Tangwystl Cottage - Berry bed time

ravenruis (58)in #homesteading • 6 years ago

Two seasons ago, while volunteering at the community garden, I was lucky enough to rescue some excess Raspberry seedlings which had self-seeded in the wrong area of their plot. So I brought them home and popped them into some pots, most of which survived - although I discovered just how quickly they sulked while being transplanted, poor delicate creatures that they are.
I'd also previously been given a large plant, which had produced several berries but didn't really like where it was situated in a container.

image source
(fyi: Botanical genus - Rubus)
Fun fact: Raspberry derives its name from raspise, "a sweet rose-colored wine" (mid-15th century), from the Anglo-Latin vinum raspeys, or from raspoie, meaning "thicket", of Germanic origin. The name may have been influenced by its appearance as having a rough surface related to Old English rasp or "rough berry". source

Fast forward to last season and I realised that now I appeared to have an abundance of Raspberry plants to do something with (visions of jam jars dance in my head) and I'd best create somewhere to grow them.
The clearing of a weedy, hitherto unused patch of ground begins ...

I also had a variety of other berries to plant somewhere so decided to make two beds. One dedicated to all the Raspberries, and the other I'd pop every other plant into until they warranted their own space.
I broke down some wooden pallets and worked the garden size around the slats. The beds ended up being 3 foot wide (with a 2 foot path in between them, perfect for the wheelbarrow), and 9 foot long.
I know the wood I've used isn't a long-term solution, but at least it gets things started. I used wood blocks to join the slats and just nailed everything together.

This mixed-berry bed shown wasn't quite so long as it had to fit in a gap.

Next I back-filled with soil from elsewhere in the garden - robbing Peter and all that. I have little compost to use yet so have to be a bit inventive ...

This will be the Raspberry bed.

... and then added a lot of grass clippings to help build the beds up as well as add a bit of organic material to the soil.

A close-up. Super exciting, I know.

I am considering putting layers of cardboard down in the pathways, then topping with something like the river sand I can collect for free, to suppress the weeds.

The Raspberry bed, planted and watered.

I later added some other plants to the space, not realising just how well the Raspberries would take off! Down the left I planted Strawberries, and to the right I planted some rainbow Chard.

The mixed-berry bed, planted up; and I also popped in some other veg to fill up the gaps. I used toilet rolls as seedling protectors.

To the left are two rows of the purple peas I wrote about a while back, and to the right is a row of Mung beans (the experiment of growing them failed but I will try again!). I also added flowers and other companion plants to encourage bees and discourage bad bugs.

I then added some bird netting over the Raspberry bed. Finding cheap, sturdy posts is quite the mission it seems so again I improvised. One day I'll build a more permanent tent-like structure with support frame for the canes.

I also added windbreak along the side because sometimes the sou'wester can be fierce!

I had to be patient as the very young plants weren't going to produce any fruit, but I did manage to pick a handful or two off the older plant - which I popped into the freezer until I have enough collected to make some jam. Mmmmmmm, homemade organic jam! What could be better?

image source

I'll leave you with a few more fun facts, because knowledge is power!
You can read up on the health benefits of the red Raspberries here, and even the leaves are useful - especially to pregnant females (of more than just the human species). :)

Mannabase UBI - sign up via referral link, and help spread the word:

(extra tags: #harvest #garden #organicgardening #organic #selfsufficiency #photography #newzealand)

#gardening #lifestyle #teamnz #nobidbot

6 years ago in #homesteading by ravenruis (58)

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teamnz (50) 6 years ago

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ryivhnn (65) 6 years ago

Can you do bird netting with pipes or they not strong enough?

Any kind of berries are insane I think. We grew some blackberries down the side of the house and past a certain stage it's now a mission to keep the damn thing contained, it's trying to take over! XD

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ravenruis (58) 6 years ago

mmmmmm blackberry jelly! My nana used to make the best stuff, and from wild blackberry bushes near her house.

I can well imagine just how much they'd grow around your house. I've bought a few thornless canes because those blighters are vicious otherwise.

fun fact: raspberries and blackberries don't like each other!

I should investigate how much some pvc piping costs, tbh. I've seen structures made from it (thanks Pinterest) so I know its possible. But I do prefer working with wood so we'll see.

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kiwideb (67) 6 years ago

Such willpower! If I was growing raspberries, and had picked a handful, they wouldn't survive to the back door, let alone the freezer. My "favouritest" fruit ever.

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