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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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An article about gardening.

Keywords:

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

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Garden Checklist for week of July 21

Your garden needs you!

* Keep your vegetable garden watered, mulched and weeded. Water before 8 a.m. to reduce the chance of fungal infection and to conserve moisture.

* Feed vegetable plants bone meal, rock phosphate or other fertilizers high in phosphate to stimulate more blooms and fruiting. (But wait until daily high temperatures drop out of the 100s.)

* Don’t let tomatoes wilt or dry out completely. Give tomatoes a deep watering two to three times a week.

* Harvest vegetables promptly to encourage plants to produce more. Squash especially tends to grow rapidly in hot weather. Keep an eye on zucchini.

* Pinch back chrysanthemums for bushy plants and more flowers in September.

* Remove spent flowers from roses, daylilies and other bloomers as they finish flowering.

* Pinch off blooms from basil so the plant will grow more leaves.

* Cut back lavender after flowering to promote a second bloom.

* It's not too late to add a splash of color. Plant petunias, snapdragons, zinnias and marigolds.

* From seed, plant corn, pumpkins, radishes, winter squash and sunflowers.

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