[NAFEX] (NAFEX) Temperate berry crops

Brungardt, Sam Sam.Brungardt at state.mn.us
Thu Jan 11 13:00:22 EST 2007


It's important to remember that blackberries are hardy in Zone 3 only if
they are protected by adequate snowcover.  While enduring accumulations
of snow are common in Minnesota, they are less so in the Great Plains
states like Nebraska due to periodic warm spells in winter. -- Sam
Brungardt, St. Paul, Minn. (USDA Zone 4b)

-----Original Message-----
From: nafex-bounces at lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:nafex-bounces at lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Donna &/or Kieran
Sent: Saturday, January 06, 2007 7:40 AM
To: North American Fruit Explorers
Subject: [NAFEX] (NAFEX) Temperate berry crops


Bill,
     I'm pretty sure that Jim Fruth has blackberries up there in zone 3,
so 
zone 5 shouldn't be that big a deal.   I'm not sure red raspberries can
take 
the heat and drought all that well.  Comments anyone?  The black
raspberries 
do sort of ok here, but never the huge crops that blackberries serve up.
Here is a nice map and listings from Pense Nursery:
http://www.alcasoft.com/pense/success.html

I notice that they have some different info on their plants from Simmons

Berry Farm, where I ordered last year. 
http://www.alcasoft.com/simmons/index.html
Simmons orders were for 5 plants each, looks like at Pense you can order
1 
of each if you like.  I'd order at least 2 of each variety, (after
digging 
around for info on just which varieties you want), just in case you lose

one.
When I did a search for blackberries + zone, I got a NAFEX archived
offer 
from Vic to Del offering him some Z3 blackberries.  So you needn't worry

your little head about blackberries taking the cold.  As for the heat
and 
drought, they can probably take that if you can get them established. 
Chickasaw is said to be the most heat and drought resistant.  We were as
dry 
as your fencepost was back in the fall of 2005, and still had wild 
blackberries cropping in '06.  What I have read is that the thornless
ones 
like the soil a little more acid than the thorny ones.  As for flavor, 
berries picked commercially will be picked for black color, not for 
ripeness.  Most people buying them were probably planning on cooking
them 
with lots of sugar anyway, or putting them in a salad with sweeter fruit

just for their color.  RIPE blackberries are plenty sweet enough to eat
in 
the field, and with a minor bit of lily gilding, are excellent eating in
the 
kitchen.    Donna 

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