North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["William C. Garthright" <billg@inebraska.com>]

Oops!  I replied to this, but I didn't see that it was just copied to 
the list, so my reply didn't make it there. So here's a copy:


> Bill,  You forgot to mention blueberries or blackberries in your list.


I love blueberries, but I believe they need acid soil and wetter 
conditions than we have here. Yes, I know I can amend the soil, and I do 
water my plants (but it's usually bone-dry here in the summer, and 
watering barely keeps things from drying up and blowing away in our 
winds). I just concluded, reluctantly, that blueberries weren't a good 
choice here, especially for a complete novice like myself.

And from what I've heard, I didn't think blackberries were cold-hardy 
enough for my climate. I'm running out of room, too, so I'm not entirely 
sure where I'd put them, anyway (though I suspect they might do OK in 
partial shade).


> There is little I can add to this except to say that in Tennessee's 
> hot humid climate with it's treacherous spring frosts and wretched 
> soil, that the one fruit that can be depended on to bear is the 
> blackberry. ... Those blackberries grew and produced abundantly on 
> unimproved red clay with no assistance of any sort on our part.


Sounds like my black raspberry patch that the birds planted for me. I 
don't do anything to it, except prune out the old canes after they've 
finished bearing, and I get loads of delicious berries. Talk about easy 
- I didn't even have to plant the things!


> The fellow I quoted above failed to mention that carefully selected 
> blackberries are among the most delectable fruits one can eat.



Heh, heh. I've had people tell me this. My only experience is buying a 
small (and expensive) carton of them in the grocery store. They looked 
nice, but it was just like eating little lemons! I couldn't tell if they 
had any other taste except sour. Admittedly, most grocery-store fruit is 
lousy, so I'm willing to believe that home-grown blackberries would be 
good. But I'm not really convinced they'd do well around here.


> Chickasaw is supposed to be the most heat and drought resistant, which 
> it looks like we are going to be needing.


We've been in a drought, pretty much, for eight years - and we don't get 
a lot of rain in the best of times. 2006 would have been the worst year 
yet, but it rained for two days at the end of December (rain! in 
December!), then dumped about 10 inches of snow. VERY much appreciated 
moisture!  I dug out some fence posts in my yard last year, and it was 
just powdery dry for the whole three feet down (and I live in a flood 
plain).

Bill
Lincoln, NE (cold zone 5A, heat zone 7)

--
It's only when the tide goes out that you discover who's been swimming 
naked. - Warren Buffett