The Modern Victory Garden

After much delay, the raspberry, strawberry, and cranberry plants have all finally been put into their respective beds in the garden.   The weather forecast Thursday night was calling for windy rainy conditions for the next four or five days beginning late on Friday night.   With this in mind, I raced home from work on Friday evening, threw on my "working in the garden" clothes, and dashed out to plant the bare root raspberries and strawberries that had arrived on Monday and been sitting ever since due to unusually bitter cold conditions.   The weather had warmed up considerably on Thursday and Friday (not warm, but not frigid either) and it was dry and mostly sunny - so this was my brief window of opportunity to get this important task completed before the heavy rains arrived.     

The first thing I attended to were the raspberries.   There are 10 "Heritage" bare root plants that are going into an area that we just finished clearing last Sunday.   I dug 5 deep holes in a line approximately 2 feet apart and then dug another five holes in a line that was offset 2 feet from the first line of holes - staggering the holes so that they alternated with the first line.    In the bottom of each hole a ½ cup of general purpose organic fertilizer (5-5-5) was mixed with compost and the soil at the bottom.   The bare root plant was then placed carefully in the hole and a mixture of compost, native soil, and some potting soil mix was used to refill the hole around the root system.   The soil was pressed to firm it up and then the plants were watered thoroughly.   Bare root nursery stock is always discouraging at first because they look essentially dead and it often take quite a while to come out of dormancy and begin growing.   As a consequence they are not much to look at now - but here are my raspberry plant "sticks".  

Once the raspberries were safely in place, I focused my attention on the bare root strawberry plants.   I ordered 50 "Ozark Beauty" plants which is the same variety I currently have.   I ordered these because I am adding a second (larger) bed of strawberries to the garden this year.   The new bed is 4'x8' and the existing bed is 3'x8'.   The new bed had been previously prepped and was basically ready to go.   I broadcasted some general purpose organic fertilizer over the soil surface and then used a hoe to cultivate it into the top few inches.   A rake was then used to smooth the bed out.   The strawberries were placed into the soil using a hand spade and I was extra careful to ensure the crown of the plant was just above the soil line.   If strawberries are planted too deeply the crowns tend to rot.   The plants are spaced 1 per square foot in the new bed such that there are 32 plants in the 4'x8' bed.   I used most of the remaining plants to fill in some gaps in the existing bed.   I had started cuttings from an old bed last summer and used them to plant up the 3'x8' bed but not all of them took hold so there were some places that needed filling in.    

The last chore to be completed before it got too dark, was to plant the cranberry plants.   These are potted plants so they were fast to put in.  These 8 cranberry plants went into a 2'x8' bed that used to have strawberries in it.   The soil had been previously heavily amended with leaf based compost and rock minerals (rock phosphate and greensand) and so it was in great shape as a new perennial planting bed.    Before planting out the cranberries, I sprinkled some garden sulfur (to acidify the soil) and general purpose organic fertilizer over the bed and worked it in and then raked everything smooth.    The plants were popped in - spaced approximately a foot apart in a slightly offset/alternating pattern and then were watered in well.   Here's a picture of one of the cranberry plants.  It's a little hard to see because they are a burgundy color which does not contrast much with the dark soil underneath it.   

Right now the plants are basically just small "twigs" but they grow into a low mat and create a nice ground cover effect.  I have several other cranberries growing in front of the shop underneath some blueberry bushes.  I think these new plants will produce better though because the soil conditions are much better in the garden beds than in front of the shop.   

The berry planting was finished just as it was getting too dark to work.   Put all the tools away and called it an evening.   I am hoping to get some more  plantings done this weekend in between the rainstorms.   I have onions, broccoli, cabbages, and kohlrabi that have been growing and hardening off in the unheated greenhouse which really need to get into the ground soon.   I also wanted to get the big pea patch going this weekend as well.   Not sure how much of all of those tasks I will be able to get accomplished (the weather will dictate that to a large degree) but I am hopeful that at least some of it will get done.