Avoid CommonMistakes
General
- Avoid planting roots too deep or too shallow – they will not flourish.
- Don't leave soil loose around the plant roots – take care to pack it firmly.
- Avoid planting near wild plants, or near plants whose origins are unknown.
- Don't water every day – water well, 1–3 times a week to maintain adequate moisture levels..
- Avoid fertilizer burn. Hold off on fertilizing until plants are well established.
- We advise you to plant all the roots of the plant without cutting the roots.
- Avoid planting in the shade – All of our plants prefer full sun and will not thrive in shady spots. A half–day of full sun or more is necessary to ripen your berries.
- we recommend a 10–10–10 fertilizer for all of our plants with the exception of blueberries which require our 17–6–6 or ammonium sulfate.
Strawberry Plants
- Avoid planting in soils where previous crops have included strawberries, raspberries, potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants or peppers. These crops may harbor soil pathogens, which may affect your new plants.
- Do not mulch using materials like decayed or wet leaves that tend to mat down and can smother plants.
- Do not renovate day neutral strawberries.
Raspberry and Blackberry Plants (Brambles)
- Don't plant roots too deep.
- Avoid planting in soils where tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, eggplant, or raspberries have previously been. These crops may harbor soil pathogens, which may affect your new plants.
- Avoid planing green tissue culture plants until after danger of frost has passed.
- Do not mulch brambles beyond the first year.
- Do not mow down summer–bearing raspberries; they fruit on 2 year–old canes. Remove the canes that bore fruit the previous year.
Asparagus Plants
- Be careful not to damage emerging spears when cutting below the soil surface during harvest.
- Avoid planting in soil that doesn’t have pH between 7.0 – 7.2, because Asparagus require very sweet soil.
- Do not add compost to soil until plants are growing.
- Do not soak roots prior to planting.
Blueberry Plants
- Don’t forget that Blueberries require an acidic soil with a pH between 4.5–4.8. A pH of 5.0 or higher is too high!
- Do not use leaves or excessive sawdust as mulch. Either can limit or prevent rains from reaching the soil and plant roots.
- Excessive sulfur can be toxic. Application of sulfur does not change the acidity quickly.
- Do not apply fertilizer at planting.
- Do not apply fertilizer in late summer or early fall. This could lead to new, succulent growth that is susceptible to winter injury and may lead to entry points for disease.
- Blueberries can be adversely affected by potassium chloride. Do not use fertilizer that contains it.We do not recommend use of aluminum sulfate. Use elemental sulfur instead.