Fruit Canes Already Growing for Next Year!

My raspberry and blackberry plants are looking great! The taller canes that will bear fruit this summer look very healthy and have already begun to sprout numerous leaves. (I can't wait for the delicious fruit!) 

Another sign pointing to my plants being healthy is the new canes growing up from the soil! 

Above is new heritage raspberry canes. They're only two inches high but they'll grow all summer and even produce a small crop of berries in the fall. Then next spring they will produce a much larger crop of berries before I cut them down.  

Above is a new Apache blackberry cane sprouting up. This cane will grow all summer and then produce blackberries next spring and summer. 

So far, growing raspberries and blackberries have been pretty easy! I wish I had more room in my yard to

Let them spread more! 

8/7/13 Harvest!

Blueberries, blackberries and cherry tomatoes!  

A few more Berries 7-22-13

Picked a few more blackberries this morning! They look really healthy! 

Today's Harvest! 7-21-13

Today was the first day I can say I really harvested anything from my garden because there was actually a variety if stuff to grab! I picked blueberries from two blueberry bushes, I picked a couple of  blackberries, a few Juliet tomatoes an a few cherry tomatoes! 

Totals: 

6 Blackberries 

3 Juliet Tomatoes 

2 cherry Tomatoes 

8 Blueberries 

It's not much but with a very rainy June and now a very hot July  I'm lucky most o my plants are still alive! 

My First Blackberry! 7/18/13

I picked my first apache blackberry on Thurs 7/18/13!  It was delicious! The blackberry bush has definitely been the pleasant surprise of the season so far! 

Berries coming along! 6/22/13

The blueberries and Blackberries are coming along nicely! I can't wait to eat them! Hoping the birds don't get to them first! 

The blueberries 

The blackberries! 

Blackberries are growing! 6/11/13

Heavy Rain prep and improvise

With the heavy rain of tropical depression Andrea heading our way this afternoon and night I've been preparing my garden.  One thing I wanted to do is tie the lower branches of my blackberry bush up.  I wanted to do this to keep the very new berries from hitting the ground and being covered in mud!  However I was out string so I had to improvise.  So I took some short bamboo stakes I had from last years garden and created crutch like supports for each of the three branches. Hopefully this will be enough to keep the heavy rain from pushing these low branches into the ground! 

Blackberry bush in Bloom! 6/2/13

The thornless Apache Blackberry Bush is in bloom!  I can't believe how beautiful the flowers (yes I've never seen a blackberry bush in bloom before!) Although the bush is small it's still nice. And notice the branch growing out the middle, that will be a berry producer next year!!!

Blackberry Flowers! 5/30/13

Blackberry Buds!

After some cool days and rain I checked out my Thornless Apache Blackberry Bush and was happy to see a number of buds on the plant!  I was a little bit surprised because I bought the plant in the fall and wasn't sure if the three canes on it were in their first or second year.  If they had been in their second year then I would have gotten no fruit this summer.  So it looks like I'll be getting some blackberries this summer!! Also the plant is taking off and already growing a nice new cane that will fruit next year!!!  

Berry bushes budding and flowering!

All my berry plants have begun to bud or blossom.  From the strawberry plants to my container blueberries and even my blackberry bush!  The strawberries are beginning to fruit. The blueberries are in transition, there are flowers blossoming on some branches, while other branches the flowers have fallen off and hopefully the fruit will grow.  Finally the blackberry bush is budding! Just today May 22nd, I counted over 50 buds on my small blackberry bush!  

The blueberry bushes! 

The blackberry buds! 

Blackberry Bush is growing!

The Thornless Apache Blackberry Bush I got last fall for $2 made it through the winter even though I didn't plant it. The leaves are starting to come out on the branches and it looks pretty healthy so far!