Homesteaders

[OrganicFarmWife]

Lol indeed, unfriendly berries might disagree with you later

 

[wyoDreamer]

It looks like a bunch of strawberries, 2 blueberry bushes, and 3 raspberry bushes made it through the winter. Less than 50% of what I planted, but better than I expected. Now to get the fence done so the deer and rabbits don't eat them. Oh, and the peach tree I planted in Nov seems to be getting ready to break bud.

 

[OrganicFarmWife]

Did you have a harsh winter? We had one of the easiest ones I can remember. still lost 4 rose bushes, but I think it was probably to dry for them overwinter, not too cold.

 

[KentuckyMom]

Thanks for the tip! I hate gooseberries wish I could find a way to eat them, have so many.

My grandmother had gooseberry jelly on her table to eat with bread and butter at dinner time. I loved it and helped her pick the gooseberries when I visited at the right time. Now I know that she must have used tons of sugar to make that jelly sweet. My grandma and those gooseberries have been gone for many years now but the memories remain. Gooseberry plants are hard to find locally. Some day I will find some though and grow my own so I can continue the tradition.

 

[wyoDreamer]

We had a fairly mild winter, but the problems started last year.
We never got the fence up last year, so the deer were munching the plants of and on all summer. So I let the weeds grow up as a sort of protection, yeh - that sound right, i meant to let them get so overgrown, it wasn't my lazyness that caused it. If the deer can't find the plants, they won't eat them. Right?

 

[rancher hicks]

My grandmother had gooseberry jelly on her table to eat with bread and butter at dinner time. I loved it and helped her pick the gooseberries when I visited at the right time. Now I know that she must have used tons of sugar to make that jelly sweet. My grandma and those gooseberries have been gone for many years now but the memories remain. Gooseberry plants are hard to find locally. Some day I will find some though and grow my own so I can continue the tradition.

I suggest you order some bushes NOW. It will take a couple of years to get them established. Plant them on a raised bed for better drainage. There are Green and Red. Get two of both. Depending on how many berries you expect to use you'll be glad to have more than enough. I figure I can sell, freeze or "unuse" berries but I can't use what I don't have.

All the nonsense I've read about how EASY they are to grow is a crock. Mine are finally getting established.

My Currants have lots of flowers so I will be covering them with bird netting. If they do well I'll sell the extras per recipe amount. I hated picking more than I needed.

When do I uncover my roses? I cover mine with burlap wrapping.

 

[limited25]

This is the first year I used straw as mulch (like I seen a lot of people on BYC do) ... and it apparently was full of seeds so now I've got straw growing in my raised beds.

Guess this is a learning experience for me, but one I would rather have not had to learn. It is easy enough to pull, which I am doing, but now I would like to get educated please. Do you all do something to your straw before you use it as mulch? I have one bale of straw that I haven't used and it is growing straw out of it also. So far it has grown as tall as the tomato plants I have.

 

[bluto in mo]

The trick is to get clean wheat straw. Th e re will always be some seed in it though.

 

[limited25]

So, when I buy straw, ask them if it is mostly seedless? Wheat straw .... so is straw made of different things?

 

[Loc20chick]

We had a fairly mild winter, but the problems started last year.
We never got the fence up last year, so the deer were munching the plants of and on all summer. So I let the weeds grow up as a sort of protection, yeh - that sound right, i meant to let them get so overgrown, it wasn't my lazyness that caused it. If the deer can't find the plants, they won't eat them. Right?

yeah right!!!! too funny!