Bring on the berries! Last week I busied myself with the task of constructing a raised garden bed in anticipation of the arrival of strawberry plants we ordered last month. A long narrow bed frame (25'x3.5') was constructed to accommodate twenty-five plants. Bare roots were shipped so we aren't likely to have strawberries until next summer, but we're excited about the addition of this edible in our garden nonetheless.
The variety of strawberry we ordered is named Sparkle. It is a June bearing plant that will yield small to medium sized fruit. Sparkle is touted as an heirloom quality variety with excellent flavor. It is one of the three recommended varieties of strawberries for the Midwest region in The Backyard Homestead, which, by the way, is an excellent book.
Much consideration was given to the size of the bed frame and its ultimate location in the yard. A square bed with a mat of strawberry plants? A wide bed with two or more rows of plants? We went with a long bed and single row of plants, mainly, because it will be easiest for John to tend to the plants as well as pick berries. He's not as enthusiastic about the main garden as he is by the selection of berries growing in the yard.
Along with the strawberry plants we also ordered black raspberry bushes. These were also bare root plants and right now it looks like two sticks are planted in the ground. Hopefully, next year we will have a selection of red and black raspberries to eat. We went with a mid-season summer bearing raspberry called Bristol.
While digging holes for the blueberry bushes a couple weeks ago, I noticed a few sleepy white grubs curled up like a 'c'. Initially I felt bad for disturbing them, and all of the other life forms upset by the shifting soil, but curiosity got the best of me and I wanted to know exactly what they were. When digging in the Earth as a girl I don't recall ever seeing any such thing in the soil. Turns out, the milky white grub is that of a beetle. But in order to properly identify them you need to pick them up and look at their hind end with a magnifying glass. The hair pattern on their rump, or rasteral pattern, will tell you if it is the larvae of a May/June beetle, Masked Chafer beetle or a Japanese beetle. I didn't take the time to look at these creatures through a magnifying glass but I did pick up the ones I came across when planting the black raspberries and, while wearing thick work gloves, popped them like a zit between my index finger and thumb. Yes, I committed grub murder. Several times, in fact, on Tuesday afternoon. All that kept running through my mind is how many of those dang Japanese beetles were hanging out on the leaves of the red raspberry bush last summer, chomping and copulating. There were many more of the white grubs in the soil near the red raspberry bush versus where the blueberry bushes were planted, too. Maybe this means that in addition to goats, John and I need to raise a couple of pigs or chickens so they can eat the grubs! Then I won't have to pop them. Does that description make you squirm, too?
The variety of strawberry we ordered is named Sparkle. It is a June bearing plant that will yield small to medium sized fruit. Sparkle is touted as an heirloom quality variety with excellent flavor. It is one of the three recommended varieties of strawberries for the Midwest region in The Backyard Homestead, which, by the way, is an excellent book.
Much consideration was given to the size of the bed frame and its ultimate location in the yard. A square bed with a mat of strawberry plants? A wide bed with two or more rows of plants? We went with a long bed and single row of plants, mainly, because it will be easiest for John to tend to the plants as well as pick berries. He's not as enthusiastic about the main garden as he is by the selection of berries growing in the yard.
Along with the strawberry plants we also ordered black raspberry bushes. These were also bare root plants and right now it looks like two sticks are planted in the ground. Hopefully, next year we will have a selection of red and black raspberries to eat. We went with a mid-season summer bearing raspberry called Bristol.
While digging holes for the blueberry bushes a couple weeks ago, I noticed a few sleepy white grubs curled up like a 'c'. Initially I felt bad for disturbing them, and all of the other life forms upset by the shifting soil, but curiosity got the best of me and I wanted to know exactly what they were. When digging in the Earth as a girl I don't recall ever seeing any such thing in the soil. Turns out, the milky white grub is that of a beetle. But in order to properly identify them you need to pick them up and look at their hind end with a magnifying glass. The hair pattern on their rump, or rasteral pattern, will tell you if it is the larvae of a May/June beetle, Masked Chafer beetle or a Japanese beetle. I didn't take the time to look at these creatures through a magnifying glass but I did pick up the ones I came across when planting the black raspberries and, while wearing thick work gloves, popped them like a zit between my index finger and thumb. Yes, I committed grub murder. Several times, in fact, on Tuesday afternoon. All that kept running through my mind is how many of those dang Japanese beetles were hanging out on the leaves of the red raspberry bush last summer, chomping and copulating. There were many more of the white grubs in the soil near the red raspberry bush versus where the blueberry bushes were planted, too. Maybe this means that in addition to goats, John and I need to raise a couple of pigs or chickens so they can eat the grubs! Then I won't have to pop them. Does that description make you squirm, too?
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| (A) Lumber is cut (B) Weed block paper laid down (C) It starts to rain when only a quarter of the frame is assembled (D) It's best not to use power tools in the rain |
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| We need more soil. |
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| Full of soil, topped with a layer of cocoa shells, and ready for the strawberries. |
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| A strawberry crown |
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| View of the backyard from the attic. A thick layer of straw has been placed on top of the weed block paper between the two beds to form a foot path. |
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