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Want the best berries? Water now

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED JUN 6, 2019

A trellis helps train canes to grow up, off the ground. The
blackberries are easier to pick and protect.

(Photo: Debbie Arrington)

Proper irrigation is critical to harvesting sweet, ripe fruit

Berry season is so close, you can taste it.

During this hot weather, irrigation is critical. Check drip lines and soil moisture. According to the UC Cooperative Extension master gardeners, blueberries and cane berries need evenly moist but not wet soil while developing fruit.

Deep-water in the morning and let it soak down at least 6 inches. Mulch around plants to protect shallow roots and retain some of that cooling moisture.

Blueberries may actually prefer some afternoon shade. They'll ripen a month later than their full-sun counterparts, but the fruit will still be good quality.

Trellis cane berries to keep fruit off the ground and make it easier to pick. A trellis also comes in handy for protecting the crop from birds. Drape bird netting over the trellis and the canes, then lift this veil to harvest.

Maybe your berry plants are already producing; how do you know when berries are at their sweetest?
Blueberries don't ripen all at once; they require regular check-ins. Even when dark blue, they're not quite fully ripe. As a general rule, wait an extra week after they turn blue to pick.

Try this master gardener trick: Put a bucket or bowl under the berry cluster and gently "tickle" the berries, flicking the cluster with your index finger. The ripe berries will fall off.

Color helps indicate cane berry ripeness. Blackberries are deep black-purple and plump; berries in lighter shades of purple or red need more time. These berries are ripe when they easily pull free from the plant with only a slight tug.

Ranging from ruby red to deep gold to purplish black, raspberries are ripe when their caps pull free.

For more tips on growing berries in Sacramento: http://sacmg.ucanr.edu/Berries/Monthly/#june

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Keywords:

UCCE master gardeners gardening Sacramento heat summer fruit mulch blackberries blueberries cane berries watering

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Garden Checklist for week of Nov. 3

November still offers good weather for fall planting:

* If you haven't already, it's time to clean up the remains of summer. Pull faded annuals and vegetables. Prune dead or broken branches from trees.

* Now is the best time to plant most trees and shrubs. This gives them plenty of time for root development before spring growth. They also benefit from fall and winter rains.

* Set out cool-weather annuals such as pansies and snapdragons.

* Lettuce, cabbage and broccoli also can be planted now.

* Plant garlic and onions.

* Keep planting bulbs to spread out your spring bloom. Some possible suggestions: daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, tulips, anemones and scillas.

* This is also a good time to seed wildflowers and plant such spring bloomers as sweet pea, sweet alyssum and bachelor buttons.

* Rake and compost leaves, but dispose of any diseased plant material. For example, if peach and nectarine trees showed signs of leaf curl this year, clean up under trees and dispose of those leaves instead of composting.

* Save dry stalks and seedpods from poppies and coneflowers for fall bouquets and holiday decorating.

* For holiday blooms indoors, plant paperwhite narcissus bulbs now. Fill a shallow bowl or dish with 2 inches of rocks or pebbles. Place bulbs in the dish with the root end nestled in the rocks. Add water until it just touches the bottom of the bulbs. Place the dish in a sunny window. Add water as needed.

* Give your azaleas, gardenias and camellias a boost with chelated iron.

* For larger blooms, pinch off some camellia buds.

* Prune non-flowering trees and shrubs while dormant.

* To help prevent leaf curl, apply a copper fungicide spray to peach and nectarine trees after they lose their leaves this month. Leaf curl, which shows up in the spring, is caused by a fungus that winters as spores on the limbs and around the tree in fallen leaves. Sprays are most effective now.

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