Planning a Small Fruit Garden in Your Area

2. OBJECTIVESThe student will be able to… • List four small fruits that couldbe successfullygrown in the area.

3. OBJECTIVESThe student will be able to… • Plan a small fruit garden with four species. • Describe the pruning techniques for grapes. • Name the different types of blueberries andwhere each is grown. • Know which would be suitable to the area. • Draw two different methods for training strawberries and explain the advantagesand disadvantages of each.

4. PLANNING THE SMALL FRUIT GARDEN • Small fruits can be grown on almost any property. • Easier to grow than many tree crops, on a large property, enough can be grown for canning, freezing & fresh eating. • Cross-pollination seldom is required, and spraying for disease and insects is uncommon. • Only one or two species are limited regionally. • Most bear within 1 or 2 years after planting. • Of the small fruits discussed in this chapter, all but the cranberry are highly adaptable to climate. • County/state Cooperative Extension Service will furnish literature on most successful cultivars for a particular state.

5. PLANNING THE SMALL FRUIT GARDENSite Selection • Rapid soil drainage and full sunlight are the site prerequisites for successful small fruit growing. • Good garden soil is ideal, butpoor soil can be amended bycompost & other additives. Space & arrange plants toprevent taller species fromshading smaller ones. As northern hemisphere sun is always slightly in the southernsky, this requires placing taller plants north of shorter ones. Figure 10-1a Sample layout for small fruit garden.

6. PLANNING THE SMALL FRUIT GARDENSite Selection Figure 10-1b Sample layout for small fruit garden.

7. PLANNING THE SMALL FRUIT GARDENSite Selection • Small fruits can also be incorporated in a landscape. • Currants, gooseberries, and brambles can be used as hedge plantings that will grow to 4 to 5 feet when mature. • Highbush & rabbiteye blueberries reach 10 feet. • Low-growing strawberries produce lovely white blossomsin spring & make an excellent border for a flower bed. • They can also be used as groundcover plants in smallsunny areas or in planters around a patio or deck area. • Vining grape plants can be trained to an overheadarbor or espaliered against a wall or fence.

8. REQUIREMENTS FOR SPECIFIC SMALL FRUITS Blackberries • Blackberries (Rubus spp.) • A bramble fruit, much like raspberries, except fruits are larger, and unlike the raspberry, when picked, the center core remains in the berry. • Stand more heat/drought but less cold than raspberries. • Erect blackberry types are grown most often in the East, Southwest & Midwest and are more cold-hardy surviving winter temperatures of down to -20 deg F. • Erect blackberries grow 3 to 5 feet high without supports.

9. REQUIREMENTS FOR SPECIFIC SMALL FRUITS Blackberries • Trailing types are traditional in Pacific Coast and southern states, though occasionally grown as far north as Michigan. • Canes reach 8 feet & plants must be trellised or staked. • Dewberries can be any trailing species/cultivar. • Loganberries, actually the cultivar ‘Logan,’ are across between a blackberry and a raspberry. • Blackberry/raspberry cross cultivar ‘Phenomenal,’ was later crossed with a dewberry to producethe cultivar ‘Young’—hence youngberries. • The origin of boysenberries is similar.

10. REQUIREMENTS FOR SPECIFIC SMALL FRUITS Blueberries • Blueberries (Vaccinium spp.) • Require will-irrigated soil, high in organic matter, with pH between 4.2 & 5.5, with species dependent on climate. • Grown from Minnesota & Canada to Florida & the West Coast.

11. REQUIREMENTS FOR SPECIFIC SMALL FRUITS Blueberries Additional, normally wild speciesgrown in the U.S. & Canada include: Dryland blueberry (V.pallidum), Mountain blueberry (V.membranaceum) Lowbush blueberry (V.angustifolium) Cultivars for home growing shouldbe chosen from the three cultivated species. Figure 10-2 Blueberries. Photo bySharun Barrett Kennedy, Crozet, Va. • Two cultivars of blueberries should be planted for cross-pollination, as some are nearly self-sterile. • More & larger fruit will result if a pollenizer is provided.

12. REQUIREMENTS FOR SPECIFIC SMALL FRUITS Cranberries • Cranberries (Vaccinium macrocarpon) • Exacting growth requirements: moist, peat-bogconditions and a pH of 4.2 to 5.0. • Because these conditions are hard to create, cranberries cannot be recommended as a home fruit.

13. REQUIREMENTS FOR SPECIFIC SMALL FRUITS Currants • Currants (Ribes sativum & R. nigrum) • Very resistant to cold temperature & survive in even the coldest areas, spanning the northern U.S. & Canada. • Less satisfactory in the South due to prolonged summer heat. • Plants are small, attractive shrubs ranging from 3 to 5 feet in height, and should be set 4 to 5 feet apart when grown in the garden. • About 3 feet apart when used as an ornamental hedge.

14. REQUIREMENTS FOR SPECIFIC SMALL FRUITS Currants The most popular currants arered varieties (Ribes sativum), which produce large clustersof fruits and are easy to grow. White (Ribes sativum) & black (Ribes nigrum) currants are relatively rare. Black varieties are popular in Europe, where the fruits aremade into juice. Figure 10-3 White currants. Courtesy USDA.

15. REQUIREMENTS FOR SPECIFIC SMALL FRUITS Gooseberries • Gooseberries(Ribes hirtellum [American]R. uva-crispa [European] cultivars) • Growing requirements are similar to those of currants. • Very cold tolerant but will not thrive in a hot summer climate. • Unknown to most home gardeners, they are shrubsabout 3 feet high & most are densely covered with thorns. • Fruits are the size of large grapes and are green to red when mature, depending on the cultivar. • Can be eaten fresh, as well as made into pies, jam, or jelly.

16. REQUIREMENTS FOR SPECIFIC SMALL FRUITS Grapes • Grapes (Vitis spp and hybrids) • Grown for fresh eating, winemaking, or jellies and juice, cultivar choice should be based on climate and use. • The fruits are large and are borne in small clusters. • Native American grape cultivars (Vitis labrusca) are the easiest to raise and are very productive. • The European grape (V.vinifera) is grown in warmerareas, and is the primary species for winemaking. • French-American hybrid grapes combine the vigor of American cultivars with winemaking quality of Europeans. • Muscadine grapes (V.rotundifolia) are least common, found where temperatures do not fall below 10 deg F.

17. REQUIREMENTS FOR SPECIFIC SMALL FRUITS Raspberries Red (Rubus idaeus) and black (Rubus occidentalis) cultivarsare the most common. The red has a slightly more tart taste than the black, more cold tolerance, less susceptibility to disease & greater yield potential. Figure 10-4 Raspberries in spring, showing previous season’s canes above & current year’s canes growing from below. Photo courtesy of Dr. Bernadine C. Strik, Oregon State University. • Raspberries (Rubus spp.) • The second bramble fruit,growing wild in some areasof the country.

18. REQUIREMENTS FOR SPECIFIC SMALL FRUITS Raspberries Figure 10-4 Raspberries in spring, showing previous season’s canes above & current year’s canes growing from below. Photo courtesy of Dr. Bernadine C. Strik, Oregon State University. Novelty cultivars in yellow& purple are also available. Raspberry cultivars can bespring-bearing or everbearing(also called primocane). Everbearing plants produce two harvests per year: one in early summer and a second in fall.

19. REQUIREMENTS FOR SPECIFIC SMALL FRUITS Strawberries • Strawberries (Fragaria x ananassa cultivars) • One of the most popular small fruits, while perennial, productive life is limited to about 2 to 4 years. • The first year after planting, a heavy crop will be produced. • Second year plants will bear only two-thirds as much. • The third year only one-third as much. • Due to invasion of viruses that lessen productivity, hybrid vigor decline, and competition from weeds. • The bed should be dug out and replanted. • Spring-bearing (June-bearing) and everbearing (called day-neutral) cultivars which produce lightly throughsummer until fall. • Quality is sometimes inferior to spring-bearing plants.

20. PLANNING, SOIL PREPARATION AND PLANTING Small fruits, estimated yield from each plant at maturity, and the suggested number of plants for a family of five.

21. PLANNING, SOIL PREPARATION AND PLANTING • To ensure a plentiful harvest, small fruit plants must be ordered in larger quantities. • Success or failure will depend greatly on the soil conditioning prior to planting. • If practical, a soil test should be taken, and fertilizer& needed pH-altering materials added to the area. • Sod should be turned under the fall prior to plantingto decay and be worked into the soil in spring. • Most small fruits are planted in spring & begin producing fruit the following season. • Ground is cultivated in early spring, plants trans-planted while dormant and then watered.

22. PLANNING, SOIL PREPARATION AND PLANTING • Small fruit cultivars, commonly ordered from mail-order nurseries, arrive with no soil around the roots. • If planting is not done immediately, moisten plants if dry. • Plants should be heeled in or roots covered with plastic & placed in a 30 - 60 deg F shaded area. • It is generally advisable to plant at the same levelat which the plant was growing in the nursery. • Especially important with strawberries. • Currants & gooseberries, should be planted slightlydeeper to encourages a strong root system andabundant new shoots from the bases of branches.

23. PRUNING AND TRAINING SMALL FRUITS • All the small fruits will produce a better crop if they are pruned and trained. • On shrub fruits, may be needed only to remove weak/unproductive wood. • Grapes need pruning to control productivity & vine shape.

24. PRUNING AND TRAINING SMALL FRUITS Brambles • On typical brambles, the fruit is borne only on canes produced the previous growing season. • Grown from the roots the first year, they form flower buds that fall, bloom, fruit the following summer, then die. • Fruit is borne on side shoots of buds on the parent cane. • Everbearing raspberries produce two crops per cane.

25. PRUNING AND TRAINING SMALL FRUITS Brambles • While most can grow without support; trailing blackberries/red raspberries have longer canes. • Require tying to a wire or stake support systemto be manageable and relatively easy to pick. • Grown individually in a row (the hill system), they can be supported by staking or by a trellis. • Wires pass through all the plants, attached to end posts. • If planted & allowed to grow together to form a hedge,a wire trellis is the only option. • Pruning method varies greatly between red, black, spring-bearing or everbearing raspberries.

26. PRUNING AND TRAINING SMALL FRUITS Brambles Remove all canes that fruited the previous summer, cutting themoff at ground level. Figure 10-5a Pruning of red & yellowraspberries in four steps, all doneduring the dormant period. • Red & Yellow Raspberries are pruned during the dormant period.

27. PRUNING AND TRAINING SMALL FRUITS Brambles Cut off broken, weak& poorly placed canes growing outside therow or hill. Figure 10-5b Pruning of red & yellowraspberries in four steps, all doneduring the dormant period. • The 4-step pruning/training process will make picking easier the following year.

28. PRUNING AND TRAINING SMALL FRUITS Brambles Cut them off at the 5-foot level. Figure 10-5c,d Pruning of red & yellow raspberries in four steps, all done during the dormant period. Tie remaining canes to the wiretrellis, or 4- to 5-foot stake.

29. PRUNING AND TRAINING SMALL FRUITS Everbearing Raspberries (Reds, Yellows, Purples) • Everbearing raspberries fruit first on the tips of the current year’s canes in fall and further down those same canes the next spring • Spring dormant prune to eliminate thin weak canes & tip back the canes that fruited in fall. • Remove the canes after the spring fruiting. Do not pinchor prune to the ground after fall fruiting. • Some people prefer to grow everbearing raspberries to produce only one large crop per year in fall. • All canes produced the previous season are prunedto the ground and the new canes produce the fruit.

30. PRUNING AND TRAINING SMALL FRUITSBlack and Purple Raspberries Figure 10-6 Pruning of black/purple raspberries & erect blackberries. (1) In summer, tip new canes.(2) in winter, cut out old canes and cut back branches on new canes. Drawing by Bethany Layport. • Black & Purple Raspberries do not require support, but must be pruned twice per year. • Summer, winter, or whenever they are dormant.

31. PRUNING AND TRAINING SMALL FRUITS Black and Purple Raspberries • Summer pruning prevents canes from growingto excessive lengths, creating a thicket. • A 1-month process with pinching at weekly intervals. • Winter pruning removes dead canes that fruited, & weak, broken, and poorly placed canes. • Branches that formed on canes tipped the previous season are shortened, which improves fruit quality. • Weak branches should be left 2” to 4” inches long, to produce only a light load of fruit. • Strong branches can be left 14” to 18”long.

32. PRUNING AND TRAINING SMALL FRUITSErect Blackberries • Self-supporting & need no stakes or trellises; require pruning two times per year—summer and winter. • Pruned in a manner identical to black/purple berries, except canes are summer tipped at 3 to 4 feet and side branches are cut to 12” to 18” inches in winter.

33. PRUNING AND TRAINING SMALL FRUITS Trailing and Semierect Blackberries Cut out old canes that fruited the previous summer. Figure 10-7a Pruning of trailing blackberries in three steps, all done during the dormant period.(1) Cut out old canes that fruited the previous summer. • Very vigorous plants which always need support. • Pruned once per year in the dormant season, in 3 steps.

34. PRUNING AND TRAINING SMALL FRUITS Trailing and Semierect Blackberries Cut Select & tie tothe support 8 to 10strong canes andremove the rest. Figure 10-7b Pruning of trailing blackberries in three steps, all done during the dormant period. (2) select and tie up 8 to 10 new canes—remove the rest. • Very vigorous plants which always support • Pruned once per year in the dormant season, in 3 steps.

35. PRUNING AND TRAINING SMALL FRUITS Trailing and Semierect Blackberries Figure 10-7c Pruning of trailing blackberries in three steps, all done during the dormant period.(3) shorten the tops and side branches on the tied canes. Drawings by Bethany Layport. • Very vigorous plants which always support • Pruned once per year in the dormant season, in 3 steps. Shorten the tops of the selected canes to 6 to 8 feet and the side branches to 12” to 18”.

36. PRUNING AND TRAINING SMALL FRUITS Blueberries • Bears fruit on growth produced the previous season. • Amount of pruning will vary with the species. • Rabbiteye blueberries do not require pruning. • Bushes are strong enough to mature large cropsof fruit without damaging the plant. • An exception should be made for older bushes, which benefit when older stems are thinned out lightly. • No trellising or other training is used on blueberries,which grow naturally into large, attractive shrubsbearing white, bell-shaped flowers in spring.

37. PRUNING AND TRAINING SMALL FRUITS Blueberries Figure 10-8 Left, before dormant pruning of highbush blueberry. Right, after pruning. Courtesy USDA. • Highbush blueberries overbear & yield small berries, if not pruned annually.

38. PRUNING AND TRAINING SMALL FRUITS Blueberries • Energy expended producing an overabundant crop inhibits vegetative growth, reducing next year’s yield. • Hard prune annually in early spring before new growth. • A significant amount of wood should be removed. • Upright-growing cultivars benefit from thinning out older center branches to reduce berry load, admit more light, and stimulate growth. • Drooping lower branches on spreading cultivarsshould be cut back to avoid breakage during fruiting.

39. PRUNING AND TRAINING SMALL FRUITS Currants and Gooseberries • Currants and gooseberries, like brambles, growinto shrubs from canes produced by the roots. • Fruit is borne on 1-, 2-, and 3-year-old canes witholder canes becoming progressively less productive. • Pruning should be done once per year before spring growth begins, to remove wood more than 3 years old. • Remove excess weak wood & shape into a compact shrub.

40. PRUNING AND TRAINING SMALL FRUITSGrapes • To train a vine, tie the strongest new shoot to the bottom wire & prune the rest of the shoots the first winter after planting. a. b. c. Figure 10-9 Training a grapevine using the four-arm Kniffen system. (a) First winter after planting,(b) the following summer, (c) the following winter after pruning. Drawing by Bethany Layport. • Four-Arm Kniffen System  - uses a two-wire trellis with wires strung between posts in the grape row.

41. PRUNING AND TRAINING SMALL FRUITSGrapes Figure 10-9 Training a grapevine using the four-arm Kniffen system. (a) First winter after planting,(b) the following summer, (c) the following winter after pruning. Drawing by Bethany Layport. • Four-Arm Kniffen System  - uses a two-wire trellis with wires strung between posts in the grape row. • The next summer the shoot should reach the top wire,where it is again tied/tippedto encourage side shoots. a. b. c.

42. PRUNING AND TRAINING SMALL FRUITSGrapes Figure 10-9 Training a grapevine using the four-arm Kniffen system. (a) First winter after planting,(b) the following summer, (c) the following winter after pruning. Drawing by Bethany Layport. • Four-Arm Kniffen System  - uses a two-wire trellis with wires strung between posts in the grape row. Side shoots are trained& tied out on the wire. Annual pruning as required. a. b. c.

43. PRUNING AND TRAINING SMALL FRUITSGrapes Gradually it will produceside shoots (fruiting canes) to cover the arbor. Space by pruning, tie tothe support, and replace annually. Figure 10-10 A grapevine trainedto an overhead arbor. • Arbor Training produces both fruit & shade. • The vine will need to grow to a large size; use a vigorous grape cultivar should & start training a vine at planting.

44. PRUNING AND TRAINING SMALL FRUITSGrapes One to grow ineach directionalong the trellis wires. Figure 10-11a Before annual pruning of a grapevine trained to a four-arm Kniffen system. • Heavy annual pruning should remove most of the wood growing from the trunk and leave only four shortened canes for fruit bearing.

45. PRUNING AND TRAINING SMALL FRUITSGrapes Each should be cut to a length that allows for 15 buds. Figure 10-11b After pruning. • Canes chosen to remain for fruit bearing should be slightly larger than pencil thickness for best fruit production. • Not necessarily the largest canes on the vine.

46. PRUNING AND TRAINING SMALL FRUITSGrapes Grapevines bear fruit only on canes that grew the previous summer. Figure 10-11b After pruning. • Four canes shortened to two to four buds shouldbe left near the two wires • These short canes (called renewal spurs) will producethe fruiting canes for the following season.

47. PRUNING AND TRAINING SMALL FRUITSGrapes • Grapevines neglected for many years require severe pruning to produce quality fruit again. • Plants should be cut back severely before growth starts, removing as much accumulated older wood as possible. • Following the specifications for annual pruning. • Any old wood that cannot be removed at this pruningmay be taken out with regular pruning the following year.

48. PRUNING AND TRAINING SMALL FRUITS Strawberries • Tree systems of training are used for strawberries: • The matted-row, spaced-runner, and hill systems. • Except in the hill system, flowers that form on plants during the year they are planted should be removed instead of being allowed to develop fruit. • This will increase the harvest the following year.

49. PRUNING AND TRAINING SMALL FRUITS Strawberries Figure 10-12b Strawberryplanting system: matted row. • Matted Row system involves transplanting young strawberries 2 feet apart in rows 3 to 4 feet apart. • Runners produced in late spring & summer are allowedto root at random, forming a dense mat about 2 feet wide. • This training system is least productive but easiest.

50. PRUNING AND TRAINING SMALL FRUITS Strawberries • Spaced Runner System - runners are pinned to the soil by the gardener as they grow so they are evenly spaced around the plant. • There will be less competition among the runners for water, nutrients, and light than in the matted row system.