I took them down between inches in the fall and planned to trim them shorter at the end of February. Answer: Raspberries are a delicious fruit, but a lot of gardeners miss out on that fresh picked taste because they do not want to bother with the maintenance that raspberries require. There are two types of raspberries: regular or summer cane and primal cane.
One of the most popular varieties is Boyne. Most popular variety is Red River. Regular cane raspberries can be pruned in early fall because by then the canes which produced the fruit will be drying up and feel brittle.
These canes should be removed at ground level. You can wait until spring to do this, but you will have to be more careful because even though the cane is dead the root is not and may be shooting up new growth that will grow and develop into a cane that will produce fruit the following year. The canes that will produce fruit for the present year will be the ones that were growing the previous summer. They will be flexible and will be showing leaf buds in early spring. Waiting until spring will allow you to see which canes are leafing out.
If there is any winter kill on the tips of these canes, they can be pruned back to the first strong new leaf. Leaves will appear as soon as the weather warms in the spring and blossoms should appear in June.
If you have bees or other pollinators in the garden, you should be enjoying ripe berries in July. Primal cane raspberries are treated differently and can be cut right down to ground level as long as the new growth has not already started, then you need to prune a little higher.
You could leave a few of the strong, healthy canes and they may produce fruit earlier, but allow the new growth to develop strong canes so that you get the crop later in the summer. You could prune down your primal cane raspberries in late fall, but it is good to leave them standing to catch the snow for winter protection.
Appling a slow release balanced fertilizer in spring helps to develop strong canes as well as encourages fruit production. You can apply an organic mulch around your canes, to help conserve moisture, but if there are any problems with diseased leaves or insect pests, you will want to clean up the fallen leaves in the fall.
Question: Most of our 3 year old raspberry canes died over the winter. Answer: If the canes did not have a good snow cover, they could have been damaged by the very cold temperatures that occurred on the Prairies this winter. It has been very dry this spring so if you cut the canes down to ground level and give them a thorough watering, you may get new growth.
Also check to see if there was any damage from rabbits or voles that may have chewed on the canes or roots. The other possibility is that these are primal cane raspberries that bear fruit on the current years growth and they would have died off, but new growth should appear if the roots are still alive. Question: I have had vegetable gardens for many years, but never collected seeds from my plants.
I have a large cucumber which has already gone yellow. How do I collect seeds for next year? Also, the same question about yellow or green beans? How would I store the seeds? Answer: What you need to know is if the bean and cucumber seeds are hybrid seeds. Hybrid seeds do not grow true to the parent plants and are not recommended to be saved.
Hybrids are plants that have been developed using the best features of different species of the same plant. If their seed is saved they could grow having the characteristics of any one of those selected bred plants and not exactly as the plant you saved the seed from.
Beans: Bean seeds are very easy to save. Let the pods grow quite large until you see that there are seeds and the pods may even look dry. Remove the pods from the plants and bring them into the house. Lay them out in a single layer to let them dry out and then shell out the seeds. Be sure the seeds are completely dry before putting into a paper envelope, then into an airtight container ie. Cucumbers: Saving cucumber seeds is not as easy as for beans. Cucumbers are pollinated by insects, humans and wind and this presents a problem in that the cucumber could possibly have been pollinated by another species of cucumber that could be growing some distance away.
Again taking on the characteristics of either plant and not necessarily the one that is growing in your garden. Nonetheless if you still want to experiment and save the seeds you would leave the cucumber on the vine to maturity turning yellow or orange.
Remove the cucumber from the vine and cut it open scraping out the seeds. The seed-saving method used for cucumbers is the same as for tomatoes—the wet method of removal. On removing the seeds put them into a container and add some warm water letting them ferment for 3 days in order to remove the gel coating which surrounds the seeds.
Stir this mixture daily. The good seeds separate from the pulp and sink to the bottom while the bad seeds float. Pour off the pulp, water, mold and bad seeds after the 3 day time span.
Take the good seeds and spread them onto paper towels allowing them to dry thoroughly. They can then be saved in the same way as the bean seeds. Question: We have 3 garden boxes in our yard to grow vegetables. This year our beets have come up with a blight and they are not thriving. This is actually the 3rd year we have had this problem, but this year is by far the worst. And the blight has seemed to travel to another of the boxes where it is affecting our swiss chard and spinach!!
In the past we have been plucking out the diseased leaves and spraying with a sulpher solution. This year it is really getting ahead of us and our efforts seem to be not effective. Could you please advise what we can do to rid our garden of this problem? And we would like to reseed but fear it might be too late.
Answer: This year seems to be a very prevalent issue with beets. It is recommended that you continue to pluck off the leaves and throw them into the garbage and not the compost. Also, if the plants are thickly planted thin them out to allow for more air circulation. Do not work with the plants when they are wet as this will only spread the blight more. In the autumn be sure to clean up all the plant material and throw in the garbage. In the spring you could sprinkle some garden sulphur onto the soil.
This product is available at the large nurseries and garden centres. Also, it is recommended that you practice crop rotation by not planting the same vegetables in the same garden box. If you have used old beet seed purchase some new seed next spring and change varieties. Jeannette has thoughts of this blight having possibilities of being in the seed as she used old seed.
Question: I was wondering if you could tell me which grape varieties would grow in Elgin , Mb. Answer: The Manitoba Master Gardener Association had a speaker at one of our meetings who was a Manitoba fruit-grower and breeder. The recommendations for successfully growing grapes in southern Manitoba would be to grow Beta and Valiant grape vines. Valiant is a grape that is hardy to f with no special winter covering required.
It is cross bred with the hardy wild Vitis riparia grape which is found growing wild from the Maritimes to Manitoba and a Concord variety.
Valiant is excellent for juice, jam, jelly and also acceptable for wine and fresh eating. Beta often yields a good crop in its first year. A good local catalogue to browse through is Jefferies in Portage la Prairie. Question: This is a new problem with the grapevine tiny worm just to right of stem?
Previous infestation of a skeletonizing caterpillar likely similar to tree leaf caterpillars. Removed all signs of caterpillars but now have these or something like Japanese beetle perhaps though have not found adult yet? Any ideas? Answer: Your problem seems to be as you mention, a skeletonizing worm.
It has laid its eggs in between the layers of the grape leaves and now they have hatched as the tiny worms shown in your excellent picture. They do not die instantly but after eating the sprayed leaves they will die. Be sure to clean up any fallen leaves and those in the autumn and throw them in the garbage not compost.
Question: We have found tiny white worms in the fruit of our raspberries. What can we do now to ensure that this does not occur next year? Answer: What your raspberries are being affected with is the Spotted Winged Drosophila fly. Sadly this insect is a problem for many soft fruit growers and local gardeners. Here is a link to more information on our website: Click here scroll down until you come to the information. A soil test can determine the soil pH.
If the soil pH tests between 5. If the soil pH tests higher than 6. Since blueberry bushes will live and produce berries for many years, take special care to adequately select and prepare the soil before planting blueberries.
Prepare the site one full year prior to planting. Organic matter improves soil aeration and drainage while retaining moisture and nutrients. Blueberries establish better, grow more vigorously and yield more fruit if organic matter is incorporated into the soil prior to planting.
Acid peat moss is the preferred source of organic matter. Work 10 to 15 cm of acid peat thoroughly into the top 15 to 20 cm of soil. Acid peat will also help lower the soil pH. Other sources of organic matter include, well-rotted manure, straw, compost, or aged sawdust. Apply sulphur the year before planting and thoroughly mix it into the top 20 cm of soil.
The amount of sulphur required to lower the pH differs for each soil. For example, if the pH is 6. Since sulphur takes several months to reduce the pH, wait a few months before re-testing to determine if more sulphur is required. Soils which have a pH above 6. A raised bed could overcome problems such as drainage.
To create a raised bed, replace some of the soil with 8 cm of coarse material such as gravel or crushed stone to provide good drainage. On top of this coarse material add a minimum of 30 cm of a mixture of half sandy topsoil and half acid peat. Use logs, stone, bricks, etc. Prior to planting, check to ensure the pH of the bed is 4. Eradicate all perennial weeds such as quackgrass, bindweed and vetch in the year prior to planting. Cultivate or pull weeds before they begin to produce seeds.
Before planting blueberries, incorporate phosphorus and potassium into the soil according to soil test results. Use strong, dormant two or three-year-old plants which are free from viruses and diseases.
Obtain plants as close to planting time as possible. If necessary, plants will store for short periods in a refrigerator or other cool place. Sprinkle dry roots with water and place bare-rooted plants in plastic bags before storing.
Do not leave roots soaking in water or they will die. If plants must be held for more than one or two weeks, dig a trench in well-drained soil, set plants in the trench, and cover roots with soil. Potted plants should be stored in a cool place. Water the plants if the soil moisture is low.
Set highbush blueberry plants 1. The distance between rows will vary from 1. Planting rows 1. Plant the dormant blueberry bushes in early spring as soon as the soil can be worked. Prune any broken roots or branches and set the plants 3 to 5 cm deeper than they were grown in the nursery. Spread out the roots and cover them with soil. Firm the soil around the roots, being careful not to cause breakage. Blueberry roots are very fine and must not dry out at any time during planting.
Water the bushes thoroughly after planting. Remove blossoms as they appear during the first and second season. This helps the plants establish quickly and grow more vigorously. Blueberries have a shallow root system which is easily damaged by cultivation or deep hoeing. Mulching the plants with sawdust, wood shavings or clean straw will aid in weed control and help conserve moisture. Make sure the mulch is moist before applying it.
Spread the mulch in a band 60 cm wide, with 30 cm on each side of the plant row. Add mulch to a depth of 5 to 10 cm. Grass, such as creeping red fescue, can be planted and allowed to grow between the mulched bands if the sod is mowed regularly.
As the plants grow larger, gradually widen the mulched area to 60 cm on each side of the bushes. Add mulching material as required to maintain a mulch depth of 5 to 10 cm.
Immediately remove any weeds which grow through the mulch since broadleaf weeds and grasses compete strongly with blueberries for moisture and nutrients. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid. Phone: Search For More Plants. View My Wish List. Wish List Help. Chippewa Blueberry Vaccinium 'Chippewa'. Chippewa Blueberry fruit. Chippewa Blueberry in fall. The blueberry is also inherently twiggy and needs proficient pruning annually to keep it looking good and fruitful.
I grew one, but it declined and died, hastened by a location that turned out to be too wet. If I had been smarter, I would have noticed the problem earlier, and also planted other blueberry bushes to improve pollination and fruit set.
But while the home gardener may have cooled to this plant, farmers, breeders and growers have gone to town with the blueberry. In the United States, per-capita consumption grew by 50 per cent between and as the blueberry became popular as a health food. Growers have responded by increasing the size and geographic range of blueberry plantations. Much of this is down to breeding efforts that have brought far more varieties into play in places with mild winters.
Southern growers have a species called rabbiteye blueberry, which is generally a larger shrub than the highbush with smaller and sweeter berries. Hybridizers in southern agricultural schools, particularly the University of Georgia and the University of Florida, have been able to cross the highbush blueberry with rabbiteye and other species to create a type known as southern highbush.
Many of them fruit in the spring, allowing growers in the Southeast to get premium prices for the first blueberries of the season, easily shipped to major markets along the East Coast. These varieties have also helped fuel blueberry farms in Mexico and California.
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