Pick Your Pic 2023

I requested this topic in another dated thread.It doesn’t look like anyone has started one,so here goes.
We are well into the year,being nearly May and Spring has new life,expectations and hopes.
My first photo may not look like much,with trash thrown around a swampy area.This is at a supermarket parking lot,in my town.
To me though,the place looks like a spot to plant some Pawpaw seeds.There is water,that probably doesn’t dry up in Summer and larger trees for shade.Some consideration will be needed,to give them a chance to grow and maybe in a few years,there will be some new trees there.

11 Likes

Moving along,towards the end of May,I was outside,late afternoon,temperature about 73F and a butterfly came fluttering and was feeding on the Blackberry flowers.Deciding to take a photo,when getting close enough,off she went.In about twenty seconds,was back and took this shot.To me,one of the most beautiful things in nature.

17 Likes

So a picture you took today that you think is interesting and worth sharing, right?

I love the look of savoy cabbages and they are great to eat as well. Savoy perfection on the left elbowing out the smaller Alcosa. I never leave enough space.

11 Likes

Farmingdale fruitlet

6 Likes

My first purple broccoli is emerging.

9 Likes

Two different tales:

WS8-10 persimmon. Last year did almost nothing. I thought it died. This year it wants to grow. From humble beginnings.

Amethyst Purple Raspberry
Planted last spring late. Most vigor i have seen in any raspberry. Production will be insane. Had the most bee activity of all my rasps. Every nook and cranny has berries and its only a year old.

8 Likes

6 Likes

9 Likes

Your dog looks like mine… sad that im not out planting or working outside… My heeler loves to watch me work. Rainy days are sad days at the farm.

3 Likes


The light caught a persimmon tree just right

6 Likes

Beauty

The Beast

5 Likes

@krismoriah thanks for posting the pictures.

I’d like to do something similar with 6ft T-posts and wire to keep the canefruit upright in rows similarly long as yours. Do you need additional bracing for tposts counteract the forces pulling the tposts towards each other? Or are the forces not great enough to have such need?

2 Likes

@krismoriah

The beast looks like a family member! They are on their best behavior for now. Remember what your dealing with Blackberries by the gallons .They are planning to take that patch! They are adapting as we discuss it.

1 Like

I have several methods in various rows… and have seen many variations of how other folks do it… ive even seen telephone poles and heavy tensile wire.

Simple answer is that there is no real right or wrong way… the question is how do you want your plants to look…and are you looking for maximum production or just enough?

Personally i like the hedge look… and i like the simplicity of wires on both sides of the plant. I space T posts every 15 feet and terminate the wire every 30 feet. The middle Tpost is clipped to the T post and i can add tension by moving the wire up above horizontal or below if i want to.

I have one run of 60 feet where i drove in 8ft T-posts at a 45 degree angle and tensioned a single wire with a wire strainer… its great for my trailing varieties…but if it breaks or something happens…it will be a nightmare. I plan on adding a secondary wire below it about 6 inches…which is kind of what trailing varieties like anyways.

I am a couple of years into using synthetic baling twine as low and middle wires… some folks would say it spreads disease or something but so far i havent had any issues. You can pull it very very tight by hand easily.

I used barbed wire on my lower wire due to my dogs in my nearest rows… but they are too smart and are experts at jumping over it and under it…so it was a total waste of time.

So to answer your question- drive them in at an angle facing away from each other a handful of degrees and pull the top wire tight by hand and secure it. Drive the middle T posts in vertically and you can use them to tension the wire by either sloping it up or down if needed. Also provides support laterally.

In a perfect world i would have a much better trellis but i use what is easy to me and easy to maintain.

2 Likes

@krismoriah

They will likely get over 20 feet tall in that good soil there. Whatever you gave them they like it. How are you controlling them? They will make alot of delicious fruit for you this year!

1 Like

I am now considered the enemy. These Healthberries are smarter than the new A.I. :crazy_face:

No honestly @clarkinks i really enjoy these things… I plan on trying to tame those canes… i want to lay them horizontally and see how they like it. I managed to do it with Chickasaw which grows similarly.

How am i controlling them? Funny guy! You cant. These were planted April 2022. They are just babies.

I just planted a variety from the 1960s that was used in commercial production…but lost favor due to the thorns… they were too nasty… they dont compare to healthberries though.

I feed them pretty well… woodchips, manure and my vermicompost all mixed together… thats what i feed everything.

3 Likes

Horizontal wire to wire training results in more fruiting laterals.

Pin cane on one side and train horizontal to the other side. Many many more fruiting laterals

5 Likes

Those leaves look tempting too.

5 Likes

@krismoriah thanks for your answer. I do plant to drive the posts away from each other, except any middles ones where the left and right side forces counteract. I think a trampoline brace kit might be cheap way to brace the terminal tposts if required.

How do you secure wire to tpost? I can just twist metal with pliers like a twisty tie but not sure if it will hold.

1 Like

You can get as fancy as you want on securing the wire. I use 17 gauge galvanized fence wire and do these bends bare handed… its fairly easy to do.

Again i am all about simplicity… so there are many many better ways than mine.

3 Likes