Production Guides for Vegetables and Berries
Learn how to successfully grow vegetables and berries with professional production guides.
Companion planting is a legitimate horticultural practice that uses ecological principles of beneficial plant relationships to enhance establishment and survival of desired plants. The concept has been mythicized by nonscientists who have assigned zodiac, occult, or other pseudoscientific qualities to plants, which creates confusion for home gardeners. This publication explains the science behind companion planting, while debunking the misconceptions found in numerous popular gardening books and websites. Gardeners who use companion planting in a scientifically sound manner can improve plant health and productivity, decrease damage from insects and disease, and decrease the need for pesticides and fertilizers—all part of IPM (Integrated Pest Management) and PHC (Plant Health Care) strategies.
Source: Washington State University
Complete Raspberry Production Guide
PennState University: https://extension.psu.edu/raspberry-production
Raspberry and Blackberry Production Guide for the Northeast, Midwest, and Eastern Canada: https://www.canr.msu.edu/foodsystems/uploads/files/Raspberry-and-Blackberry-Production-Guide.pdf
Washington State University: https://rex.libraries.wsu.edu/esploro/outputs/report/Raspberry-production-guide/99900502239101842
University of Arkansas: https://www.uaex.uada.edu/publications/PDF/FSA-6107.pdf
University of Idaho: https://catalog.extension.oregonstate.edu/sites/catalog/files/project/pdf/pnw598.pdf
Choose a site with full sun at least six hours per day, good drainage, and a pH between 5.5 and 7.0.
Begin improving the soil the year before planting, especially if the pH needs adjusting.
Plant in early spring in soil where no strawberries, brambles, or crops in the tomato family (including potatoes, peppers, and eggplants) have been grown for several years.
Strawberries are shallow rooted. Keep plants well watered, especially just after planting.
Sources / guides: Haifa ; USAID ; Cornell University ; Cornell Guide
Blackberries are generally referred to as caneberries, which includes all berries that grow on a cane, including raspberries, marionberries and boysenberries; they are also often described as “bramble” plants. Aside from the fruit, blackberry leaves can be used to make tea, and the canes, when peeled, can be eaten either raw or cooked.
Blackberries are native to several continents, including Asia, Europe, and North and South America. Learing of land for agriculture in North America allowed native blackberries to disperse and hybridize. Cultivation then followed between the years 1850-1860
Sources: Agricultural Marketing Resource Center ; Blackberry Production Guide for the Northeast, Midwest, and Eastern Canada, NRAES (2008) ; Additional resources from Cornell University ; Blackberry Guide from the Center for Agricultural and Rural Sustainability ; Additional video from University of Arkansas
