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Mar
04

Blackberry, Raspberry and Strawberry Tart



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My Garden Nursery has it!


We enjoy many things here in the Pacific Northwest that are near and dear to our hearts. And while most of us can relate to the struggle that is the blackberry vine, most of us can also agree there’s nothing better than a fresh picked blackberry! And while we cruse or praise this certain berry, there’s a whole world of berries available to grow here in Whatcom County. Here at My Garden Nursery, we try to have a great selection of the best choices in bareroot or planted in pots for you. We have Loganberries, Marionberries, plus Black Satin and Superlicious blackberries right now.


Strawberries: There’s two major types of strawberries; Everbearing cultivars will bloom in June and beyond but will give you smaller fruit, perfect for fresh eating and June-bearing cultivars will produce a large crop in early summer, making these varieties best for Jam or other preserves. ‘Hood’ Strawberries are a favorite June-bearing variety that produces large, dark red fruit early in the season. ‘Quinault’ Strawberries are an everbearing variety were developed by Washington State University and are extremely cold hardy with sweet fruit ideal for fresh eating! All strawberries can be grown as a groundcover, but work well as trailing plants out of containers for a more space saving option. They’ll want a full sunny area with slightly acidic soil. Seascape, Hood, Cabrillo, Benton, Rainier, Shuksan, Totem, Hood, and Quinault are available now!


Blueberries: There’s no doubt about it, blueberries are the perfect kid friendly fruit; easy to pick, with no threatening thorns in sight! Lowbush blueberries tend to be physically smaller and more spreading while producing small berries that pack a punch of flavor. Highbush blueberries tend grow larger, sometimes reaching 6-8’ while producing the large, plump fruits we expect to see in the stores. Pick varieties the produce in early, mid or late season to extend your harvest. Blueberries love acidic soil and will want to be between a 3.8 and 5.5 pH; lower your pH by adding sulfur or peat moss while planting. This is also one of our favorite landscaping plants with pops of blue fruit through summer and great fall color, they are the perfect pop to any sunny corner. You can find Bluecrop, Bluejay, Duke, Midnight cascade, Pink Lemonade, Pink Popcorn, and Sunshine Blue today. Tophat is arriving Friday.


Raspberries: Blackberry’s more well behaved cousin. We have absolutely the best growing conditions for these succulent treats. Find a sunny niche in your garden and enjoy the magic year after year with this vigorous producer. The ‘Fall Gold’ variety is an unexpected surprise in world of berries; the berries blush from yellow to pale orange and are some of the most tender, sweetest available on the market. ‘Meeker’ is a variety that produces sizable crops of large, sweet, dark-red berries for eating fresh or preserving. Raspberry canes will need to be supported, so consider growing them over a trellis, along a fence or even in a pot with an obelisk. They will only fruit on second year canes, so be careful when pruning in fall! We have Cascade Gold, Fall Gold, Amity, Tulameen, Vintage, Heritage, Raspberry Shortcake, Latham, Willamette, and Meeker.


Kiwi berries; Yes it’s a berry, and yes you can grow them here! Most kiwi’s are hardy to Zone 4 and can produce heavily once established. You’ll need a male and female plant to produce fruit, but these vigorous vines can create dense shade for a patio or cover an unsightly wall or fence quickly! Kens Red, Arguta, Issai, Matua and Ananasnaya are varieties we have now.


Need more? New varieties arriving weekly. Swing by 7 days a week and see what you can find!