Gardener to Farmer

Blackberry Brambles and the GWA

I am so excited to announce that I will be offering a full day social media training at this year's Garden Writer's Association Symposium! Really, it is a thrill to have been asked...and thanks again to my mentor, Debra Prinzing. She really championed my cause and has amazing insight about the benefits of social media and garden writing. If you are going to this year's conference, please leave me a comment here and join the #GWA Twitter Group so we can all be in contact.

The GWA Symposium is a fantastic event. There are tons of amazing sessions on all kinds of garden related topics, fun dinners and tours of the most gorgeous gardens the region has to offer. It is a great time to meet up with friends, make connections and preview new books and garden related products. This year's symposium is in Raleigh, NC, September 23-27. My all day training is Sunday the 27th...so I hope to see you there! You don't have to be a member of the GWA to attend, but I highly recommend joining. It is really affordable and your access to garden writing resources is unparalleled.

Now, on to the blackberries...this weekend, I attacked a huge clump of Himalayan blackberries that were overtaking a part of my front yard. To say that this plant is invasive is like saying a tornado is a gust of wind. I have written about my battles with this blackberry evildoer, lamenting its existence.

Because I am an organic gardener, my best bet is to keep cutting it back and digging it up, eventually starving it to death. If I weren't organic, I would likely use some type of chemical shrub killer. And believe me, after about the 80'th cut on my already bleeding arms, I was sorely tempted to do just that. I guess somewhere in the back of my mind, I am still reserving that option if all else fails.

Their location was hidden from view, so I didn't realize just how big they had become until I stood face to face with the giant tower that was the bramble. It was a terrible battle, and though I made headway, I certainly can't say that I have won...yet...

About midway through, I was so disgusted with the whole thing that I decided to take a quick video to document my suffering. Here's how it went down...

Growing Raspberries: Five Tips for a Better Harvest

Growing raspberries in Portland’s maritime climate may seem like the sort of gardening that shouldn’t require much explanation. In a city where we spend a significant portion of our time fighting off the “Invasion of the Himalayan Blackberry”, it would seem logical that we should only need to plant them once and await our harvest.

It is true that simply planting any cane berry in the Pacific Northwest will result in a harvest (and  a full-fledged gargantu-bramble). But following these five steps will ensure that they remain productive, easy to harvest and without disease.

 

• Plant in a well-drained location: Raspberries don’t like to sit underwater all winter and spring, so make sure they have soil that drains well.
• Consistent watering is important: Most Portland gardens won’t need much supplemental water until July. Once the rains stop, make sure the canes get 1 to 1.5 inches of water a week. Mulch in summer to help with even moisture and reduce weeds.
• Feed twice a year: Feed raspberries twice a season, once in early spring and once about 60 days later. I like to use a multipurpose organic fertilizer for acid loving plants, and then back that up with a shot of mycorrhizal fungi.
• Use a trellising system: Growing raspberries in rows with a trellis helps reduce disease and pest problems, not to mention that it makes the harvest so much easier.
• Prune, prune, prune: This is the step where most of us loose our nerve. In order for raspberries to be at their best, canes need to be pruned in three ways. Start in early spring, by thinning crowns to the four or five canes that have the largest diameter (this can also be done at the end of summer). Then, remove all small plants that have popped up outside of the row and continue to do so throughout the summer. Finally, after harvest, prune to remove all canes that bore fruit, as they will no longer be productive.  

These two pictures were taken a month apart, the first towards the beginning of April. You can see how it looks as if there are very few berries. But take a look to the left...they take over the trellis in a matter of days.

 

I am most definitely the type of gardener that avoids extra work, if at all possible. In this case, these five steps help reduce the likelihood of disease and make the harvest short work. Follow these easy steps and you will be snacking on bushels of berries in no time!

And don't forget to tune in to the Good Enough Gardening Podcast...show topic this week: "All Alliums All the Time".

Sunshine and Raspberries and Eckhart Tolle

Today, I spent quality time in the garden. It was about 75, crisp and sunny...the raspberries and strawberries are just starting to ripen. I rolled along on my little garden cart, leaning over to weed the berries...and noticing a really ripe one here and there.

I had a child-like urge to reach out and grab one and deposit it directly into my mouth. I could only see one that was ripe, so I leaned over, slipped it off of the vine and tasted the beginning of summer. It was a small berry, but I truly tasted it.

I turned to start weeding the raspberries, sun on my back, listening to Oprah interview Eckhart Tolle and noticed that a few berries were really ripe...Again, I took off my glove, reached my dirty hand (yes, but it is God's dirt, as my friend Susan would always say when her son would pick up a grape he had dropped on the ground outside, somehow making it ok) out to the berries and pulled slightly.

I think raspberries are the most delicate of the berries. Truth be told, I can't imagine how they are picked and packaged. Many of mine were on the verge of falling apart in my hand. It was clear these were not berries intended for sale...they were intended to be eaten by our family. And so, I put my grubby little hand to mouth and tasted liquid sunshine.

I have always hated raspberry flavored things...ick, there are just some tastes that don't do as well when created artificially...actually, most things don't taste as well when created artificially. So, when I finally tasted a fresh ripe raspberry, it was as if I had never had it before...magnificent!

But this was even better...this was absolutely the freshest raspberry I had ever eaten...grown in my yard, with my organic methods, on my land...picked by my hand. I was with this little guy before he was even a berry. And yes, I could actually taste the time spent pruning the canes in November. I could taste the organic fertilizer that built huge, strong canes, some shooting to the sky, some lazily flopping over. I could taste the time spent weeding and the hours spent researching cane berries in Rodale's Organic Encyclopedia. In short, I could taste the love and care.

And as I listend Oprah interviewing Eckhart Tolle, I had a glimpse of what they meant by releasing the ego...getting "me" out of the way, shutting down the thinking and processing and simply embracing the moment. There was nothing more important to do, no place to be, nothing happening that I needed to be a part of, except this.

And I realized that this moment, this experience, is exactly why Gardener to Farmer is so important to me. Whether I am teaching someone to grown their own food or selling produce from our network of growers to local restaurants, I am helping to bring this experience to someone's life. And by documenting the stories of the veggies and fruit I harvest, then sharing that with the cafes and their customers, I am helping them connect to the real meaning of food...

And right in that moment, I couldn't fathom anything more important.

Gardener Discovers New Organic Pest Management Method?

Remember waaaaay back in March when I brought the strawberries into the greenhouse, hoping to have an early treat? As the plants started warming up and growing, some hateful insects started eating the leaves...

I didn't know what it was or what to do about it...You all gave me suggestions, and several of you identified the problem as weevils. In fact, strawberries have their own special weevil...called, wait for it, the Strawberry Root Weevil, dun, dun, dun....Aack, what a gross pest...anything with larvae really freaks me out.

Anyway, I grabbed up the plants and put them out into the yard...away from my seedlings. They sat outside for the next two months or so... During that time, we had a couple of freezes (which is ridiculous...Mother Nature is seriously acting up)...didn't kill the plants, but they stopped growing. As we moved into the spring, I noticed the new growth on the plants had no notches in it...
I kept an eye on it, waiting to see the evidence of my strawberries turning into a buggy snack... but nothing happened. This week, I upended the container and dug through the soil and roots...no sign of any buggies...maybe one lonely slug...but that was it. So, I decided to divide them up and plant them anyway...

Did the freezing weather kill the adults before they could lay eggs? Did I just happen to catch the pest in the time during its lifecycle when it is inactive? Did I just infect my strawberry bed with larvae?? If a train leaves New York at 5 am, going 60 miles per hours, how many Strawberry Root Weevils will it kill?

For the answer to these questions and more...stay tuned! We won't know for sure until fall/spring of next year. In the meantime, I will probably go ahead and dowse the whole bed with beneficial nemetodes, just in case I have not actually created a new method of organic pest management...

Attack of the Killer Blackberry

If you live in the Northwest, you know about brambles...We have a love hate relationship with brambles...the fruits are so tasty, but they can be very invasive! I happen to love Blackberries but the shrub that you see pictured is not a welcome guest.

As you can see, it has taken over a portion of the hedge behind it...so removal will be particularly difficult. Sadly, it is also in other parts of the yard, including my grape vines and very dangerously near my raspberries.

Being relatively new to the Pacific Northwest, I am still discovering what the regional challenges are of gardening here. I did some research and I think the thug pictured above is the Himalayan Blackberry . (Audience: Collective Gasp) I know, isn't that scary?

Actually, it is very scary...have you ever seen The Blob? The Blob was originally released in 1958, but I liked the 1988 version better, mostly because the blob was this cool fuschia color. I mean, what's not to like about fuschia? But I digress...

Himalayan Blackberry is much like The Blob, in that it doesn't seem like it should be particularly scary...I mean, it's a Blackberry for Pete's sake. True, it is a slow mover, but once it gets established, it is almost impossible to eradicate. When in fruit, it has yummy, charming little blackberries. But beware, the thorns are vicious and likely to tear a hole in delicate flesh. And, it is everywhere, literally...just when you think you are safe...It pops up again.

In the 1958 version, The Blob was controlled by freezing (can't remember what happened in the 1988 version)...and that would probably be a good control for our hateful blackberry. I suspect that if Oregon had hard freezes, this thing would either be gone or be much more limited.

Although I am loathe to do it (mostly because of the pain), I must start cutting it back so it doesn't take over. If I don't, very likely it will consume my gardens, and eventually the whole yard! (Audience: Screams, Runs from Computer)

Grapes and berries and plums, oh my!

This is the part of the "Back 40" that holds the 4 grape vines, red and gold raspberries, 4 blueberries and 2 plums. The grapes are in the front and there are 4 very old vines. I think two red and two white. Since Oregon is wine country (Doesn't that sound kinda funny? I always think of California as wine country, but we have quite a few wineries.), I suspect they are wine grapes, but I will have to wait for the fall to find out.

The long row behind is the area where the red and "Fall Gold" raspberries are. When we moved in, the raspberries were in a rather poor state. I am working on rejuvenating them...which consists of the removal of old canes and suckers that are too far out into the path and the yanking of lots of dead canes. I ordered 10 Fall Gold plants from Peaceful Valley, one of my favorite mail order places. They have two blogs In the Loop and the Freshman Farmer, which I like to peruse. No, I don't work for Peaceful Valley, I just dig them...so go check it out.

Anyway, the raspberries are all shaped up, joined by the new variety. The area has been fertilized with a good all purpose organic fertilizer and I added a nice dose of micorrhizae to give the plants an extra boost. Isn't that a fun word?? We will see if the berries are extra great because of all of the TLC!