need sound advice for berries

[nchomemaker]

I am in need for some good sound advice on purchasing blackberry, raspberry and strawberry plants.
I placed an order through Greenwood Nursery for 6 blackberry and 6 raspberry and 25 strawberry plants that will arrive some time in November.
I need someone to assure me that this purchase is wise and not foolish.
You see the money I am allotted from my husband ( I am a homemaker and don't have my own source of income) is only what he can spare after all bills are paid and therefore I need to be very frugal and wise with it.

Usually I spend almost every dime on getting preps. May I consider the purchase of these fruit plants as preps?

I did some price comparisons of our local nursery and some online nurseries and thought this company had some of the best prices.
The blackberry and raspberry plants come to 4.00 each. The strawberries are 10.00 for 25 plants. They do not charge shipping for orders over 50.00. So my total comes to about 53.00

That just sounds like so much money. I need for someone to either tell me I'm crazy and cancel my order, or else have someone reassure me that I'm not being foolish and wasting my money.
Besides these plants, I also would like blueberries but I read that you need 2 different varieties for proper pollination and they only offered 3 of one variety and you couldn't mix and match.

 

[A.T.Hagan]

I'm presuming you have the time and space to plant all of this stuff and give it all the proper care it will need to make them grow and fruit for you.

If you have all of that then I don't think it's a waste at all!

The price of fresh blackberries and raspberries in the grocery stores is obscene. Just today my wife and I were talking about getting some fresh raspberries to decorate a cake for my daughter. The local grocery stores wants three dollars for a six ounce carton. That's eight dollars a pound! If y'all like raspberries then it makes sense to grow your own. Unfortunately, they're not a viable option here.

Do you know the best varieties for your area and state? This can make a huge difference in the likelihood of the success of your venture.

I went on the North Carolina Extension Service web site and found these for you:

<strong>Blackberries For The Home Garden</strong>
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-8200.html

<strong>Growing Raspberries in North Carolina</strong>
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/ag569.html

<strong>Strawberries In the Home Garden</strong>
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-8205.html

<strong>Growing Blueberries in the Home Garden</strong>
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-8207.html

These will let you know if you've made good choices of varieties for your area as well as giving your planting and care instructions.

I say go for it!

.....Alan.

 

[Walrus Whisperer]

I thought the strawberry plants price was reasonable-I cant really say about the black and raspberry plants. Of COURSE they can be considered preps-food that you grow yourself is better in every way. The black and raspberries will thicken over time, also-propagating themselves. So will the straw berries, but you need to continually replenish whats in there every 2-3 years because the plants sort of wear out. Just plant their "daughters" beside them and pull up a few "older" ones.

Blueberries:
http://www.degrandchamps.com/blueberryhomeowners.htm

they have different packages for differing areas of the country.
Their prices were in the same ballpark as all the other places I looked at, BUT they were the only ones offering the 2 each of 3 kinds thing which seemed to make the best sense for me.

I ordered the 6 pack of plants for my area (northern growers-Montana) this spring from them and I am very pleased with them. You MUST amend the soil heavily before planting and keep adding good stuff every so often and watch they dont get too dry-shallow roots especially in the younger plants. We even had enough for 4 blueberry pancakes with their first fruits. I plan on ordering at least 6 more from them next spring-I will be fixing up a part of the yard that will need bushes in it and I think they will work very well-they are attractive and why not have something that produces also? The plants I got have doubled in size so each year they will get larger and produce more. what more could one want? The blueberries are very easy to preserve also- simplly wash, dry off and freeze as they are or dry them and stick in a jar.

From what I understand, you can propagate them also- rooting powder and some judicious clippings can maybe reproduce your berry plants so you could have a plantation!

My raspberries have all at least doubled in the amount of canes this year, I assume ones for your area will do the same.

You can also get a couple of elderberry tree/bushes (another plant you need two of to get good production)

I also got two varieties of hardy kiwi this year, I ordered very late and I think one pair is not going to make it. BUT they are reputed to be VERY prolific bearers of a fruit that doesnt even need peeling to eat and is higher in vit. C than an orange. there are other ones that are for the south that are supposed to be very good also. (Another plant where you have to have a male and a female)(These kinds are all related to the domestic fuzzy kiwi and taste like it, but they look more like big green skinned grapes and you eat the whole thing.)

What about a couple of grapevines? I have seen them at our nurserys for 15-20$
They do take a while to really get going, but once they are established, youre set.

And dont forget some asparagus plants- a corner of the yard filled with them can give you some lasting excellant eating AND they look wonderful when you quit cutting and let them grow.

And how about an apple, pear, peach, crabapple or a nut tree?

 

[Mrs Smith]

Early last year I purchased 2 blackberry plants and 2 raspberry plants, both in 10" pots. All are doing well, and this year alone I got more than enough of both berries to make lots of jams and preserves, plus plenty to give away and more to freeze.

They do produce heavily, and need lots of space. My understanding now is that you should NOT plant black raspberries within 100 feet of raspberries, but I don't know why.

Go on-line to your local county extension office, or do a search of berry pruning so see how do the end of year pruning for best production next season.

Also, blueberries do best in cooler temperatures than what N.C. offers, I believe. Check on that before you go to the expense of purchasing the plants. They're also difficult to grow from what I hear because the soil must be "just right" in pH and acidity or they'll not produce well. Again, check with the local extension office.

Best of luck. Once purchased, there's no expense to maintain berrries from what I've experienced, and it's a wise move.

 

[Gingergirl]

"My understanding now is that you should NOT plant black raspberries within 100 feet of raspberries, but I don't know why."

There is concern that the black raspberries are more likely to have a ruinous virus that will then infect the red. However, blacks are available virus-free and not all horticultists are convinced the blacks are that much of a problem to begin with.

NC,

I'm with A T Hagan on checking out the varieties for your area. Also, take the time to research and properly prepare the planting areas before the plants arrive. Fruit growing can be very different from veggies, but the blackberries and raspberries are some of the easier ones. I think you may be making a good investment.

 

[goatlady2]

Is Fall the correct time to plant berries in your area? Out here we always plant that stuff in the spring to give the plants a good 3 months or so to take hold so thay can make it through the winter. It would be a shame to plant and then they die because their root system was not developed enough to get them through the winter.

 

[nchomemaker]

Thanks to all for your responses and your links. I do have the time and space. I had a beautiful raspberry patch in my garden in N.Y. and how I miss it!
I had read that raspberries do not grow as well down south. So I'm reluctant to try.
November does seem late to ship the plants even for N.C. so I cancelled my order and will order again in the late winter for early spring planting. In the mean time, I'll prepare the ground after deciding on the perfect locations for them.

I feel better about spending the money on berries after reading all your posts but very leary about planting as late as November. That is when the company said they would ship them, I didn't ask for that shipping date. If they had said late September, I'd go ahead and buy them. k

 

[Sarrah]

Thanks for starting this thread nchomemaker. I have pretty much decided on placing an order with www.stark.com for berries and asparagus for delivery in spring. We also want dwarf fruit frees and they have a large variety.
I want to get the asparagus bed ready for planting now and I'm just waiting for this weather to cool down so I can do some work on it. The reason I am planning on ordering from them is at the present time they have a 20% off if you order now ship in the spring offer and they have lots of varieties to chose from. I'd have to pay shipping but the 20% I feel should off set that.
I don't know if we will get the fruit trees or not. We really need some leveling done before we plant and finding anyone to bring a back hoe in here for under a days work it not looking good. At $75/hr I may just take the next three years and shovel it myself.
If anyone has experience with Stark I'd appreciate hearing about it.

 

[goatlady2]

The best fruit trees I ever had were from Starks = that's their speciality and they are good at it.

 

[nchomemaker]

After reading info on the link about growing raspberries in N.C. that Alan posted (thankyou!) I have decided to not try to grow these. I think that I will concentrate on strawberries and blackberries and maybe blueberries.

I love asparagus, it's my favorite veggie maybe second after fresh sweet corn. I have only 3 roots that are producing so I plan on planting more next spring. Along with my great patch of raspberries in my N.Y. garden, I also had a 4 year planting of about 24 asparagus roots that were really producing well. It was very hard for me to move away from that garden. Oh well, here I am in N.C. and the spring comes a lot earlier and the growing season is a lot longer.

I didn't realize there are just some things that will not grow well in the south. I found out last year that lilacs won't grow here. I do miss those although the crepe mytrle are almost as pretty and have a longer bloom time.

Having knowledge about growing things is important in saving money I'm finding that out fast.

 

[Sarrah]

The best fruit trees I ever had were from Starks = that's their speciality and they are good at it.

Thanks goatlady2 I have been impressed by what the write about their trees. I'll see what I can do about prepping the area for them soon.

 

[Vere My Sone]

http://www.ncagr.com/paffairs/agrevst.htm

You can also check the Agricultrual Review on line.
Sometimes locals have good products that grow well in NC and good prices.
Blueberries, blackberries, strawberries grow great here

I'm with you on that stay at home, no money.....
We just sold 2 rams yesterday, and I'm trying to decide what to do with my share

 

[Para36]

Wild plants- just a thought

Around here black rasberries and blackberries grow so profusely along the railroad tracks and at clearings around the edges of woods and creeks that I never gave any thought to planting any. In my judgment the quality is just as good as anything bought at the market. There's many times more on our property than we could ever use for canning. And they also grow in very close proximity to each other.
I remember back in the early 50's digging up some black rasberry plants down by a river not far from us and planting them in our city backyard. Offspring from those same plants still bear heavily there yet today and have every year. For some reason though the red rasberries in the wild are not very good here. The berries are usally quite small and deformed. I bought some red lathams years ago and these have done well but seem to need a lot of care--full sun, regular moisture, and lots of mulch, cane thinning , etc.
Anyhow just a thought in case you have any wild rasberries growing in your area that bear well and look healthy.
Para.

 

[A.T.Hagan]

Being in North Carolina you may not have to concern yourself with this, but if you're going to mail order deciduous fruit trees (drops their leaves in the Fall) or buy from the Big Box stores like Home Depot, Lowes, or Wal Mart, then make sure you know what the chill hour requirements are for the specific variety you're looking at.

Stark Brothers is a good company with a good reputation, but they sell very little (next to nothing, actually) that I can grow here in Florida so all I can do with them is admire their catalogs. The Big Box stores are notorious for selling fruit trees and stuff that don't have a hope of even surviving much less bearing fruits in a given area. Concord Grapes and Granny Smith apples come to mind. Our local store has sold them for at least the last three winters and neither will produce fruit this far south. Further north they're just fine, but not here yet they sell them here every year.

A little time spent researching on the Internet and talking to your local cooperative extension service agent can save your months or even years of effort and time spent trying to grow something that hasn't a hope of producing for you.

The purchase price of whatever it is that you will buy is small compared to the time and effort necessary to bring these plants to fruition so buy quality whenever you can so you'll have the greatest chance of success in the future.

If you're not sure about a given type of fruit or a given variety the Garden Web has a Fruit and Orchard forum that's a great place to go for advice. Some very knowledgeable people there.

<b>Garden Web Fruit & Orchards forum</b>
http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/fruit/

.....Alan.