Saturday, May 2, 2015

Facts, Tips and Tricks to Growing Blueberries

Want to grow your own superfood? Maybe you needs some tips or tricks to increase berry production on blueberry plants? Or maybe your just curious to how blueberry plants grow! No need to look any further. 

Check out my latest article on Hubpages called "Facts, Tips and Tricks to Growing Blueberries"



In this article, I explain some cool facts associated with growing blueberries while also giving some tips and tricks I've picked up over the years. I also share my own experiences growing this superfood. Blueberries are an excellent addition to any container garden, backyard garden or landscape. It's definitely worth growing, especially when it comes time to harvest the delicious berries. 

Enjoy the facts, tips and tricks! Hope it leads to your own mini blueberry production in your own backyard! 

Friday, May 1, 2015

Kale is growing!

The kale plants and seed that I planted in my square foot garden two weeks ago are beginning to take off. Although Kale is suppose to do fairly well in cool temps, I wasn't sure if I planted it too early or not. Here in southern Connecticut, we usually don't plant anything before May 15th. However, even after a very cold winter, we've gotten lucky with a fairly descent April. The result is progress in my garden! 
Check out my beautiful kale plants in the morning sun! 



And the kale seeds I planted are now sprouting! 



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! 

Sunday, April 26, 2015

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. 








Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Turnip Seeds are Sprouting!

It's only been a week since I planted turnip seeds in my squarefoot garden and they're already sprouting! Let's hope the cool weather helps them grow over the next few weeks! 


Sunday, April 19, 2015

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! 


Sunday, May 4, 2014

Spring Has Finally Sprung! 5-4-14

After a wicked long, cold and snowy winter, signs of a late spring are finally showing up along the Connecticut coast! 

Everything is late this year but it's nice to see signs of life on the barren land!  

Unfortunately, I don't have any spring bulbs like daffodils or tulips in my yard to bring the first burst of color of the season but I do know it's spring when the forsythia and Cherry tree blossoms! 


Since our weather has been so cool lately and I was definitely impatient for spring to come, I decided to bring spring indoors! I cut a few forsythia branches inside right before they were to flower and placed them in a vase on the kitchen windowsill. By bringing them into the warm house, it 'forced' them to bloom! Giving way to the beautiful yellow flowers of spring and a little pop of color I desperately needed! 

The others sign of spring is the beautiful weeping cherry tree in my front yard. I absolutely love this tree! From it's shape to it's incredibly thick trunk and it's stunning spring flowers, this tree makes for absolutely stunning photos in the spring time! 


Now let's hope it keeps warming up and I can start working in my garden some more! We're 12 days out till the unofficial growing season, which starts on May 16th!