Gardening 2016: Fruits, Veggies, Flowers

[Lady tehMa]

Hooray for the rain!

I have those blasted pill bugs eating all the strawberries they can reach. They were also the behind the loss of some of my tomatoes, they were chewing on the stems. How do I get rid of these ?

[Lady tehMa]

I just harvested my first batch of raspberries!

[Queen K]

Delicious!

And we've been picking saskatoons like crazy. Raspberries, peas and the last of the strawberries too. I see multiplier onions ready to be harvested young. Also, we have cilantro ready to be picked. We interplanted tomatoes in the strawberry beds just so that the whole bed doesn't go to waste this year like last year.

We have garlic drying at their tops, so it'll be ready to go soon.

Lots of food at any rate.

[kgcayenne]

The robins & starlings are enjoying our strawberries.

[Lady tehMa]

The robins & starlings are enjoying our strawberries.

Get some strawberry sized rocks. Paint them like strawberries. Seal them with a shellac or clear coat (if you don't it wears off). I was having troubles with crows and magpies - not anymore. They've learned that my "strawberries" are too hard for them :)

If only it worked on those blasted pill bugs.

[pbear]

My strawberries grow on a bank of a perennial filled rock wall. I don't know if it is the slope but the birds seem to leave them alone (so far).
They are a pain to pick cause you are fighting the bees that are on the surrounding flowers and they have spread too wide to be able to reach the middle section easily. That's why the person with the longest arms gets the picking job, and it's not me!

[Lady tehMa]

I have never had an issue with bees, but wasps are mean . I love seeing the variety of bees we get :)

[faith177]

I have two questions, I have been trying to grow raspberries for a few years Ive had a few plants for about 3 years but they just haven't taken off and fruited yet. Any tips? also what zone is Kelowna in?

[Lady tehMa]

What kind of soil are they in? How much water do they get? How much sun do they get? Are they planted near any other plants/trees?

Kelowna varies, but it is roughly 5 and 5a in different areas. As you go higher out of the valley, the zones drop. Joe Rich may be a 4?

My raspberries are in a fairly sandy/rocky soil that I have amended with some compost. They are partially shaded by my plum and I make sure to water both, often. They do fairly well but it did take some time to establish. That being said, I had fruit from year 2 on, even if it wasn't a lot. Some I got didn't plant well, and those didn't give me fruit for 2 years, but I had dug them up and planted them it really hot conditions and they got a bit of shock, I think.

QK should have some advice too, she's got some great raspberry plants.

[Queen K]

I saw that this morning but had no time to respond.

Because we dug a two foot deep trench into clay and filled it with compost and dirt and part clay and sand, I have huge healthy raspberries for the most part. I have noted a virus infection in some canes this year, which as soon as the rain quits, I"m going to go out and clip the infected canes to the dirt and throw them in the garbage bin, not the green bin.

I don't know our zone, I rarely pay attention to zones because everything I plant explodes with growth. I have no idea as to why that is.

I am curious about canes that don't produce fruit, as that's never happened to me. All I can think of is two or three things might be happening:

1. Not pruning out old canes
2. Canes have too much shade,
3. Flowers aren't being pollinated.

But if there are no flowers, it might be a soil imbalance. I top my raspberries with garden compost every year and water it in, which means my soil is rich every Fall and it melds in by Spring. I have hundreds of berries.

After that, I'm at a loss.

[Lady tehMa]

I didn't get around to pruning my old canes, now they're buried under new growth.

Hey - the 2 for 1 plant sale at the Greenery is on until Sunday. Silly me, I went. Now I have to find room for a few more plants.
They're starting to run low on perennials, but still have tons of annuals, even some nicely sized tomatoes and tomatillos!

[looking4one]

I didn't get around to pruning my old canes, now they're buried under new growth.

Hey - the 2 for 1 plant sale at the Greenery is on until Sunday. Silly me, I went. Now I have to find room for a few more plants.
They're starting to run low on perennials, but still have tons of annuals, even some nicely sized tomatoes and tomatillos!

THANKS, I will be there tomorrow morning.

[Queen K]

Neither one of you bought enough, the selection at The Greenry was overwhelming, even for their last hour today.

I may have over bought. But never underestimate what a wheelbarrow can hold.

[JLives]

I need more pics from you guys. With my broken ankle my garden plans are kiboshed this year so I'm gardening vicariously through you all.

[Queen K]

Are you not going to throw some tomato plants into pots JLives? PS: I've got garden pics, shall post soon, k?