Different raspberries are native in different parts of the country. In my area we have wild black raspberries. In MN wild red raspberries. Reds will grow here but do not go feral. In MN black raspberries are iffy and never go feral. Climate makes a difference. Never had a gross raspberry. I plan to try purple raspberries in MN. A trick plant breeders use is cross in native species to adapt to difficult climate conditions.
Almost all of the thornless blackberry varieties have been developed in Arkansas. If you don't want thorns, maybe work on digging the wild ones out and replacing with these. Some have very good flavor.
Need to put tools away, do laundry, dishes, put up my empty canning jars that are upside down on every random surface near the kitchen.... And just declutter.
So don't buy these, is that what you are saying?
Yes, I have thornless blackberries developed by University of Arkansas. And they are quite enormous and meaty... But not as sweet as the wild blackberries.Almost all of the thornless blackberry varieties have been developed in Arkansas. If you don't want thorns, maybe work on digging the wild ones out and replacing with these. Some have very good flavor.
As far as the wild ones, I've picked very delicious wild blackberries and five feet away the berries were sour even though they were just as ripe.
Have you thought about spraying the outside of your wine barrels with a mixture of BLO and pine tar? Since you live in CA, I'm going to assume real turpentine is verboten but if you can get ahold of it, it'll help the mixture penetrate a bit deeper into the wood.We planted an apple tree in the orchard today, to replace the dead cherry tree. Sierra Beauty. Need to prune it today. Planting two more apple trees in half wine barrels. We have one of them, Gravenstein. But we'll be buying another, Granny Smith. We have a multi graft tree that has done very well and will pollinate the Gravenstein but I want another Granny Smith to ensure pollination. Gravenstein is a temperamental tree. Eventually it'll probably get planted in the ground out front but I want to watch the sun angle this year to see exactly where it can go.
Got jalapeno seeds. Had to go to home Depot for them. Couldn't reach the seeds so I got a broom to knock a packet down.
No more rain in the forecast. Time to get busy in the yard.. Time to plant carrot seed and more beets.
When we cut the wine barrel yesterday I had an epiphany..... I can grow a lot of stuff in wine barrels. I have five more I can cut in half.... I will probably only cut two more, but the potential is there!
I drilled out holes on the largest bands and ran screws into the staves to keep them solid even if they dry out. Did that before we cut the barrel since the staves provide tension on the rings. These should last longer this way. I'll keep them elevated off of the ground so the termites won't eat them. It took less than a year for the termites to find them when I had them out front and couldn't move them yet (they dried out).
Anyway. Housework weekend too. My house looks like a goat exploded inside.
I have some ideas here so we'll see how it goes.
