This weekend, Farmer MacGregor has 3 days at his disposal. It is my duty to help him be fulfilled; so the task of building support lines for boysenberries has been put before him. The bare root stock will be planted where azaleas once died. The spot is in complete shade in the winter and scorching sun in the summer. The soil is loose, fertile, and still a bit acidic. My gift certificate to a local nursery was put aside for bare root season with the intent of creating a garden fence of boysenberries.
I found some plans on line that mimic the espalier system we already have for the dwarf fruit trees.
A post and wire system is relatively easy to construct and is the best way to train blackberries or hybrid berries.
- Drive 2.5m (8ft) long and 75mm (3in) diameter posts into the ground to a depth of 75cm (30in) at 5m (15ft) intervals
- Stretch 12 gauge (3.5mm) galvanized wire between the posts at 30cm (1ft) vertical intervals
- Plant the blackberries or hybrid berries 2.5-3.5m (8-11ft) apart along the fence
Maybe I’ll simply get the stock planted and see how it grows before Farmer MacGregor invests time, effort, and materials toward this project.
Here’s to high hopes of a bounty of berries in the coming years.
3 comments:
I'm sure the berries will do fine for you. And hopefully the birds will leave them alone!
Maybelline,
Great plan for your berries. I need to build a fence, then can get to the berry trellis'. But before that I need to dormant spray our fruit trees.
We have had issues with spraying in the past. Could you share what kind of dormant oil you spray your fruit trees with?
Thanks.
Steve, Maureen's other half
Sounds like a great idea - can't wait to see it when it's mature! I love seeing edibles going in to the garden.
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