Berries

[littleminnie]

I have AC Wendy, Jewel and Evie 2. Wendy is the biggest and most flavorful. Only slightly ahead of the other two but I did have them row covered so mine are early. Evie 2 is the everbearing and I don't think it tastes as good. I will be transplanting the runners in fall of the June bearers. What should I do to the parent plants?

[mayz]

Full season for small berries in western europe

Black currant Noir de Bourgogne
Red currant Delbard Giganta
Jostaberries
Raspberries Fallgold and unknow red cv

ready to be pressed to do an ice-cream

Attachments:

[richardw]

Yummy

[littleminnie]

I feel like such a dunce when it comes to strawberries. I have a very dense 40 feet by 3 feet of June bearing strawberries. I would like to cut some runners off and replant in a new bed and then do whatever is necessary to the remaining plants. What do I do? Is it still ok this month? I hope so. Do you think I can cut off enough babies to make another 50 foot bed? Any recommendations for planting them?

Also anything to be done with the everbearing ones planted last year? They are making a few berries right now.

[Joseph Lofthouse]

My strategy is to run the tiller down the center of the strawberry bed. (One or two passes wide.) That thins out the older plants and leaves two rows of strawberries. Now is the best time of year to transplant strawberries. In my climate I have to keep them watered for a few weeks after transplanting.

[littleminnie]

Ok. So I remove runners and then till an empty space?

[Joseph Lofthouse]

I till through the bed... Any strawberry plant in the center of the bed gets killed. Then I have 2 beds spaced about 30 inches apart. Strawberries are typically very prolific. This year's runners could be transplanted to a new bed, (or to 10 new beds). I'm primarily doing this to keep the bed from getting overcrowded, and to remove plants that are several years old. I could thin, but it's easier to till and only leave a thin line of plants were I want next year's bed.

[hortusbrambonii]

I recently realised that I do have a family heirloom growing in the garden of my parents: the white currants, which are seedslings from the white currants my great-grandmother used to have when I was a little kid... I've never seen many white currants in stores or supermarket, they mostly sell red ones (or cassis). Maybe they are not that regular as I think? (having eaten them maybe every year in my life...)

[richardw]

Interesting way to manage your strawberries Joseph

I had a row of white currants a few years ago but i kept get die back there for i was for ever trying to get the bushes to grow to a good size,got pissed off with them in the end and ripped bastards out.

[steev]

Wow! That's a lotta work, but lucky you.

[richardw]

Good work. Whats the size difference between those wild and the modern types

[steev]

I admit to a "foraged is deeply satisfying" bias, having been infected by Grandad, as a child; I tend to find wild stronger-flavored, but that may be due to its not being over-inflated with water.

My favorite berries are wild blackberries, which are also a trial to pick, small, and sparsely fruited, compared to domesticated, but their flavor is ravishingly sublime. I'd prolly not fight a bear for them, but it might depend on how good the patch looked and whether my morning coffee had kicked in.

I'd certainly not want to offend a sow-bear with cubs; in the Sierra Gold-Country Park town of Columbia, there is a restaurant that occasionally offers bear stew; I've yet to be there when it's on the menu; I hope to have the opportunity to sample that, maybe with blueberry pie for dessert; I think they get their bear from animals that must be put down by the Fish and Game Department, having gotten too unwary of humans; they start ripping open cars to get at picnic baskets.

[richardw]

I know of a few domesticated raspberry patches gone wild, but these are just whats left after old farm houses have long gone. One such find i had a cutting taken from, a lovely pink fruit that has such a different taste to that of the 'newer' types, problem is, where do you plant them without it taking over your whole property. It can just say its large pot till i can nut that one out one day.

[mjc]

I'm up to about 8 pounds of black raspberries, this year.

I've got one batch of jam made, what looks like enough for 2 more (which should be just enough), one batch of raspberry liqueur started and several pounds in the freezer. And that's probably 1/3 to 1/2 of what's possible this year (yeah, 15 to 25 lbs is a real possibility).

[steev]

Damn! Lucky you!