A Berry Great Idea

So, here on the farm we have a good bit of berries in a trellised area by the grapes. And in that patch, the blackberries did better than the raspberries. Actually, the two rows and one fence line of blackberries produced enough to keep us picking every single day during the harvest season. Since we could hardly keep up with two rows of blackberries…We decided to go ahead and plant about three acres of them;) If two rows was a good idea, planting over 2,000 more plants should be a Great idea right?

Here’s the short version of how we got to where we are now.

First, it started with the idea. Then came the plan. And it’s been at least two and a half years since we started the plan for our newest berry field. Once we decided where to put the great idea of a berry field, we had to remember to plan on kicking the animals out of that pasture once the time came for setting it up for planting. So lots of measurements with multiple 300 ft measuring tapes and graph papers later, we had a sketch and a number of plants to order.

The plants were ordered during the fall season of 2021 and the pallets of bare root plants arrived in March of 2022. We sorted and organized the different berry plants in one of the barn cooler rooms to hibernate while waiting for us to actually get the field ready to be their new home.

Then it was time to kick the sheep out of the field (thanks for your fertilizer sheeps;). Then we had to turn the sketch on graph paper into reality. So out came the huge measuring tapes again, lengths/widths/squaring the corners etc. T posts were pounded in each end of short rows and gave a permanent landmark for establishing each row.

Once the t posts were in, it was time to string (pink string of course) each row to get a straight line. One row at a time mulch was dumped along the straight line of string until it was time to move the string to the next row and work on that mulching. Speaking of mulch. We don’t mess around with bags of mulch for this kind of project (or anywhere on the farm). We get semi truck loads delivered and dumped on site. Then move it where it’s needed with the tractors.

So finally when the mulch was down on each row we could start planting the right plants in the right rows. It was all on the master plan of graph paper. The plant roots were soaked for a few hours in the greenhouse before going to the field, being evenly spaced in each row, and planted by just digging down through the mulch and into the dirt of the ground, planting the bare root berry plant, then push the mulch back around the base of the plant… times like a million times:)

It took more than a few weeks to get each phase done. Again, thanks to the cooler room for keeping our roots dormant or we’d but up the creek.

Once the field was all planted it was time to let ‘em grow to get established and try and keep the grass/weeds down around them. Some weeks were better than others by evidence in a pic below where the field of sunflowers are budded in the forground. Currently, the berry plants appear to be already budding out and ready to get going.

So, this coming summer these bare rooted babies could be giving us some big ol berries.

And when they do, You’ll be the first to know they’re ready for ya.

Great ideas are worth the time to plan, execute, and enjoy.

We have another Great Idea in the works I’ll keep secret for now. But,

Tell me in the comments, What’s your big plan for this year? I know you have one!