I'm interested in growing the following this upcoming year:

- strawberries
- boysenberries
- raspberries
- pumpkins
- blueberries
- peppers

how much of a green thumb do you need to successfully grow these small fruits? common pitfalls? any advice, or good links would be appreciated. i'm in zone 6.

 

Only generic bit of advise I can give you is put your plants on a timer. A cheap battery operated timer with drip system will save you tons of time, and you won't have the oops forgot to water and everthing is dead problem.

Of your list I have only grown Strawberries and Peppers, Strawberries like Mild climate (why they grow so many in the Monterey Bay/Watsonville CA area Ocean fog daily about 25miles from my house) on the other hand Peppers need quite a bit of heat, they grow that over in the central valley where they have 100+days and 90 nights (during their hottest time), they don't grow well where I live.

I think thats the only bit of advise I can give you.

Good luck!

Don

 

Your local ag extension office or University Ag Dept. would be your best source of information specific to your area.

 

ah, very good idea.

 

i will definitely implement this idea. thx.

 

Of all the things listed, pumpkins will be the easiest, followed by peppers. Pumpkins need a good slug of soil around the seed, clay is better because it holds water. They also need a lot of clear, sunny ground to run. Once they get started, they are pretty hands off, just need water if things get dry. You can start them by seed inside sometime in April/May then transplant outside once the soil is warmed up, probably sometime in mid-June in your area. Peppers are also pretty easy, especially green bell, just make sure they are watered and recieve good sun. Also, periodic douses of an epson salt/water mix will give them a jolt. I would just buy them already started and plant sometime in June. The berries are tougher, requiring a decent amount of hands-on maintenance and are more fragile. Also, it will take a few years of pampering before these plants start bearing appreciable amounts of fruit. Of the ones listed, I would say that blueberries are the best to start with. They are actually a bush and grow well in northern climates (Maine and Michigan are two of the leading states). Pest control (ie birds) is a top consideration for all berries so make sure you have a plan to control this. Your local ag extension is a great start. Also, talk around with the locals, either at nurseris or at fruit farms themselves. Good luck.

 

Raspberries will grow like weeds as long as you get them past the point where rabbits will eat them. Get the biggest plants you can to start with or grow them in pots away from the bunnies until you can transplant them.

Blueberries need acidic soil. Mix some pine needles in the soil and throw some around the plants and they should do well.

Pumpkins and peppers grow very well on their own and don't need to much attention. If you want just a couple big pumpkins the vies will sprout several, and just remove a couple of the smaller ones so the plant feeds just a few and they will get larger. They do not depend on water every day, but I was told to run a sprinlker on my garden for 5 minutes every day. It works well with just about everything and makes stuff like pumpkins grow larger.

Just be sure if the area you are growing does not get sun all day or late in the growing season when their is fewer daylight hours that you don't make it too damp or you will get molds, fungus, and types of mildew that can kill your plants.

 

i definitely have a good full sun spot picked out on the side of the house, but i'm sure pests (birds and rabbits) will be an issue. still planning a strategy to combat them.

noted on the pine needles in the soil for blueberries. thanks for all the input.

 

I have my garden tucked next to the house, but inside a retaining wall which seems to intimidate the rabbits a bit, and we have lots because I feed them carrots all winter.

But a product called "liquid fence" works great against deer and rabbits.

It smells HORRIBLE. Its like a synthetic urine smell and its made from eggs and some other junk, but harmless and spritz a little around the perimeter of your garden and it keeps stuff away. (You don't smell it after you spray it but animals will) you just need a couple new spritzes after each heavy rain.

The deer were eating my Honey Crisp and Honey Gold apple trees, but the spray keeps the away extremely well.

Just test the wind direction before you spray it. Trust me.

 

there's a thread on s2ki about planting fruit?? really?!