Growing Strengthening Our Farms Across Connecticut Small Fruit - PDF document

SOLID GROUND FARMER TRAININGS Growing Strengthening Our Farms Across Connecticut Small Fruit Visit newfarms.extension.uconn.edu/solidground for the full schedule of trainings offered in collaborations with our Commercially Agricultural Learning Partners: • Common Ground, New Haven • Community Farm of Simsbury, Simsbury Beginning Farmer & Rancher Program • Green Village Initiative, Bridgeport • Killingly Agricultural Education Center, Killingly BF 105 • Knox- Urban Farming Incubator Program, Hartford • Grow Windham, Willimantic, Windham Mary Concklin • Listo Para Iniciar Program, Bethel, Stamford, New Milford Visiting Extension Educator, Fruit Production and IPM Advancing the Business of Farming in Advancing the Business of Farming in Connecticut in Partnership with Connecticut in Partnership with Agriculture Learning Centers Agriculture Learning Centers Resources: UConn Extension Growing  Fruit production and IPM: Mary.Concklin@uconn.edu Small Fruit  Greenhouses: Leanne.Pundt@uconn.edu, Rosa.Raudales@uconn.edu Commercially  Food Safety: Diane.Hirsch@uconn.edu  Business & Risk Management: Joseph.Bonelli@uconn.edu  Pesticide Education: Candace.Bartholomew@uconn.edu  Food Systems: Jiff.Martin@uconn.edu Related Resources  Plant Diagnostics: Joan.Allen@uconn.edu  UConn Soils Lab: Dawn.Pettinelli@uconn.edu, Thomas.Morris@uconn.edu Advancing the Business of Farming in Advancing the Business of Farming in Connecticut in Partnership with Agriculture Connecticut in Partnership with Learning Centers Agriculture Learning Centers Opportunities: Fruit Production & IPM Other Farm Resources:  Crop Talk: Vegetable & Small Fruit Newsletter  CT Agricultural Experiment Station  UConn Fruit IPM Message via email, website  USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS)  New England Vegetable & Fruit Conference  USDA Farm Service Industry (FSA)  CT Vegetable & Small Fruit Growers’ Conference  CT Department of Agriculture (CT DoAg)  New England Small Fruit Production Guide  CT Department of Environmental and Energy Protection (DEEP)  Special Topic Workshops/Conferences/Twilight Meetings  CT Farm Bureau  Beginning Farmer Training Courses  CT New Farmers’ Alliance  UConn IPM Website (www.ipm.uconn.edu/)/fact sheets  NE Vegetable & Berry Growers’ Association  Phone/email/on-farm consultations/trainings  NE SARE 1

Need To Ask Yourself Growing Small Fruit  What do you want to grow OR what does your market want you to grow Commercially  How are you going to market the crop  PYO insurance Pre-Plant Considerations  Do I have enough space for the type of market  Do I have the capital  Food safety plan  Pollination options Advancing the Business of Farming in Advancing the Business of Farming in Connecticut in Partnership with Agriculture Connecticut in Partnership with Agriculture Learning Centers Learning Centers http://websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov/app/WebSoilSurvey.aspx CLiCK Compaction  < ½” per hour poorly drained soil  ½” – 1” per hour moderately well drained  > 1” per hour well drained 2

Topography Site Selection  Well drained soils  Organic matter at least 3%  Full sun  Currants and Alpine strawberries will do OK in partial shade Critical Temperatures Site Selection Blueberry TC Early Pink Late Pink Bloom - PF  Well drained soils 20-23 23-25 24-27 28  OM at least 3% 2 nd -4 th leaf Grape Full Swell Bud Burst 1st leaf 21 25 27 28  Full sun Strawberry Tight Bud Popcorn Open Blossom Fruit Set  Currants and Alpine strawberries will do OK in 22 26 30 28 partial shade Bramble Full Bloom  Topography 28  Avoid planting in sod Temperatures in degrees Fahrenheit Existing vegetation Get rid of weeds, sod  Blackberry, blueberry and Black walnuts don’t go together. Diagram courtesy of VA Tech 3

Cover Crops Cover Crops  Increase OM  Annual ryegrass, oats, buckwheat do not  Add nitrogen overwinter  Loosen compacted soil  Legumes: clovers, fescue,  Attract beneficial hairy vetch insects  Non-legumes: wheat, oats, - Clover, mustard flowers forage radishes, rye, barley,  Reduce soil erosion Veggietgardeningips.com Indiana Museum of Art buckwheat, mustards  Suppress weeds Nutrient Deficiencies Nutrient in excess Induced deficiency Nitrogen (N) K Phosphorus (P) Cu Potassium (K) N, Ca, Mg Sodium (Na) K, Ca, Mg Calcium (Ca) Mg, B Magnesium (Mg) Ca Iron(Fe) Mn Manganese (Mn) Fe Strawberry, Brambles Copper (Cu) Fe Blueberry, Cranberry Grapes Rabbiteye Lowbush blueberry Vaccinium virgatum ( also known as V. ashei) Vaccinium angustifolium  Low spreading  Native to southern USA  Spread by underground  Ripen late May – late July rhizomes  Wooded or open areas  Wild or managed stands  Harvest late July - August www.informedfarmers.com www.extension.org Photo courtesy of NCSU 4

Half-high blueberry Highbush Blueberries Vaccinium corymbosum x V. angustifolium Vaccinium corymbosum  Indigenous to North America  Northcountry, Northblue, Northsky, Northland,  1 st successful hybridization was in 1911 Chippewa, Polaris  Exceptional cold hardiness  Grown commercially beginning in 1930s  Root system 6” – 12” deep  Grows between and within 1. pH ! soil and mulch 2. pH !  Canes develop at crown  Sensitive to changing water conditions 3. pH ! 5

Amount of Sulfur in Pounds per 100 Square Feet Required to Lower Soil pH Present pH Desired pH Value of 4.5 Nitrogen deficiency of soil Or Sand Loam Clay 4.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 Iron deficiency ? 5.0 0.4 1.2 1.4 5.5 0.8 2.4 2.6 6.0 1.2 3.5 3.7 6.5 1.5 4.6 4.8 7.0 1.9 5.8 6.0 7.5 2.3 6.9 7.1  Self-pollination discouraged  Cross pollination strongly recommended  Native sonicating bees best  Bloom period of 7-20 days Photo courtesy of Wilson Bros Nursery Photo courtesy of Sandy Richards  Ripen 2-3 months after bloom Photo: NCSU.edu Photo:extension.org 6

Plant Selection  Increase in size by ~35% AFTER fruit turn  Early season  Very late blue - Duke, Patriot - Elliot  Sugar content ~ doubles  Mid-season  At least 2 varieties  Ripe fruit are 85% H 2 O - Reka, Northland, Blueray  Highbush + lowbush + - Bluecrop, Bluegold  Don’t pick early and half-high  Late mid-season put on shelf to ripen - Chandler, Darrow  Late season - Nelson, Jersey Planting & Care Planting & Care  Apply 4 - 6 inches mulch, flat top  Planting time  Between rows  Bare root or container - mulch, sod  Spring in northeast  Soak roots before or water immediately  Root pruning - NO Photo: Marvin Pritts 3 years old plant 7

Pruning Blueberries  Year 3 onward  2 – 3 canes per year of growth  Timing  No canes older than 6 years  1 st 2 – 3 years remove  Remove dead, low, weak - Flower buds canes - Dead wood - Broken wood - Diseased wood - Weak wood Drawing courtesy of OSU Dead canes Weak canes Low canes 8

Rejuvenation Brambles Rubus R. idaeus – red and yellow raspberry R. occidentalis – black raspberry R. neglectus – purple raspberry R. fructicosus – blackberries Other Brambles Other Brambles  Dewberry: Rubus trivialis  Loganberry: Rubus x loganobaccus - Trailing habit, related to blackberry - Accidental cross between blackberry & red raspberry  Tayberry: Rubus fruticosus x  Boysenberry: Rubus ursinus idaeus x idaeus - Cross between black - Cross between raspberry, raspberry & Loganberry blackberry & loganberry Photo Marvin Pritts 9

Planting & Care DON’T plant brambles or strawberries where . . .  Canes are hardy  Tomatoes, potato, eggplant in past 4-5 - reds to -30 0 F years: VerticilliumWilt - Others to -10 0 F  Self-fruitful  Full sun Photos courtesy of Oregon State Univ. Extension Remove Weeds Fertility Avoid potassium chloride fertilizer Pruning Floricane Fruiting Raspberry Planting  Majority of roots in top 10” Summer reds of soil  Tipping  ~10- 20% in next 10”  Timing  Shoot buds develop on roots  Remove spent fruiting  Shoot buds develop at canes, weak canes crown  Reduce row width to 1’  4-5 canes/linear ft of row Diagram U of Illinois Extension Diagram U of Illinois Extension 10

Summer Bramble Training Systems “I” trellis “V” trellis Photos M. Pritts, Cornell Photo courtesy of Marvin Pritts Pruning Floricane Fruiting Black & Pruning Floricane Fruiting Black & Purple Raspberry & Blackberry Purple Raspberry & Blackberry  Tipping early summer  Remove spent fruiting canes, weak canes - 3” - 4” when canes at the wire  Leave 4-8 strong canes/crown  Winter tipping Diagrams Purdue Univ Diagrams Purdue Univ 11

 Stiles shift trellis - For semi-erect & trailing blackberries Fall Fruiting Brambles aka - Everbearing  Annual fruit production  Primocane bearing  Red & yellow raspberries  Blackberries Fall bearing Brambles Pruning Fall bearing Brambles  Red raspberries  Blackberries  After harvest, once plants are dormant - Heritage, Autumn Britton, - Prime Jan, Prime Jim, Caroline, Josephine, Prime Ark 45, Prime Ark  Don’t leave long stubs Polana, Himbo Top, Freedom Nantahala, Polka, Jaclyn, Joan J, Prelude  Black raspberries - Niwot - Anne, Kiwigold, Fall Gold 12