GardenDC Podcast Episode 139: Bountiful Berries

In this episode of GardenDC: The Podcast about Mid-Atlantic Gardening, we talk with Kristen Pullen the Woody Ornamental Portfolio Manager at Star® Roses and Plants all about growing bountiful berries in small spaces. The plant profile is on Phlox stolonifera and we share what's going on in the garden as well as some upcoming local gardening events in the What's New segment. We close out with Christy Wilhelmi, founder of Gardenerd, who shares the Last Word on Composting.

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Show Notes:

01:23 Meet Kristen Pullen, the Woody Ornamental Portfolio Manager at Star Roses and Plants 01:53 Was Kristen born with a green thumb and chlorophyll in her veins? 03:28 Going outside during college labs changed Kristen’s career path. 05:26 Longwood Gardens’ plantings are tested before being installed for public display. 08:11 Kristen’s preferences for her Pennsylvania home garden. 09:20 What are Bushel and Berry plants? 11:16 If you grew berries for a living, you’d bring your work home too. 13:15 ‘Perpetua’ blueberries – gives you two crops of fruit. 14:16 ‘Peach Sorbet’ has peachy-red new growth in the spring. 14:30 ‘Pink Icing’ has nearly neon pink new growth. 15:21 Hanging basket varieties have the deepest red foliage in the fall. 18:00 The berries are always marketed with taste profiles. 19:52 Blueberry plants in containers need at least one acid treatment per season. 21:24 The dreaded four letter words: deer and bird. 22:59 “The birds are smart.” 24:21 Deer are not brave. 25:48 Go vertical! 27:10 June-bearing and ever-bearing strawberries. 28:56 Picking and snacking berries – not enough to make your grandma’s secret jam recipe. 32:20 What do I do with container-grown berries when we have wet winters? 34:15 All about fertilizing your berry plants. 36:20 These raspberry plants are trained to be child- and pet-friendly. 40:44 Blackberry flavors – ‘Baby Cakes’ 41:19 Raspberry ‘Shortcake’ is sweeter than store berries. 42:00 The future of Bushel and Berry is expanding outside of berries! 44:38 Rose-breeding projects: larger hips or compact plants? 46:53 Phlox stolonifera: this week’s Plant Profile. 49:01 Garden updates: magnolias and daffodils are in bloom! 50:14 February 2023 edition of Washington Gardener Magazine is out! 50:57 Upcoming events: Native Plant Open House Sale; Creating a Wildlife Habitat Under in Our Powerline Corridors; Winter Landscape Design Lecture: American Roots. 52:40 “The Urban Garden” by Kathy Jentz and Teri Speight 53:40 “Groundcover Revolution” by Kathy Jentz. 55:00 The Last Word on Composting by Gardenerd’s Christy Wilhelmi.

If you liked this episode, you may also enjoy listening to:

~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 22: Fruit Trees, Crape Myrtle, and Low-Maintenance Lawn Alternatives
https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2020/08/gardendc-podcast-episode-22-fruit-trees.html

~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 82: Persimmons and Other Unusual Fall Fruits

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2021/11/gardendc-podcast-episode-82-persimmons.html

This episode is archived at: 

https://anchor.fm/gardendc/episodes/Bountiful-Berries-e1vfog6

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Episode Credits:

Host and Producer: Kathy Jentz

Editing and Show Notes: Jessica Harden

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Learn more about the Bushel and Berry collection

Fenton Friday: National Strawberry Month

 

May is National Strawberry Month, so I ran out today to check on my berries and sure enough a handful were ripe! Of course, I ate some right then and there - but didn't bring in a few to have with my morning cereal tomorrow.

Elsewhere in the plot, the asparagus has ended and I am letting the remaining stalks grow up to renew itself for next year. The garlic looks really robust and the arugula has bolted and turned into a small shrub!

The chamomile and yarrow are blooming. The top growth of both the carrots and potatoes are progressing well. The blackberries are forming in good number. I may even have enough at once for a pie or crumble this year! Finally, the peas are setting flower and I hope to have at least a few purple pods to sample before the summer heat scorches the vines.

It is going to be a scorcher of a weekend here in the Mid-Atlantic and is already quite hot and humid today, so I am holding off planting anything new for a bit.

What are you growing and eating this week from your edible garden?

About Fenton Friday: Every Friday during the growing season, I'll be giving you an update on my community garden plot at the Fenton Street Community Garden just across the street from my house in zone 7 Mid-Atlantic MD/DC border. I'm plot #16. It is a 10 ft x 20 ft space and this is our 11th year in the garden. (It opened in May 2011.) See past posts about our edible garden by putting "Fenton" into the Search box above.

This post is part of the #GardenBloggersChallenge sponsored by Gardencomm for the month of May. You are invited to join in and can see more details at gardencomm.org

Fenton Friday: Dry and Discouraging

I hate to end the week on a "Debbie Downer" note, but I was hit twice this week with thefts from my plot. Someone grabbed the first ripe strawberries and then someone (else?) stole all of the decoy strawberry rocks I had made and placed there to discourage birds and rodents from eating the berries. Sadly, humans are the worst "garden pest" animals I am dealing with right now.

So, I loosely netted the berries. It won't stop people if they are determined, but at least slow them down for a second. I also put up my motion-sensor camera and will add a sign to it later. I hope that helps. Pictured here is the one handful I picked today. I am grateful for this little harvest at least.

This week's weather was hot and dry. I go over for daily watering trips just to keep the peas and favas from "melting." The forecast ahead is for more of the same. Hoping for a few good rains early next week.

I plan to pull out the last of the broccoli and a few other of the cool-season crops then start planting my cutting garden flowers, basil, tomatoes, etc.

How is your edible garden growing?

About Fenton Friday: Every Friday during the growing season, I'll be giving you an update on my community garden plot at the Fenton Street Community Garden just across the street from my house in zone 7 Mid-Atlantic MD/DC border. I'm plot #16. It is a 10 ft x 20 ft space and this is our 8th year in the garden. (It opened in May 2011.) See past posts about our edible garden by putting "Fenton" into the Search box above.

DIY: Strawberry Rocks

These little strawberry rocks are meant to fool creatures that attack your berries just as they start to ripen. The theory being that birds and squirrels try to bite into the "ripe strawberry" and find it rock-hard and then move on.

I don't want to net my strawberry bed for fear a bird or other creature will get caught in the netting and die. So, when I heard of this option, I thought it was worth a try. Whether they work or not, we shall see. If nothing else, they are cute and add to the garden decor.

Level: easy   Cost: inexpensive   Use: garden

Materials:

- a few small rocks

- Acrylic Paints

- Craft Brushes

- Marker

- Sealer

Step 1: Select a few small stones that are approximately strawberry-sized and shaped. Then, clean and dry your rocks.

Step 2: Pain a base coat of red paint. Let dry thoroughly, Then paint a second coat. Let that dry too. Then decide whether you may need a third coat or not.

Step 3: Paint the stem and leaves on with green paint. (I only needed one coat on the green parts, you might need a second one.) 

Step 4: Use a marker to dot on the "seeds."

Step 5: Apply a sealant. I used a clear nail polish base coat as I wanted my rocks to be really shiny.

Step 6: Place your rocks in and among your strawberry plants right before your berries start to ripen.

Step 7: You can leave them out all year or store them after the berry season is done. They may need an annual paint touch-up.

Decoys in place!

This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a few pennies from Amazon.

This is a monthly blog series on DIY projects for the beginning home gardener. Look for the other installments in this DIY blog series by putting "DIY" in the search box here at washingtongardener.blogspot.com. 

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Plant Profile: Strawberry

Strawberries (Fragaria x ananassa) -- Sweet. Luscious. Juicy. No wonder this fruit is blushing! Strawberries are one of the most-loved edibles. They can be eaten straight from the plant; used in jam or dessert recipes; or frozen and enjoyed in mixed drinks and shakes throughout the year. Not only is it versatile in the kitchen, it is also amazingly easy to grow.

   Strawberry growing can be as simple as a pot on your patio or hanging by your back door. Set aside a 3x3 foot bed in your garden and you can have strawberry crops for the next few years.

   Strawberries grow best in a raised bed of well-drained soil located in full sun. Mix in plenty of organic materials. Plant out strawberry crown divisions during the early spring. The first year may not yield much of a crop. Strawberry plants will then send out runners. You can cut them off or guide them back into the bed. Some experts recommend pinching off all flowers and runners during the first year to get big crops the following year.

   The plants peak at three-years-old. So you will need to add new stock every few years to replenish them. They are perennials in Zones 5 to 8.

   Put the new, bare-root plants in so the crown is just resting at soil level with the roots gentled fanned out beneath the surface.

   They need only about one inch of water per week and are prone to root rot, so don't over-do it.

   There are two main kinds of strawberries: ever-bearing and June-bearing. As per their names, ever-bearing and June-bearing fruit at different times. June-bearing from late-May to mid-June, while ever-bearing can have several waves of berries throughout the summer. Select June-bearing if you want one large crop for making jams or freezing. Choose ever-bearing if you want to throw some fresh berries in your cereal bowl every few days. Some popular varieties to try are ‘Earliglow’, ‘Northeaster’, and ‘Darselect’.

   Relatively disease-free, compared to other fruits you may grow, they are plagued by a few pests. Most notably slugs and birds. To combat slugs, sprinkle around the beds with Sluggo (iron phosphate), which is safe for use around edibles. For birds, put some shiny, moving objects nearby. You might also consider investing in screening or bird netting to cover the beds as the fruits ripen.

   In the fall, mulch the strawberry bed with straw (not hay!) or other materials such as pine needles to insulate the plants over the winter. Remove the mulch again in spring.

   The strawberry flowers themselves are pretty -- usually white or light pink. Some varieties are grown more for their decorative value than for their fruit. The 'Pink Panda' aka Strawberry Potentilla is especially attractive with its bright-pink blooms.

   Strawberry plants also make good border plantings. They stay low and fairly tidy. The runners are easy to pull up if they go astray. (If you choose Alpine varieties, you will not have a runner problem.)

So don't hesitate to plant a row of strawberries on the front edge of your flower beds for a sweet treat every time you pass by. 

Strawberries  - You Can Grow That!

The video was produced by Washington Gardener Magazine.

Visuals by Khloe Quill
Audio by Kathy Jentz

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Fenton Friday: Frozen in Time

This week at the community garden plot it seemed like everything went into slow motion. This is the week that all the plants should be jumping! The rainy days and cool temps have slowed down most of the plants to a slow pace. The pea plants are getting so big, but have yet to flower! The strawberries have formed fruits, but they are staying yellow-green for now.

Tonight and tomorrow night we have another late freeze warning. This is unusually late and I was just sent a few tomato plants among other edibles to trial. They are all under a blanket in a corner of my home garden and I hope they make it through okay.

The lettuces are doing nicely in the plot and I am ready to make my first harvest from the Renee's Garden Baby Leaf Lettuce Heirloom Cutting Mix and I dug up a bunch of radishes to share with family members today.

What are you harvesting this month in your edible garden? 

About Fenton Friday: Every Friday during the growing season, I'll be giving you an update on my community garden plot at the Fenton Street Community Garden just across the street from my house in zone 7 Mid-Atlantic MD/DC border. I'm plot #16. It is a 10 ft x 20 ft space and this is our 8th year in the garden. (It opened in May 2011.) See past posts about our edible garden by putting "Fenton" into the Search box above.

Fenton Friday: Strawberry Season

The strawberry season has arrived. I have far fewer plants than in previous years, so my harvest is vastly smaller, but still those berries eaten right in the garden plot are a billion times more flavorful than any others I've had.

Also in the plot, the hardneck garlic has formed scapes and I am cutting them now to send energy to form a bigger bulb, rather than flowering and setting seed. I will share the scapes with others and use them in a green garlic pesto.

Elsewhere in the plot the peas and lettuce are still going. The summer-like weather has come in though, so I think this week or next will be the last of them.

Next week I am aiming to get all my summer edibles in - tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, okra, etc, It will be a busy week in the garden plot!

What is growing in your edible garden this week?

About Fenton Friday: Every Friday during the growing season, I'll be giving you an update on my community garden plot at the FentonStreet Community Garden just across the street from my house. I'm plot #16. It is a 10 ft x 20 ft space and this is our 7th year in the garden. (It opened in May 2011.) See past posts about our edible garden by putting "Fenton" into the Search box above.