Planting Berries and Small Fruit...

Strawberries

• Plant strawberries in the sunniest area of your garden. They require full sun for most of the day. Good drainage through the soil is essential. If the soil is heavy and tends to stay wet, it is best to plant on raised beds to improve drainage. 

• Planting Instructions: Plant your strawberries early in the spring. Frost will not hurt the plants. Position the roots so that they are straight down into the ground and crown is at soil level. Water in well and continue to irrigate, as needed. Plant spacing should be 18" to 24" apart with the rows being 42 to 48 apart. 
• Fertilizing: We recommend an Organic Vegetable or Fruit Tree Fertilizer. This should be applied and incorporated before you plant and again when the plants are developing fruit buds. Weed control is essential for strawberries. Cultivate your crop on a regular basis to eliminate weed pressure. 
• Mulching: In areas that have cold winters, mulching is necessary to protect your strawberry plants. Cover your plants with straw in late fall. Approximately 3" to 5" will be sufficient. Remove the straw in early spring when you notice new growth on the plant. 
  
• Everbearing Varieties: After planting keep all flowers picked off until June 1 - 15. This establishes a strong plant. Plants will flower and fruit the rest of the Summer and Fall until a frost occurs. The original mother plants should be rouged out after the 1st or 2nd year. Treat them like an annual. 
  
• Spring Crop Varieties: Fertilize and water well the first year to promote good flower bud formation. Harvest in May/June/early July. After harvest the plants go dormant. After the last berry is picked mow the plants off with a lawn mower set just above the crowns at the soil surface. In the fall thin runners so they are 3" - 5" apart. 
  
• Disease Control: Our plants are certified Virus Free. Aphids spread virus. Insect control avoids this problem. Control aphids with Organic controls or ladybugs. Strawberries are susceptible to Red Stele root rot. To avoid this problem plant strawberries in a well drained area of the garden.

Blueberries
Blueberries prefer an acid, well drained soil. Their shallow, compact root system makes regular irrigation a necessity. We recommend both planting and mulching with Organic Acid Planting Mix. Mulching to a depth of two to four inches, eliminates much of the need for cultivation and conserves moisture. 

• Fertility: Organic Fertilizers for Azalea/Rhody/Camelia or Cottonseed Meal applied around Valentines Day and Mothers Day is recommended. 
• Planting Instructions: Blueberries reach a height of 6ft by 4ft(or more). Rows should be at least 6-8 ft apart. 
• Fruit Production: Two different varieties must be plantedfot fruit set. Any two varieties will cross pollinate regardless of ripening time. The early varieties begin ripening in July, and the late varieties in early August. 
• Pruning: After the plant has established itself, remove old tired wood that is loaded with too many fruit buds and too few leaf buds and any wood that will prevent the plant from becoming too sprawling or too high. Blueberries become sweeter as they hang on the bush. The only possible reason to pick early, (as they turn blue), is to escape predatory birds, Home gardeners often protect their plants from birds with netting. A large plant may have 15 to 20 pounds of fruit and is worth protecting.

Raspberries

• Preparation: Application of Gypsum Lime at a rate of 41/2 ounces per sq foot helps prevent root rot in raspberry plantings. 
• Planting Instructions: When planing your raspberry bed, it is best to plan your rows to run in a north to south direction. Spacing of your raspberries is recommended at 18 inches between the plants and 5 to 6 feet between the rows. Prune back the old cane 1 to 2 inches above the soil line. (Note: All new growth will come from the primary buds on the crown. Not the old cane.) Water only when you see new growth breaking the ground. This will help prevent root rot. 
• Fertilizing: plants actually begin growing. Use an Organic Fruit Tree Fertilizer per pkg directions after the plants actually begin growing, reapply 4 to 6 weeks later. 
• Training: Red raspberries can be supported either with tall stakes or ideally with a two wire trellis. The wires of the trellis are usually placed about one foot below the height at which the canes have been pruned. The wires are placed on each side of the post with large staples or nails. Sometimes cross pieces are nailed to the posts so that the two wires are 12 to 15 inches apart. A second set of wires may sometimes be placed a few feet below the top wires. The canes can be tied to the top set of wires. Everbearing varieties require no support at all. 
• Harvest/Pruning: Spring crop raspberries fruit on two year old wood. After harvest, the two year old fruiting wood begins to die and can be removed. The remaining one year old canes for the next summers crop can be cut back to head height. The Everbearing raspberry produces a summer crop on two year old wood and a fall crop on one year old wood. Remove the portion of the cane that fruited after harvest, leaving the rest of the cane to produce next summer’s crop. Only shoots of suckers that start close to the original plant are allowed to grow, unwanted suckers arising too far from the mother plant may be grubbed out as they appear. When Dormant, thin out the weaker or damaged canes leaving yourself 4 to 6 strong canes per planting.
  

Grapes  
Grapes prefer a light soil with good drainage and moderate to high fertility. Soil should be kept moist the first year after planting, but plants will stand short dry periods after established. A spring application of Organic Fruit Tree Fertilizer is recommended. 

• Planting: Plant grapes in early spring or winter, pruning back to healthy buds at planting time. A southern exposure is to your advantage. Grapes should be planted one inch deeper than in the pot, and spaced eight feet apart for maximum performance.
• Pruning: Prune grapes at anytime from December through February. When pruning back vines, always leave a finger or stub with three or four buds. Some light summer pruning many hasten fruit development.
• Harvest: Generally Grapes will grow roots for the first 3 years and may produce an occasional fruit bunch the frist year or second year. The third year you should see substantial growth and fruit production.
  

Asparagus
The common edible asparagus will last at least 20 years in the garden. It's crucial to properly prepare the site prior to planting so that there will be a good depth of rich, fertile, well-drained soil. 

• Preparation: Asparagus prefers rich sandy well drained loam soils. In the case of clay soils the ground should be excavated to a depth of 2 feet, drainage should be encouraged by putting in stone, broken brick. Spade manure, leaf mold, rotted leaves or compost into the bottom of the trench. In Western Washington, with the regions acid soils, add bonemeal at a rate of 4ounces per yard and calcium lime at a rate of about one pound calcium carbonate (Garden Pearls/Lime) into each 10 feet of trench. 
• Planting: Plant in early spring. Plant the crowns at soil level and cover with 2" of soil. In the fall, cover with 2 more inches of soil. Form a ridge of soil placed in the center of the trench, or individual pyramids of soil placed in the center of the trench so the crowns can be properly "perched" on the ridge or pyramids prior to covering with soil. Never allow two plants to touch in the planting trench. A spacing of 15 to 18 inches is about right. Asparagus beds should be maintained so 3 to 5 inches of soil covers the crowns. 
• Fertilize: Fertilize annually when harvest has been completed and the plants begin to fern out. Apply manure and an Organic Vegetable Fertilizer. Control weeds. 
• Harvest: Don't harvest spears the first year. The second season you can harvest for two or three weeks or until the spears develop ferny stalks. This practice encourages the roots to store food for the next year's growth. In the fall when the top (fern) growth browns, cut off all fern growth at the ground level and dispose of it. Harvesting the 3rd year and there after can last from 8 to 12 weeks.
  

Horseradish
Choose a permanent site for this fast growing perennial in full sun. Plants will grow approx. 24" tall and 18" wide.

• Planting: Plant in early spring, as soon as the soil can be worked. Dig a hole 1 foot across and as deep as your shovel. Loosen the soil in the bottom of the hole. Place root on a 45 degree angle, around 6 inches deep for the small end and top of root just below the surface. Refill the hole with compost, and mound up a couple of inches. 
• Harvest: For most pungent flavor do not harvest until the leaves have seen frost. One-year old plants have the most flavor, so the dig and divide method is most recommended.