions?????????

I really, really, really do not want to ante up for real seedling mats.

Now you see it . . .

As I looked out the back door across the ice-glazed porch, I would swear I caught a glimpse of a lone hummingbird!  The light was poor, but it was the right size, and it darted off like a hummingbird.  Considering that, on my farm, a groundhog would definitely NOT see his shadow this morning--which means a mild spring--I wonder if the little bird knows something I don't????

What's happening in your Savory garden????

Nancy