North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["O'Barr, R. D." <topgun@otelco.net>]

I am trying Gurney's whopper this year. Anyone have any luck with it? I have
tried and liked Surecrop, Catskill, and Fairfax here and all have done well
after a season of removing all blooms and runners first.
I am having a lot of trouble with the twig girdler on my oriental
persimmons. Is it the same girdler that attacks pecan and hickory, i.e., the
hickory twig girdler? One branch clipped had 14 persimmons and the other
branch on the same tree about the same number. They are still cutiing limbs
on Nov 1 as the branch still had green leaves and I check most every day.
Topgun
Zone 7
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jim Fruth" <jfruth@uslink.net>
To: "NAFEX" <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Wednesday, November 01, 2006 8:10 AM
Subject: [NAFEX] Strawberry Mulch


>     I mulch my strawberries when I plant them in either of two ways:
> planting first or mulching first.  Mulching first is the easiest; I plant
> first upon those rare occasions when I don't have sufficient mulch.
> Ideally, I spread 3" to 4" of pine needles and pat them down as I go to
get
> them to lay as flat as possible.  Five years ago, I planted Honeyoe and
> Cavandish.  I only got good production from the Honeyoe for four years so
I
> tilled them under this past Summer.  The Cavandish continued to perform
well
> so I'll be harvesting from then for, at least, a sixth year.  I started
some
> Annapolis in Spring 2006.  3" to 4" of pine needle mulch is good for about
> five years of a weed-free strawberry patch; the first few weeds poked
> through this past season.
>     And how do I mulch my plants for Winter?  Who mulches?  Not me.  A few
> years back someone convinced me to mulch my strawberry patch and all that
> accomplished was killing too many plants - about half of them rotted
before
> I uncovered them.  So I never mulched again and I'm not likely to any time
> soon.  Oh, and that year when we didn't get any snow?  It didn't seem to
> bother them any so why mulch?
>
> Jim Fruth
> Brambleberry Farm
> Pequot Lakes, MN  56472
> www.bberryfarm.com
> (218)568-8483 [Store]
> (218)831-7018 [My Cell]
>
> Any ideas  on the best time to mulch strawberries?  We've had a strawberry
> patch for three years now and never winter mulched.  This year I'm trying
to
> do things right.  Jim's mentioned he's had good results with pine needles
as
> mulch so I thought I'd give them a try.  I've been able to acquire bags of
> needles but don't know when to put them on.  How much should the plants
die
> back before I cover them?  (So far the plants' foliage is as green as
ever,
> we've only had lows of 30F.  And trees are losing their leaves but not
fully
> dormant.)  Also after covering up the plants, do you have to remove the
> mulch in the springtime, or will the strawberry plants push up through the
> mulch pack?
>
> Thanks,
> Mark Angermayer
> Zone 5 Kansas
>
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