Growing Berries and Grapes in the Home Garden Chuck Ingels UC Cooperative Extension, Sacramento County Master Gardener Training – San Andreas Feb. 5, 2015 Cane Berries This is Not How They Have To Grow Blackberries and Hybrids Plant Characteristics • Most have long, trailing runners • Thorny and thornless available (revert?) • Shoot tips root in soil in fall • Plant spacing: 3 ½-4 ft. apart Blackberries and Hybrids Fruiting and Pruning • Fruit produced on 1-yr.-old canes (“floricanes”) • Floricanes cut to ground after fruiting • New canes (“primocanes”) allowed to grow through season • 5+ primocanes per plant cut to 6-8 ft., tied to or wrapped around wire – These become floricanes Primocanes in Feb. (boysenberry) Bud Shoot grows and forms flowers One-Year-Old Canes in March (Ollalie) One-Year-Old Canes, early April (boysenberry) New Canes in Early March New Cane in April (boysenberry) Cut old canes to ground in July (after harvest), tie new canes to wires New Canes in May Canes Grow- ing to Ground September 20 Will root in ground Blackberries and Hybrids Varieties • ‘Ollalie’ – black x Logan x youngberry • ‘Marion’ berry • Boysenberries: •Nectarberry •Thornless youngberry (seedless) • ‘Black Butte’, ‘Thornless Black Satin’ • Loganberry – wild black x raspberry Boysenberry Raspberries • Semi-erect; shoots grow from roots! • Prefer afternoon shade (?) • ‘Oregon 1030’, ‘Bababerry’ OK full sun • Spacing: 2½-3 ft. apart • 3 types •Summer bearing •Everbearing •Black Summer-Bearing Raspberries • Fruit produced on 1-yr.-old canes (“floricanes”) • Floricanes cut to ground after fruiting • New canes (“primocanes”) allowed to grow through season • 10-12 primocanes per plant or per 2-3 ft. tied or wrapped around wire • ‘Newberg’, ‘Latham’, ‘Willamette’, etc. Everbearing Raspberries • Produce 2 crops: Small crop on floricanes Larger crop on primocanes • All canes usually cut to ground in winter Harvest later crop only • ‘Bababerry’, ‘Oregon 1030’, ‘Heritage’, ‘Fallgold’, ‘Indian Summer’, etc. Summer-Bearing Everbearing Raspberry Growth in June Floricanes Primocanes Trellising for Cane Berries • Strong end posts, posts or stakes in between • 12-gauge galvanized wire • Blackberry – wires 2, 4, and 6 ft. high •Crossarm if desired • Raspberry – wires variable, top wire 4.5 ft. •3 or 4 wires, crossarm •Moveable wires optional Raspberry Trellis Examples Trellis in Oregon Installing New Raspberry Beds Jan. 2013 Blueberries • Delicious, very healthy • In high demand for antioxidant content • Easy to grow • Small plant, low maintenance • Many varieties for extended ripening • Mid-May through June or (higher elevations) July Blueberries • “Southern & northern highbush” types Southern – lower chill requirement • Self-pollenized, greater set w/ pollenizer • Spacing 3-5 ft. apart; grow to 4-8 ft. tall • Best varieties (?): ‘Reveille’, ‘Misty’, ‘Sunshine Blue’, ‘Bluecrop’, ‘Southmoon’ • Grow best in low-pH soil (4.5-5.5) • Acidify soil with soil sulfur before planting • Soil should be 20-40% org. matter Blueberry Plantings Young Blueberries in Kern County Blueberry Heath Family (Ericaceae) (Manzanita too) Planting at FOHC, 2007 Soil for Blueberries • Good drainage essential • Blueberry roots need air • Compaction, hardpan, shallow soil make for poor growth and production • If clay loam to clay soil – Use berms or raised beds Fertilizing Blueberries • Very sensitive to overfertilization with N • Desirable growth = 10-12” on a 2-year-old cane • Synthetic: N or balanced fertilizer – Ammonium sulfate is acidic • Organic: Pelleted manure, feather meal, Blueberries in Containers Excellent choice for containers Adequate watering is critical Problem: Soil level eventually goes down due to high org. matter Dwarf varieties available e.g., Sunshine Blue Soil Mix for Containers Dave Wilson Nursery •1/3 pathway bark (1/4 inch) •1/3 peat moss (coarse, if you can find it) •1/3 leaf mold or forest humus-based potting soil •Mix together and add 2 Tbsp. soil sulfur •NOTE: Org. matter will break down so soil level will go down. Soil Sulfur Needed to Achieve pH 4.5 (tsp./cu. ft. of soil mix) pH Sand Loam Clay 5.0 0.5 1.5 2.3 5.5 1.0 3.0 4.5 6.0 1.4 4.3 6.5 6.5 1.8 5.6 8.4 7.0 2.5 7.5 11.3 Soil Sulfur Needed to Achieve pH 4.5 (lbs./1,000 sq. ft.) pH Sand Loam Clay 5.0 4 12 18 5.5 8 24 37 6.0 12 35 53 6.5 15 46 70 7.0 19 59 88 Citrus Thrips Damage Leaf deformation Shoot stunting Reduced growth & yield Thrips Flower thrips damage rare »Halo spots on fruit Citrus thrips – leaf deformation Control: forceful stream of water »Late spring, summer Growing Grapes in the Home Garden A Few Good Grape Varieties Table grape varieties »Thompson Seedless, Flame Seedless, Black Monukka, Fantasy Seedless, Perlette, Diamond Muscat Red wine varieties »Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir White wine varieties »Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris Grape Bud Grape Shoot Grape Flower Growing Grapes from Cuttings • Take cutting from dormant vine, ½ in. dia. • Cut to 18 in. long • Cut off all buds but the upper 2 • Stick in loose soil, upper 2 buds exposed • Plant 2 per hole, remove weaker one Grapevine Pruning Grapevine Terms • Head – upper portion of trunk • Cordon – permanent branch on wire • Shoot – current season’s growth • Cane – mature, woody shoot • Spur – 2-bud section of cane for fruiting • Arm – old growth of years of spurs • Tendril – twining organ used for support Head Training, Cane Pruning Head Training / Cane Pruning • Used for varieties that produce no fruit from lower buds (e.g., Thomp. Seedless) • 4-6 canes per vine, 10-14 buds long • Wrap or tie canes along wire • Leave 1½ spurs per cane to produce replacement canes Bilateral Cordon, Spur Pruning Cordon Training, Spur Pruning • Majority of varieties • Trunk divides into 2 or 4 cordons • Create 5-8 spurs per side (~6 in. apart) • Remove weak canes or make 1-bud spur • Select lowest of the 2 canes for the spur Arbor Pruning Arbor Pruning Grape Growing Terms Increasing Fruit Size & Quality • Cluster thinning – removal of clusters • Berry thinning – removal of lower portion of clusters • Girdling – removal of ring of bark • Gibberellic acid – spray used to increase fruit size (commercial use only) • Shoot thinning – removal of unwanted shoots to open canopy • Leaf removal – around cluster, air circ. Thompson Seedless Raisin grape: No berry thinning Table grape: Berry thinned Trunk Girdling to Increase Berry Size • Disrupts downward movement of sugars • Increase in weight about 50% (seedless) • Increase in weight about 5-10% (seeded) • Done at fruit set, 10-14 days after full bloom (about mid to late May) • Remove strip of bark ~¼ in. wide • Cut all the way around trunk or cordon Trunk Girdling Callused over after 2 months Grapevine Problems and Pest Management Powdery Mildew Yellow blotches early on Powdery Mildew Strands of spores on berries Brown blotches in fall/winter Powdery Mildew Characteristics • Fungus – Does not require moisture • Limiting factor in growing European grapes; American varieties resistant (Concord, etc.) • Growth is minimal below 70 F and above 92 F • Spring conditions required for growth: 70 F for 6 hrs., 3 days in a row Powdery Mildew Symptoms • Initial – Yellowish blotches on leaves • Later – White powdery fungus on leaves, fruit • Fruit – Small, don’t ripen • Canes – Brown blotches Powdery Mildew Control • Plant in full sun • Thin and trim shoots in late spring • Thin clusters in May/early June • Remove leaves around clusters • Dust or spray with wettable sulfur • Oil sprays (not with sulfur) • Horticultural oil, neem oil, etc., mixed in water Powdery Mildew Use of Sulfur or Oil • Preventive only! • Spray early season, dust late • 1st spray: Depends on temps.! • Bud break to 2 inches of growth • Then every 7-14 days through June • Good coverage essential! Erineum Mite (Aesthetic problem only!) Erineum Mite • Large, puckered spots on leaves • Felty white underneath early, brown later • Aesthetic problem; not harmful to plant • Sulfur applications for powdery mildew control it • Soap sprays in spring Questions? .