Most of us want more berries more of the time but are everbearers the way to accomplish that? I’ve grown everbearing strawberries such as Albion and the crop never matched my June strawberries. It did yield berries when I normally had none. I planted prime ark freedom and 45 blackberries this year that are said to be ever bearing. This is an interesting article on raspberries http://homeguides.sfgate.com/varieties-everbearing-raspberries-25040.html. What are your opinions on ever-bearers, day neutrals etc.? There are Primocanes and fluorocane that produce different crops on blackberries but what are overall expected yields? What other plants are everbearing? Are grapes available yet? The seedless concord I grow most years in Kansas produces two crops. One crop is in summer and the other is really late in the fall. I’ve had pears produce two crops on certain years but the second crop of pears were 1/4 the normal size.
At one time I grew both strawberries. The day-neutral yield was disappointingly small and ravaged by sap beetles in later summer. I got to the point where it wasn’t worth bothering to pick.
These days, with the SWD, I suspect there would be even greater difficulties.
I really want to hear these answers too! My goal is to maximize fresh fruit eating, so ever bearing would be great. But if they don’t live up to the name, I’ll pick other varieties.
plan a progression of June bearers, early, mid & late, you’ll be up to your ears in strawberries for a month and a ½
I think the bird/critter pressure you have can be a big part of it, particularly with things that aren’t in an easily defined space and easy to protect. For my Mara des Bois strawberries, I get a reasonable crop in the Spring when my June bearers are coming in as well, but once the other MdB flushes come along in summer and fall, the birds and chipmunks pretty much get them all.
I noticed the same thing with my raspberries in terms of the scale of the harvest compared to what I actually get. When my Prelude raspberries came in, which is the majority of my 12 foot row, I had plenty and the birds still got theirs. Once they were done and my smaller batch of Lauren started ripening, the birds started to get them all. I find a few hidden under leaves, but otherwise the wildlife wins.
So if you can plant (and maintain, always an issue) much bigger plots or protect them well, I really like the idea of everbearing to enjoy an ongoing harvest. But in my situation, I’m finding I have to out produce the demands of my suburban wildlife or I’m just running a feeding station.
I have a bed (12X3) of June-bearing strawberries where I pick about 4 gallons of berries in 10 days period. It is great to use for canning or for freezing, but to eat it fresh for family of two is almost impossible. I also have like 6 plants of ever-bearing strawberries, it gives like 20 smaller size berries a day at the same time, and about 5-10 a day when pick time passed. It is enough to have a taste every day or every other day. if I would have whole bed of it, I will not be able to can, I believe, but will have enough to eat every day.
I pulled up all my day-neutral strawberries this spring. The berries are way smaller, and as the summer progressed I saw more and more pest and disease pressure. It became common to go out and find no edible berries at all. Sap beetles and grey mold were my biggest problems, and now that I’m starting to see SWD it’s just not worth it.
Maybe there’s some spray program that can keep the pests at bay, but even then you’re left with tiny berries that go bad quickly due to the heat of summer.
My june bearing strawberries are almost done and we have 40-50 lbs. in the freezer for smoothies, we also have a 4 ft by 4 ft patch of Tristar everbearing strawberries. Sure, the production isn’t near what the june bearing are, but, strawberries are my favorite and it is so nice to go out and grab a handful in September and even October
Everbearing strawberries make sense for those in zones 2-4 When I think about it.
As summer is about perfect for them. I still grow Mara Des Bois, they do fairly well in the heat. It’s not that hot here either. Hot enough, seems intense even when not extreme.
How many plants do you have? I’d love to harvest that amount a year. I’ve got to step it up.
i manage my everbearing raspberries for 1 big primocane crop in august. i like to freeze and make jam with them. just mow them down when they’re dormant in late fall. but i just planted a few like anne and caroline i might manage for a summer florocane crop as they produce pretty late and ill lose some of the fall crop to frost. ill let the canes overwinter. i have earliglow junebearing strawberries with berries right now and evie2 and maria des bois day neutrals just starting to flower for the 1st time. by next week i should be eating berries.
My earliglo’s are just getting done. They are the best!
mine are still white but i only planted them last fall so they’re a little behind. can’t wait!
Hundreds, I have 3 main beds and then some scattered here and there throughout the garden and orchard. I’ll try to post a picture to give you an idea before I mow them down and remove 2/3 of them. Its a mix of Earliglo, Allstar, and Ozark Beauty.
This year I think the harvest total will be about 65lbs., 2 years ago we topped 90 but you have to keep moving the beds around every 3-5 years so you have up years and down years depending on how established your beds are. We should be close to 100 again next year.
What causes the june bearing types to stop producing? Heat? Day length? Or is it just nature of the plant? Do they stop bearing even in a greenhouse.
Drew
Yes, one crop wonders. They produce for a couple weeks. Then before fall you have to cut them all back. I use a weed whacker.
Do they regrow after you cut them back? Like a perennial? Thank you Drew.
I’ve always renovated within a week after harvest. Is there a better time?
No, that is the best time as the plants have a chance to recover. Glad you mentioned it, I meant do it before dormant, you can wait some, but right after harvest is the best time. Let’s go over renovation. Remove all runners, or older plants within 6 inches of one another. i.e. thin the plants. Mow them down to one inch above crown. Fertilize them. That’s it. Beds should be productive for 5 years.
Yes, and you are pruning them. They are perennials. Smaller, tigther new growth is easier to protect for the winter and the old leaves often show damage, and infection like leaf spot etc.
Everbearing types need bird protection, I think. It’s too easy for even a small local population to eat everything unless you have a lot of everbearing plants.
Oops, it seems I renovated my strawberries too late last year. I’ll do it this weekend.