Growing Small Fruit in the Home Garden 1 Small Fruits in the Home

Remove any fruit that may develop as it weakens the vine’s vegetative growth. The second winter, prune the laterals back to one-bud “spurs” spaced about one hand-width apart. Primocane-fruiting types may be grown exclusively for a late-summer crop. For the trellis, use a cross bar or horizontal trellising system. Two-foot cross arms are attached to the posts at a height of 4 feet, and two wires are secured at the ends of the cross arms.

Bunch grapes perform well in the NC Piedmont and NC mountains, while the NC coastal plain can support muscadine grapes. One grapevine can produce up to 10 pounds of fruit. Though grapevines are self-fertile, planting multiple cultivars extends your harvest season (Figures 14–29). Blueberries are relatively easy to grow but demand special site and soil preparation.

Blueberries (Vaccinium spp.)

If left unpruned, those reserves must be distributed to numerous buds. As a result, the vine produces many weak shoots and small, poorly ripened fruit clusters. Pruning reduces the number of buds so the food reserves are concentrated in those that remain. Grapes are borne on the current season’s wood that grows from buds formed on last season’s growth.

When harvesting is complete, strip any unwanted fruit and destroy it. Cover fruits with a fine mesh bag prior to ripening to exclude egg-laying flies. When the first raspberries ripened, a few of the berries appeared damaged.

NC State Extension

Many home garden soils have a pH that is too high for blueberries. If the pH is above 6.0, planting is not recommended. On soils containing silt, clay, or more than 2% organic matter, apply 2 pounds per 100 square feet for the same pH reduction. Some soils in the NC mountains are very high in manganese.

• There is now a small production of fruit on vines that have filled the allotted trellis area.
• But older varieties can be rambunctious plants, spreading widely and covered in thorns that made harvesting a painful chore.
• Moreover, planting a mix of early, mid-season, and late-season varieties will extend your harvest for weeks.

Year two (Figure 14–26)—In year two, remove low-lying or weak shoots and cross-overs, keeping the healthiest, large upright canes. Some flower buds may be allowed to produce fruit in year two if the bush grew vigorously in year one. Year one (Figures 14–25)—The goal is to avoid fruit production entirely. A blueberry plant’s root system is shallow, fibrous, and lacks root hairs. Often 90% of the root system is in the top 6 inches of soil. Highbush blueberry roots do not penetrate tight, clay soils easily and require a loose, crumbly soil to develop an extensive root system.

A coarse, non-­nitrogen-releasing mulch such as bark helps manage weeds and reduce moisture loss from the soil. After establishment, muscadine grapevines are quite drought-tolerant. Muscadine grapevines are native to the southern United States. They are known by several common names, such as bullace, scuppernong, and fox grapes.

Using a trellis for melons only works if you grow smaller fruits; watermelons will pull down the vines. Gardeners pass over the opportunity to grow gooseberries for popular choices like blueberries and raspberries, but that’s a shame. Gooseberries are hardy, low-maintenance plants that produce juicy, delicious fruits. Common leaf spot of strawberry is a common fungal leaf disease that affects both wild and cultivated strawberries throughout the world. Learn about this foliar disease and its potential impact in your strawberry patch.

Poor growth and leaf chlorosis can be expected when the pH is above 5.0 for highbush and above 5.3 for rabbiteye. Southern highbush blueberries are intermediate between highbush and rabbiteye in their chilling requirements, winter hardiness, and soil adaptability (Figure 14–16). Blackberries grow best in full sun but can tolerate light shade. Blackberries grow in a variety of soil types but prefer a well-drained soil. Have a soil test conducted to determine lime and fertilizer needs. Spring, with its temperature swings, is a likely time for frost to damage strawberry blooms.

For direct-marketed berries that are not shipped, do not harvest fruit when it first turns black; wait until the fruit is dull black in appearance. Sugar levels increase as the berry becomes dull colored. A strawberry pyramid is an easy-to-build planter that can grow lots of strawberries in a limited space (Figure 14–2).