Saturday, March 12, 2011

Depressing.....or Possibilities?

I cleaned out the berry garden about a week ago and in the process, made myself a vacant garden bed, ready to be planted.  Normally that would be something I’d be happy about, but the reason it is now vacant is because every raspberry & blackberry bush I had planted last year had died.  Now I have an empty garden bed and I haven’t decided what to do with it.  Paul was talking about making another larger raspberry / blackberry patch on one of the sloping hills and maybe I’ll just put new bushes there instead.  But my thinking was that I would keep it a permanent perennial garden and have it fenced from the scratching & snacking chickens.  I suppose we could start grapes there, but I’d honestly like to have a larger area for them.  I’ve also been thinking about planting hazelnut bushes and maybe that would be a good place for them.  Guess I’ll be thumbing through the garden magazines again.

Anyone have an idea for what type of fruit / berry / something yummy I could start here?  Something that will come up year after year.  We’re in zone 6B.  The area is approximately 4 ½’ wide x 20’ long with some late afternoon shade.  Not sure what type of soil we have (acid / alkaline) because I haven’t tested it yet (bad gardener, no parsnip).
I’d love to hear your suggestions.  Pretty please!  (Insert whiney voice here)

3 comments:

  1. I vote for artichokes, but I don't know if they'll grow down here?

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  2. I would vote strawberries.. Lots of work but 10 plants would about fill it leaving room for them to set runners, or more plants and don't let all the runners grow.

    It is also a nice place for blackberries or raspberries.

    Or a great asparagus bed....unlimited possibilities.
    I just spent three hours finishing up the raspberry and black berry patch. I want to make it easy for the Japanese Beetles to find them!

    I think the real key to getting anything established is being able to water it often that first year.

    I got the soap today; I took a hot shower after my gardening chores and love it. I will definitely make my next batch using your recipe with some lavender and rosemary FO.
    Thank you!

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  3. I'd plant the bed with Asparagus of several varieties. It will take a couple years but looks like a nice place to dedicate to them.

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