We came a cross some first year blackberry plants locally for quite a deal and added them to the garden near the raspberries and cherry trees. I think this will be my favorite spot in the garden in a few years!
The first thing we did is auger some deep holes in the area.
We like to make the holes deep for a reason, and that’s to add some compost, grass cuttings and others items that will feed the plant as the items break down and decompose. This time I added some kitchen scraps that were about halfway broken down, then added a layer of dried grass cutting on top to give the roots a bit of a buffer layer from the scraps.
Then I added in some nutrient rich soil full of earthworms and placed the plant in, filling in around the edges.
We have found that mulching is just necessary around here, and probably everywhere. It has really improved the health of not only our berries, but all of our other plants as well. So, for this area, I added a very think layer of dried grass clippings around the plants and will continue to do so while it grows.
While grass clipping may not be the optimal mulch cover, it’s something we have readily available and I think trying to use the items we have, rather than buying or making other items is an important concept as a homesteader. Many have access to hay, which I think makes perfect mulch, but since that is something we would have to purchase...it just doesn’t make sense for us personally. So, I’m giving the grass clippings a try and we will see how it goes! For to the rest of the garden I do prefer wood chips, and we have been making our own here for that, eventually I may add those around the berries as well.
We have been using the grass clippings around the raspberries we planted last year and they seem to really be flourishing. Now that they are getting a bit bigger I will be adding some thick layers of the clippings around the plants to try to cut down on some of that grass peeking through, but they are healthy and even have a few buds popping up!
🌿 Thank you for coming along for a quick update in the garden. I hope your gardens are flourishing as well!🌿
Thank you for reading,
Happy Homesteading
Beautiful pictures! I loved the layout of your post and the angle you took the photos.
Global Homestead Collective
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Thank you so much, I really appreciate that 🤗
Very cool. (I don't have an auger, so hand dig all our holes.) Have you ever expierimented with non-round wholes? I've read that circular wholes can act almost as a container or barrier for roots. Perhaps this just pertains to really hard, clay-type soil?
Yes I think that depends on the soil, but we are experimenting with deep holes vs trenches and so far haven’t seen much of a difference. Our soil is pretty loamy, but we do have quite a few rocks which makes hand digging tough. When we put up our garden last year, it included putting large timber around the perimeter for the fencing... the hubs got an auger to make that job do able and its just been an easy way to get some holes dug quickly haha. I do try to losen the sides to encourage roots to grow horizontally as well.
Thank you!
Wow, I didn’t even know that there is a tool to dig round holes!
I guess we are kind of primitive around here :)
Nice job and nice post @llfarms. Thank you for sharing!
I luuuuuuuuv blackberries!!! I can't wait to see them grow for you!
Ohhhh me too! Blackberry jam is my ultimate favorite, my Grandmother use to make it for me every year. I didn’t think we were going to add blackberries this year but came across them when out and about for such a steal, we just couldn’t resist. I’m so excited for all the fruit!!
Thanks for the love girlie 💕
Another lovely and beautifully illustrated homesteading-report from a true aficionado in the field... ;-) Thanks for all the love you poor into this and your posts!
Wow!! Thank you so much ❤️
I will be looking forward to seeing how these bushes do in the next couple years. You gave them a real good start!
Thank you! I’m so excited to see these guys in the years to come 🤗
Food is the sub servant of forests :)
I have fond memories of the whole family coming together to pick blackberries in the summertime at my grandparents' homestead. People would come for miles to buy them up as soon as they were picked. I loved to pour cream over a bowl of berries and sprinkle a bit of cane sugar over them for dessert. Soooo good. I always said that if I decided to grow a patch like theirs I would go with the thornless varietes. The thorned blackberries can really do a number on you when they get thick!
Oh memories like that are just so special! We grew up munching on them right off the bush while out playing. Then later my Grandmother would spend a day canning preserves that we would eat through the year... I hope to do the same in the future 💕
Berries will cream and sugar is amazing btw... 🤤
Stunning Stuff nice one. I wonder how these would do in Aquaponics? We once tried a papaya tree and it was incredible. Got so big it needed to be chopped eventually as it was lifting the roof ;) Cheer$;)
I don’t know that I have every seen anyone doing berry bushes in aquaponics, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. Love the papaya tree! The hubs wants to set up a big aquponics system in a heater greenhouse here and grow some tropical fruits and avocados... he really wants avocados lol.
Thank you!
Haha avos rock, not sure that would work in aquaponics they would just weigh too much although you could bonsai them now theres an idea ;)
Nice job... i bet there was plenty more work behind the scenes of this post too! A lot of sweat aswell.
The results should speak for themselves later on down the line.
I am adding soft fruit and fruit trees a bit at a time here at our place as well. I have to contend with sea air, but we are lucky that part of our land is more wooded. I hope one day to start actively addressing this wood to make a mixture of a wooded pleasure garden but to use the understory planting or soft fruits. Blueberries do very well here in our well draining acidic soil and we have many natie ones, My current ones are in my small plastic greenhouse to save the crop from the birds, but at the end of the year I'll put them in the ground and do this each year.
Have you tried leaf mold? Composting Autumn leaves makes an excellent rich soild and I even mulch with the full leaves not shredded and then just top dress it with some other mulch to hold it down and it breaks down and enriches the soil. Of course soil is different everywhere.
Good luck.
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Great to create a perennial food forest. As I don't have a garden I like the idea to plant in the countryside plants, like cherry or apple trees... Everyone can use it later.