DEEP SNOW: TIME TO PLAN FOR FRUIT TREES AND BERRY PATCHES

Although the snow is really deep and, Winter seems like it will never end, it is time to plan for which fruit trees and berry patches you will be planting in the Spring. Of course what you plant will be what you like but, you have to also take into account things like space, sunlight, how long it takes to generate fruit and, care of the plant.

Space is simple enough to take into account. You just have to know what you are planting and how much room the plant needs. In the case of trees, you might want to make sure the tree will not be too close to a building or overhead wires. In the case of planting berries you not only have to consider the potential size of the plant but, whether or not the plant may spread. Raspberries, blackberries, strawberries etc, could far outgrow the original area in a few years. You must decide how far you want these plants to spread and make that literally a cutoff point. Anything that sprouts up outside of that area, if you can't or don't want to transplant it or give the plant away, must be considered a weed or else, your lawn or other gardens will suffer greatly.

Plants should always be planted with whatever sunlight is recommended by your garden center or from the label on the plants. Most plants do best in full or at least partial sun. Remember, plants like raspberries and blackberries when planted in full sun need a lot of water or the berries will dry up. Using a soaker hose is highly recommended.

Most berry patches bear fruit in 2-3 years, grapevines around 3-5 years and dwarf fruit trees in 5-7 years. Non-drawf fruit trees may take 10 or more years and nut trees could take up to 20-50 years (better hope your grand kids will like nuts). So make sure you do some research on your potential tree, bush or vine. Berry patches and fruit trees take a commitment of years not just one season.

Commitment to taking care of the fruit tree or berry patch is the last consideration to be covered (though it is by no means the last consideration you might have). Two major commitments are to weed and water. Berry patches should be watered everyday once they begin to grow in the spring. When the berries start to form, soaker hoses are recommended to keep the berries from drying up until only the seeds are left. When it comes to trees, make sure you remove any grass or weeds from around the bottom, leaving a circle of 2-3 feet on each side of the tree, depending on the trees size. Mulching is of course recommended for both trees and berries.

Finally, do some research first before you buy anything. Most seed catalogues have excellent information on the various types of fruit trees and berry bushes (vines) and what's great is, most seed catalogues are free. Make sure the plant will fit your area for both length of season and soil type (sandy, clay, wet or dry). And, you must have a long term commitment to your plants.

STOP!!! BEFORE YOU GET READY TO SEED-MAP

Before you even start to buy seeds for your garden first sit down and draw up a proportional map of your garden so that you know how much room you will have. Then write down a list of items you want to grow.

Now, take your list to your local garden center and take a look at the seeds available. Chances are they will only carry seeds that will grow in your area but, you should always read the back of the pack especially if you live in a climate like Northern Michigan since, we are right on the border for growing a lot of crops and have a season much shorter than even in Southern Michigan. If you are buying your seeds at an elevator store and are unsure of what will grow, just ask for help and they will probobly be able to tell you what grows best and how much to buy to fit into a certain size row.

You should check to see how far rows and seeds have to be spaced if you buy your seeds in packs. Most packs will tell you the length of each row the pack will plant. Buy enough seeds for your season taking into consideration that some items like peas and lettuce, you can plant more than once. Remember, you may not be able to purchase those seeds like peas and lettuce latter in the season when you want to replant them since the displays and seeds are often taken down around the 4th of July and sent back to the seed company for storage and retesting for the season. Over buying seeds is not a good idea unless you are going to plant them someplace else. The seeds are hard to keep from year to year in their packages and tend to get moldy. If you do have left over seeds, try keeping them in an air tight container like a glass jar with a screw down top. I like to use a coffee jar for all my air tight storage.

Now that you have your seeds, you can make a detailed map of just how you are going to plant your seeds with the knowledge that you must plant your crops so that the really tall plants don't crowd out the sun of the smaller ones. For example, in my garden I plant the pole beans in back of my carrots and lettuce so they can also have full sun.

Making a general map of your garden to see what kind of room you have to work with before you buy your seeds makes a lot of sense and, much easier to know how much to buy. Furthermore, mapping out where you are going to plant your seeds will make Spring planting much less stressful. It's hard to think clearly when your doing a lot of heavy labor getting your garden ready. No need to stress out when your tired, trying to decide what you should plant where?