Market Farming

[Willie McKemie <mf AT austinfarm.org>]

On Tue, Jan 18, 2005 at 08:33:16AM -0600, TxBeeFarmer wrote:
> I understand the tip pruning on prima canes, but still a little fuzzy on the
> floricanes during the years when you don't mow them down.  I think what I
> hear you saying is, after harvest is over, you cut the whole berry plant,
> flori and prima canes together, to around 4 or 5 ft. with a hedge trimmer or
> sickle bar.  Is that right?  Then the next year, after harvest, you mow the
> whole plant to the ground.  Right?

Not exactly.  Essentially all pruning you do is on primacanes.  The 
primacanes are pruned to a hedge the year they are primacanes.  The 
next year, when they are floricanes, they grow little and therefore 
need no pruning.  Any before-harvest pruning you do on them reduces 
the harvest.  After harvest, they die and NEED to be removed, either 
by mowing the row near the ground or by cutting the dead canes only 
near the ground and removing them while leaving the growing primacanes.  
Removing only the dead canes is laborious and costly.  Lazy (or cost 
conscious) people, like me, either mow the entire patch after harvest 
each year or every second year.

Three "dead cane removal" strategies:
1) manually remove dead canes each year after harvest
2) mow entire patch each year after harvest
3) mow each row once every two years

1) and 2) are "best" management. 2) results in minimum production.  I 
use 3).  3) is not "best" management because some years, there are 
year-old dead canes in the hedge.  1) will give you 100% production, 2) 
might give you 50% production, 3) might give you 75% production.

Enough of this!
  
-- 
Willie, ONWARD!  Through the fog!
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