EDIBLE LANDSCAPING WITH SMALL FRUITS AND BERRIES Connie Fisk Sheridan College June 15, 2013

What is Edible Landscaping? • Definition – the use of food-producing plants in the

residential landscape • Can install an entirely edible landscape or incorporate some edible plants into existing gardens This “yard“ contains: • 8 different types of fruit • 20 kinds of vegetables, including 15 varieties of peppers • 28 different herbs and seasonings (Rosalind Creasy, author of Edible Landscaping, Sierra Club Books, 2010)

Why landscape with edibles? • Enjoy the freshness and flavor of home-grown, fully • • • • • • •

ripened fruits Control the quantity and kind of pesticides and herbicides used on the foods you consume Increase the food security of your household Save on grocery bills Grow unusual varieties not available in stores Get outside, interact with the natural world, and have fun Great for kids to experience food production Why mow acres of lawn, repeatedly, when you can make the space produce food?

Edibles have Ornamental Value Too! • Love the pink flowers on a Dogwood tree?

Apple trees have beautiful pink blossoms. • Enjoy the shape and deep red color of the leaves on a Japanese maple? Black elderberry has lacy, blackish leaves. • Want brilliant fall color? Serviceberry fall color is brilliant yellow to orange. • Like the look of big leaf Hostas but don’t have enough shade? Rhubarb plants add drama with big leaves in the sun.

Grow Food Not Lawns • Food Not Lawns was founded in Eugene, OR in 1999 by

a small group of activists • Spawned a powerful, inspiring part of the growing sustainability movement • With the publication of Heather Flores' book, Food Not Lawns… (Chelsea Green Publishing, 2006), new FNL chapters started popping up all over (http://www.foodnotlawns.com) • Grow organically. • Save seeds. • Host community workshops and

neighborhood seed swaps.

How to landscape with edibles • Consider a one-for-one substitution: • Where you have planted a shade tree, plant a fruit tree • Where you need a deciduous shrub, plant a currant • Where you have always had chrysanthemums, plant some edible

flowers (nasturtiums, pansies) • Where you need a ground cover, plant strawberries or herbs • Where you need a hedge plant raspberries or gooseberries • Pots of herbs on patio • Include cherry tomatoes in window boxes or hanging baskets • Build a grape arbor • Tuck lettuce, radishes or short-lived greens in a flower bed • Plant colorful pepper varieties alongside flowers

What are the Small Fruits? • They do not grow on trees! • They are “smaller” plants

(making them ideal for the home landscape) • Herbaceous perennials - strawberries • Brambles/Caneberries - raspberries • Bushes - currants & gooseberries • Vines - grapes * We do not have appropriate site conditions in Sheridan for home production of blackberries, blueberries, or kiwifruit

BEFORE planting • Choose a site with well-drained soil and full sun (except for • • • • •

currants & gooseberries that prefer partial shade) Avoid planting near trees or large shrubs that will compete for moisture and nutrients Submit a soil sample for analysis and amend the soil as recommended before planting Research which small fruit varieties are best suited to the climate (don’t just buy what’s on sale at Home Depot) Determine when the best time is to plant, how to plant, etc. Caneberries, bushes, and vines require annual dormant pruning – be prepared for this task!

Know Your Zone

Strawberries

Strawberry Varieties • June bearers (1 crop, June/July) • Dunlap (3) • Guardian (3) • Honeoye (3) • Redcoat (3) • Surecrop (3) • Trumpeter (3)

• Everbearers (2 crops, 1 in June/July + 1 in the fall) • Fort Laramie (3) • Ogallala (3) • Ozark Beauty (3) • Quinault (3) • Day neutral (almost continuously throughout the growing season) • Tribute (4-5) • Tristar (4-5)

Strawberries • Produce fruit in 1-2 years • Average yield per plant 0.5-1 qt • Number of plants for 4 people: 50 • Life expectancy of plants: 2-5 years • For home production, strawberries are

often grown in raised beds, pyramids, decorative pots, and hanging baskets. • Matted row system is easiest to follow for the home gardener. Most of the runners from mother plants are permitted to grow during first season, with only fruit buds being removed to strengthen plants.

Additional Strawberry info • Avoid planting strawberries where tomatoes, potatoes,

peppers, eggplants, melons, cherries, raspberries, roses, or chrysanthemums have been grown within the last 5 year to minimize Verticillium wilt • In late fall, continue to irrigate before the ground freezes to prevent desiccation • After several frosts below 28°F, mulch with 6-8 inches of straw to protect plants from cold temperatures and wind • In the early spring, before strawberries show new growth, rake the mulch away from the plants

Landscape Examples

http://www.sunset.com/garden/fruits-veggies/how-to-grow-strawberries-00418000080679/ http://mygreenfork.blogspot.com/2010/06/landscape-no-2.html

Raspberries

Raspberry Fruiting Habit • Summer bearers – one crop beginning in early to mid

summer • Floricane fruiting - fruit is produced on laterals of 2nd year canes • Fall bearers – one crop in mid summer and another in late

summer or early fall • Primocane fruiting - fruit is produced at tips of 1st year canes • By growing several cultivars, you can enjoy fresh berries

from early summer through late fall

Raspberry varieties • Red summer bearing • Boyne (3) • Canby (3) • Latham (4) • Liberty (3) • Nordic (4) • Red fall bearing • Amity (3) • Autumn Bliss (4) • Heritage (4) • Redwing (4) • September (3)

• Yellow fall bearing • Fallgold (4) • Black • Bristol (4) • Cumberland (4) • Black Hawk (4) • Purple • Royalty (4)

Raspberries • Produce fruit in 2-3 years • Yields 3 qts per plant • Number of plants for 4 people: 6 • Remain productive 8-12 years • Allow plenty of space for your

planting: • Plants 2’ apart (hedgerow) • Row width of 12” for summer-

bearing, black, and purple raspberries, 18” for fall-bearing raspberries

Additional Raspberry Info • Raspberries are also susceptible to Verticillium wilt –

avoid planting where tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, eggplants, melons, cherries, raspberries, roses, or chrysanthemums have been grown within the last 5 years • Nursery-grown plants nearly always grow better than transplants from established beds because they harbor fewer pests and diseases • Overhead sprinkling can encourage fruit and cane diseases – to keep your canes healthy (and conserve water) use drip irrigation or other method to apply water directly to the soil

Landscape Examples

http://chateau-listeur.blogspot.com/ http://shabbycottagestudio.blogspot.com/2009_06_01_archive.html

Currants and Gooseberries

Varieties • Red currants and gooseberries generally are self-fruitful,

• •

• • •

so only one cultivar is needed for fruit production, however, both types produce larger fruit if more than one cultivar is planted for cross-pollination Some black currants are self-sterile and require a second cultivar for fruit production Currants and gooseberries are minor crops in the US and have few pesticides registered for their care, so selecting cultivars that are highly resistant to disease is critical Yield 4-8 quarts per plant Produce fruit in 2 years May produce for 12+ years

Varieties, cont. • Black currants: • Consort (3) • Crusader (3) •

Red currants: • • •

Wilder (4) Red Lake (4) Hinnomaki Red (4)

•

Gooseberries: • •

Pixwell (3) Captivator (3)

• Gooseberry x black

currant hybrid: •

Jostaberry (4)

Landscape Examples

http://plants.thegrowingplace.com/12120014/Plant/409/Red_Lake_Red_Currant http://newhomeeconomics.wordpress.com/2010/05/10/my-edible-landscape/

http://conservationgardenpark.org/plants/207/gooseberry/ http://ecologiadesign.com

Grapes

Varieties • Only marginally adapted here (zone 3-4) • Success in growing grapes depends on attention

given to production – training, pruning, and pesticide sprays • Self-fertile so only one cultivar is necessary for fruit production

Varieties, cont. • Selection of cold-hardy varieties is essential to

survival and productivity • Table varieties: • Canadice (seedless) (4) • Edelweiss (4) • Swenson Red (5) • Valiant (3) • Vanessa (seedless) (4)

• Juice and preserve varieties: • • • • • •

Beta (3) Bluebell (4) Fredonia (4) King of the Hill (4) Minnesota 78 (4) Worden (5)

• Wine varieties: • • • •

Edelweiss (4) Elvira (3) Frontenac (4) St. Croix (4)

Additional Grape Info • Produce fruit in 3-4 years • Yields 20+ pounds per vine, depending on variety

and purpose (limit yield to improve wine quality) • May produce for 25+ years • Grapes need full sun and complete protection from wind • Do not locate in a lawn: • Too much fertilizer and water for grapes

(excessive vine growth → decreased winter hardiness) • Very susceptible to herbicide damage (Ex. Weed & Feed)

Landscape Examples

http://www.creativejuicesdecor.com/2012/07/more-landscape-ideaspergola-or-trellis.html http://gardenhandyman.blogspot.com/2009_05_01_archive.html http://ecologiadesign.com

http://ecologiadesign.com http://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/growing-grapes-is-easy.aspx#axzz2W9ytBEy3

Saskatoons • Also known as juneberries,

• • • •

serviceberries, and mountain blueberries Yield 4-6 qt per plant Produce fruit in 2-3 years Will produce fruit for 40+ years Varieties: • • •

Pembina (4) Northline (4) Smokey (4)

Elderberries • When sold through nurseries, may not be distinguished by

cultivar • Although elderberries are partially self-fruitful, they will benefit from cross pollination • Varieties: • •

Adams (4) York (4)

• Easy to grow and need

little in the way of special treatment • Yield: 3-4 qt. per plant • Produce fruit in 2 years • Productive for 12+ years

Black lace elderberry - Dark purpleblack leaves and pink flower clusters. Foliage stays dark throughout the growing season.

For more information: • University of Wyoming • Raising small fruits in Wyoming…”berry” delicious! (http://www.uwyo.edu/barnbackyard/) • University of Idaho (http://www.cals.uidaho.edu/edComm/catalog.asp) • Growing Strawberries in the Inland Northwest & Intermountain West • Growing Raspberries and Blackberries in the Inland Northwest & Intermountain West • Growing Currants, Gooseberries & Jostaberries in the Inland Northwest & Intermountain West • Growing Saskatoons in the Inland Northwest & Intermountain West • Growing Small-Fruit Crops in Short-Season Gardens

Questions?

Former lawn now growing fruits, herbs, and vegetables http://www.ediblelandscapingmadeeasy.com/