North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Brungardt, Sam" <Sam.Brungardt@state.mn.us>]

Jim, thanks for reminding me of the wisdom of using qualifying language.
You are right.

However, what type of weather was there before first frost and what kind
of winter temperatures did your unprotected (by snow) blackberries that
came thru the winter OK endure?  By this, I mean not just minimums, but
also what was the hardening off period like Was it conducive to
promoting cold hardiness?  Was the drop in temps gradual?  What was the
soil moisture like?  Too much moisture doesn't encourage the plant to
"shut down" for the winter, too little and it goes into the winter with
the tissues not adequately hydrated.  And did the temps stay below
freezing until growth began in the spring?

I've noticed that it's often not the coldest winters that cause the most
cold damage in woody plants, but instead poor harding-off conditions and
variable winter temps, whether or not there was snowcover.  My
experience with Illini (non)Hardy blackberry here in St. Paul leads me
to think that.  Two years ago I expect my Illini Hardy to come thru the
winter in fine shape because of relatively mild winter temps.  However,
it proved to be very damaging to the fruiting wood, with very much
winter injury and die-back.  I concluded that this was because the
plants did not remain fully dormant until growth began in the spring.

I'd like to hear your ideas on this.  Thanks -- Sam Brungardt, St. Paul,
Minn. (USDA Zone 4b)

-----Original Message-----
From: nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Jim Fruth
Sent: Friday, January 12, 2007 9:54 AM
To: NAFEX
Subject: [NAFEX] Temperate Berry Crops


Sam,
    One of my most respected college professors warned me against making

all-inclusive statements"

You said, "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)"

    Your statement would be true had you added the word, "some."  Here
in 
zone 3, SOME of my blackberry varieties need snow cover and SOME do
quite 
nicely without it.  A couple of years ago, I received no snow at all and

most of my blackberries produced normally.

Jim Fruth
Brambleberry Farm
Pequot Lakes, MN  56472
www.bberryfarm.com
(218)568-8483 [Store]
(218)831-7018 [My Cell]


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