Raspberries and New Fall Buds!

My heritage red raspberries are finally starting to ripen! I'm getting a couple of berries every morning. However, they don't make it inside to the kitchen! I tend to eat them first!  

I've also had a few berries eaten by birds, a problem I haven't had with my blackberries. 

What caught my attention this morning was the beautiful red berries but also the new buds on first year canes! Raspberries will usually produce a small crop of fruit in the fall on first year canes. However, I'm surprise the buds have developed so wary, especially since I'm still harvesting the spring crop. So cool! 

New Blueberry Canes!

This year has been a little disappointing for my blueberry plants. I think it's mostly due to the fact that I hadn't trimmed the plants at all since I bought them a few years ago. However, it looks like the trimming I did this year is going to benefit me next year and years to come. 

On my oldest blueberry plant, I noticed new canes growing out of the soil. New canes will produce more blueberries. 

This is why trimming blueberries canes are a very important tip for growing blueberries. 

Found Strawberries in the Garden!

I'm As I was watering some perrenial flowers the other day, I noticed some bright red spots in the garden. To my surprise they were ripe strawberries! 

I was a little shocked, I knew the strawberry plants were there and I knew some of them had berries on them but they had grown and ripened so quickly! And to do so in a drought! 

It was a pleasant surprise and i immediately picked them, washed them off and enjoyed the amazing juiciness you can only get with a homegrown berry! 

Find out why my strawberries are growing randomly in my garden here! 

Fall Gold Raspberries Buds!

I'm getting super excited! For the first time since I bought my Fall Gold raspberry plants, i'm finally seeing some flower buds forming on the plant. This means I'll have the very cool looking gold raspberries this summer! Woo-hoo! 

The berries are very similar to the red heritage raspberry, which I am also growing. Both plants will bear fruit and ripen around the same time, providing what I hope to be a beautiful assortment of raspberries! Both varieties are sweet and delicious, excellent for eating fresh. The only difference is the color. Red Heritage raspberries are your traditional bright red, these will be a beautiful yellow, gold color! 

Below are pictures of some of the buds forming on my Fall Gold raspberry plants! 

and what they should look like at harvest time! This photo is from wikipedia commons 

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! 

New Duke Blueberry Plant

After two very cold winters in a row and the mistake of not protecting my container blueberry bushes as well as I should have, I've lost one of my four blueberry bushes.

One of the sunshine blue blueberry plants  didn't make it through the butter subzero temps we had this past winter, even with a insulating layer of leaves and snow! 

So I couldn't resist checking out some stores this spring to see if they had any berry plants. This is when I came across the Duke Blueberry. The plant itself looked pretty healthy at the store (see pic of the plant below) and it is a variety that would benefit yeilds among the varieties I already have. 

The Duke Blueberry... 

Now the Duke Blueberry bush is all set in a container ready to blossom with the three other varieties I have. 

Fall Gold Raspberries April 19, 2015

My Fall Gold Raspberries have had a hard time taking off. Last year was the first year they were in the ground the whole time and unfortunately the plants didn't produce many canes, never mind any fruit! 

These raspberries are suppose to grow well with heritage raspberries (which I have planted a few feet away in their own bed). However, unlike the traditional red raspberry of the heritage plant, the fall gold is suppose to produce beautiful yellow/gold berries, usually with a great harvest in the late summer/early fall season. 

After the coldest 3 month period on record in my area of Connecticut, I was worried that my raspberries would be damaged or killed off. However, it seems the prolong snowpack may have actually helped to keep the plants insulated. Now, the raspberries canes are beginning to  lead out and I noticed a lot more smaller canes growing in the fall gold bed! 

It may be small but it's a start to a healthy crop later this year or next yea! I can't wait to try a fall gold raspberry! 

Finally some squash! 8/3/13

It's a month later than usual but I ally got a yellow straight neck squash! Also picked some blackberries! 

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! 

First ripe Blueberry!

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

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!!!  

We have blueberries!!! 5/26/13

Buds are finally turning into actual blueberries!

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! 

Blueberry bushes are flowering! 5/10/13

The blueberry bushes have flowers! Can't wait for the blueberries to grow!

Finally planted my blackberry bush! 5/7/13

After getting the thornless Apache blackberry bush for a mere $2 last fall at Lowes, I never got it in the ground before winter.  I was worried with the harsh winter it would have died.  However, I put it in the shed and it's been growing like crazy so far this spring.  So finally I planted it along our side fence.  It should get plenty of sun and some shade.  Hopefully it will produce some nice blackberries this year or next year!