What did you do in the berry patch today?

[CrealCritter]

For those of us who would like or have a berry patch. Big or small does matter even it's massive or just a single pot.

This is the start of our Ozark Beauty strawberry patch. I started dormant plants in a dollar general kiddie pool screwed down to a pallet, late this winter/early spring. The soil in kiddie pool is half barn floor scaping, peat moss and a healthy dose of barn lime mixed in. I also popped several 3/8" holes around the bottom edge of the kiddie pool for drainage

Deer sample them every once in a while but they leaf right back. haven't had any issues with bugs. We've been nipping the flowers off as they show up so they can focus more on growth and runners (more plants) instead of strawberries. It takes about four 5 gallon buckets to water the kiddie pool. We've just been watering when needed, which hasn't been often because rains help 👍. The plan is to set them out this fall into a 4 x 100 foot row.

Jesus is Lord and Christ 🙏❤️🇺🇸

 

[Britesea]

My alpine strawberries are doing pretty good. We are starting to get a few berries now. I lost some plants because we had a major heat wave right after I planted them (note to self: get some Wilt Stop in the future!) The raspberries are going like gangbusters finally. It's been about 4 years of them just sort of piddling along and then all of a sudden they realized they were supposed to be setting berries!

 

[Trying2keepitReal]

I think we bought our Ozark Beauty strawberry plants at the right time.

$19.99 each
https://www.starkbros.com/products/berry-plants/strawberry-plants/ozark-beauty-strawberry

Will cause a person to love their strawberry plants, even more won't it? 😅


Jesus is Lord and Christ 🙏❤️🇺🇸

This is crazy!!

Picked a couple berries today. Strawberries coming in again and raspberries have flowers

 

[CrealCritter]

Planted 200 foot of Ozark beauty strawberries today. At least 200 plants, on 1 foot spacing. I guess it would be a double row. If it had white roots I planted it 😁.

I still have a bunch left over, like enough for another 200 foot at least. I plan on adding dirt to the outside edges of the kiddie pool, where I pulled up plants and let them do their strawberry thing in the kiddie pool next spring. As for the 100 foot double row? well who doesn't like strawberries 😋

Right side is 100 foot double row of strawberries. Wife says rain tomorrow then a week of 50's during the day. So I'll cover them with hay next week. Hopefully they will come back next spring.

Here's what's leftover. We pinched flowers off all growing season to force them to run. We might have overdone the running a little bit 😂

At least the strawberry patch is planted and I won't have to plant them come spring.

Jesus is Lord and Christ 🙏❤️🇺🇸

 

[Trying2keepitReal]

Finally got a picture of the growth in the berries

 

[CrealCritter]

Time to start pickin' the elderberries. They did good this year, heads as big as 5 gallon bucket top 👍

Also I don't know if you noticed or not but bare root and potted berry plants are expensive if they are even in stock at all..

I told my wife, we can't afford to do what we have planned for the berry patch with potted or bare roots at these prices. But we can afford a growing season, seeds and kiddie pools 👍

So... Looks like this coming spring I'll have multiple perennial kiddie pools going for transplants in the fall. I ordered seeds last night. 200 plus gigantic thornless blackberry seeds. 50 plus Victoria Rhubarb seeds. 200 Highbush Blueberry seeds.

Jesue is Lord and Christ 🙏❤️🇺🇸

 

[Britesea]

right now, we're just eating them fresh; berries being one of the few fruits I'm "allowed" on keto. Eventually I may have to make some kind of sugar-free preserves or desserts.

 

[CrealCritter]

question....has anyone ever planted strawberries and raspberries in the fall? I was doing some reading and it seems to be an ok thing to do. I have only every planted in the spring but if I could get some new plants in this fall that would be awesome. Didn't know if my cold winters would make a difference in if this is feasible or not.

I'll be setting out our strawberries and asparagus this fall. I know most everyone does spring planting. Both are perennials, so I don't see why I couldn't do a fall planting?

Next year will be elderberries, and blueberries started in kiddie pools.

I would like to start rhubarb from seed, but don't need many plants to justify a kiddie pool. Still researching rhubarb varieties, there are several. Rhubarb and strawberries go together like hand and glove.

Jesus is Lord and Christ 🙏❤️🇺🇸

 

[CrealCritter]

Future strawberry patch, 100 x 4. It was plowed this spring, so the top soil is at the bottom rotting. Then it was deep tilled with old school PTO tiller. I tilled it once with my little pony tiller and it got away from me. I paid for it today, weeds ugg... Hard tilling, least it's clean again. I'll try and till it every couple of weeks so it won't get away from me again. Strawberries should do well in it after I add lime.

Jesus is Lord and Christ 🙏❤️🇺🇸

 

[CrealCritter]

Starting elderberries from seed

https://www.elderberryedgefarm.com/pages/growing-the-elderberry-from-seed

Jesus is Lord and Christ 🙏❤️🇺🇸