Hi Everyone! I'm new to gardening and currently working on planting as much food in my yard as possible. Well my mom's yard :) Finally convinced her to add some fruit trees/plants to the yard and ordered a Starkrimson Sweet Cherry tree, Whitegold Sweet Cherry Tree, Apache Blackberry, Sharpblue Blueberry, and Ozark Beauty Strawberry Everbearer from the Stark Brothers today. Should be getting the plants within a 10 days. Any advice on planting and maintaining would be greatly appreciated. I plan on putting the strawberries under the tree as the trees will be raised off the ground in round raised beds. The thornless blackberries will be in a big pot. anyone who has planted any type of cherry, blueberry or blackberry, please let me know your stories. Love to hear from everyone.
Love and Happiness
Romi
sounds like you got your hands full. I too plant Everbearing strawberries. I like having them all through the summer.
Blackberries fruit on last years wood or growth. So when you plant them in their new home it's best to cut any old wood out so that the plant can establish itself without trying to make fruit in its first year. If you put in canes in a fan shape to tie the shoots to it will make picking the fruit easier. Now next year after you have picked your blackberries cut those canes down to the ground and tie in the new growth. If you do this then you will have good sized fruits if you allow the old fruited wood to stay on the bush will be bigger but the fruits will get progressively smaller.
Over here we have so many wild blackberries we don't grow them in the garden.
As for cherries you have what is called a good 'Doer' The tree in spring flowers before it leafs, then you get the leaves then you get the cherries, whatever the colour. But just as you like cherries so do the birds so a net cage is advisable. Also the same rule applies to all stone fruit, if you wish to prune only prune in summer, not in winter like most other fruit trees. Give your trees a good start and they will thank you with bumper crops for years to come.
Good luck and don't forget to spit the stones out.
Sussexman.
Time started in God's Garden
