Since moving here, we have continually been pleasantly surprised by the numerous wild berries that we share a home with.
Thornless Blackberry in flower this year.
In addition to wild berries already present, the community of edible berries that we've planted is an ever expanding catalogue. We have all heard that berries are super nutritious because of the presence of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, other phytochemicals and fiber.
Boysenberry in flower this year.
There is also the benefits of the flowers, oh the gorgeous flowers... Of course these benefit all the wonderful insects that take sustenance from the flowers.
We love that berries are happy here and have taken our cue from nature in what domestic species we decide to introduce here.
Thornless Blackberry in Fall, love the beautiful leaves. There are so many wild blackberries on our land, we knew the thornless would thrive as well.
As always we are striving for an optimized relationship to the land we inhabit. Berries have been a great interest of ours.
We've included a wide diversity of fruits in our plantings that may not botanically be defined as berries, but what the heck they're great!
Hardy Kiwis & Strawberries
Wren planting goji berries last fall in our strawberry bed.
On our land we've found many species growing wild and have taken note.
We have seen blackberries, mulberries, golden currants, strawberries, blueberries, grapes (technically a berry) and raspberries. As mentioned before, the power of observation is epic! We noticed what was already growing and have been influenced and guided by the guild and species we found growing wild on this beautiful land we're charged with caring for.
We are selecting species that are hardy, useful and of course delicious. So far we have been happy to welcome numerous fruiting berry plants. Here's the rundown on the berries we have already established,
Wine Grapes about to go into the ground. We had less than 50% success rate on these seedlings and will try again this year. That's a part of it!
Berries on the Homestead:
- Triple Crown and Chester Thornless Blackberry
- Ozark Beauty Strawberry
- Chambourcin & Norton Wine Grape
- Black Current (unknown variety)
- Red Gooseberry (unknown variety
- Goji Berry
- Black Raspberry
- Heritage, Logan and other Raspberries
- Bob Gordon Elderberry
- Brightwell, Ozrark Blue, Powder Blue, Centurion and other Highbush blueberries.
- Red Crimson Goumi Berry
- Black chokeberry
- Blackberry x Raspberry Hybrids (Tayberry, Loganberry, Boysenberry)
We are happy to see the first flowers and developing fruits on the plants we established.
In fact, this will be the first year we get a crop of berries. YAY!!!
Propagating a root tip- this is an easy way to keep spreading your berries out year after year, as they love to grow!
After a droughty first year, most of our plants are looking healthy and vigorous.
We're not out of the clear yet, but have hopes for many years of berry enjoyment to come. By heavily mulching, sporadic deep waterings and an application of aged manure this spring, we are setting the plants up for success.
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