It's Berry Time - How to Beat the Birds to the Fruit

It's time for the wonderful taste of fresh berries...strawberries are just done, or almost there in most of the country. But,raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, gooseberries and all the other wonderful berries are getting into full swing.

There's nothing more frustrating, however, than heading out to pick a few, only to find that the birds and other berry munching wildlife have beat you to them! This photo shows one berry with just a small section left after the birds were finished!

Foil them
Birds can be skittish, so if you hang strips of aluminum foil or a cut up mylar balloon in the bush or around the canes, the light that reflects off the strips will startle them and send them away. If you have fruit trees, like cherry trees for instance, hanging some foil pie tins in the tree will also help keep the birds from having a feast.

Try Tricking Them
Place a short length of old garden hose on the ground near the bushes, but in plain site. Birds arelikely to mistake the hose for a snake and stay away.

Cover Them
A slightly pricier, but more certain method of protecting the fruit in you yard, is to cover it with netting that's specifically made to keep birds from eating the berries. For less than $10 you can purchase a 7 foot x 20 foot net and there are larger mesh nets available.

Depending upon the size of your berry patch, you might be able to cut the larger size down to cover fruits in different locations in your yard. The best thing about this investment, is that it is reusable each year as long is it is carefully removed, folded and stored once the fruit is gone. I like to store these sort of items in a 2 gallon plastic zipper bag, which helps protect them from snagging on something and tearing.

Do you have other methods of keeping the birds from stealing the berries from your yard?

It's Finally Time to Plant the Garden!

As a resident of Central Minnesota in Zone 4, I've been living vicariously through other gardeners whose gardens are actually already producing and watching the cool weather crops establish themselves But, now, it's finally my time!
I started my seeds and they're all looking pretty healthy as I harden them off. I've turned the bed a couple of times and I'm finalizing my garden layout so that come Memorial Day - the day folks in these parts say it's OK to plant - I'll be able to move my plant seedlings into their new home. Here's what I'm planting:
Tomatoes - Grape, Yellow Pear, Roma, and Early Girl
Peppers - Green, Red, Jalapeno and Banana
Cantaloupe
Watermelon
Cucumber
Zuccini
Carrotts
Kholarabi
Broccoli
Green Bush Beans
Purple Pole Beans
Sunflowers (for the bees and to harvest the seed)
Edamame (soybeans - I'll roast and snack on these over the long Minnesota Winter)
Peanuts
Potatoes
Peas - Sugar Snap & Snow Peas
Radish
Lettuce
Spinach
Arugula
Corn Mache
A wide variety of herbs

In addition to these, I also have plantings within the landscape, including lettuce, Snow Peas, Strawberries, Swiss Chard, Blueberries, Raspberries, Rhubarb, Apples, Pansies and Nasturtium

I'll be adding photos to the blog as there's something more than dirt to show! The strawberries are in full bloom now and the Apple tree is ready to flower, too.

What are you growing in your garden/landscape?

A Ha! Something Does Grow Under Pine Trees

We've spent a lot of time the last couple of weeks working in clients yards, cleaning up the fall/winter debris and getting things spruced up for the 7 months that we actually love living here in Minnesota's Lake Country. I actually enjoy spring clean-up time and it's been particularly fun for me identifying what our clients already have in their yards as the plants are just poking through the soil.

Rhubarb is plentiful in this area and in all the landscapes we've worked on, rhubarb is coming back to life exactly where you'd expect... in a garden bed, against the fence, in a far corner of the back yard, etc. I have yet to see a plant that thrives under a tall pine tree like my rhubarb plants. Clearly the pine needles naturally provide the soil acidity that rhubarb plants crave (see horticultural notes below).

I love watching rhubarb come to life each spring,

when it's crinkled up leaves unfurl and colorful stems emerge.

A Ha! A great solution for a perennial landscaping conundrum ... nothing seems to grow under pine trees. In fact, the colorful stems and the large showy leaves of rhubarb make a great foundation planting, adding great interest (and flavor) beneath a tree that is known for large bare spots surrounding it.

My point in all this is that you don't have to conform to the norm when planting your edible plants. You don't have to have the perfect garden patch to grow foods you enjoy and are ultimately more nutritious than anything you can buy at the local grocery store. I'll be keeping track of the rhubarb here throughout the season and will include harvesting tips, recipes and preservation information when it's ready to be enjoyed!

A few horticultural facts about rhubarb: It is a cool weather perrenial that does not do well in warmer climates. Rhubarb tolerates most soils but grows best in fertile, well-drained soils that are high in organic matter. Rhubarb is rather tolerant of soil acidity but does best in slightly to moderately acid soil. (from rhubarbinfo.com).