Category Fruits

Strawberries are a very rewarding crop to grow. They are easy to plant and require minimal maintenance. Strawberries can live in shallow dirt and tolerate transplanting very well. However, a strawberry crop is an investment. You typically don’t get berries the first year. The crop usually bears the maximum yield in years three to five. After that, the patch needs to be replanted. Of course, there are always exceptions to this rule.

2017

I knew when we moved to One Lane Farm, I wanted strawberries. In 2017, I bought 25 plants from the county extension office and set those out along with about 57 plants my sister, Lisa, gave me from her patch. It was a mixture of Earliglow and Allstar varieties. The first year we didn’t get berries. It wasn’t until 2018 that we tasted our first harvest. But, they were definitely worth the wait.

2018

In 2018, we had 73 strawberries survive from the previous year. We added 100 Allstar plants, purchased from the county extension office and 139 plants from Lisa’s patch. Our patch tripled in size. I ate the first berries on May 4. I am partial to the Allstar and Earlieglow strawberries. They tend to be smaller in size but make up the difference in sweetness. These berries are beautifully red when ripe and are great for jams. My favorite is to freeze the berries on a cookie sheet and devour them when frozen, especially on a hot day. We harvested about a gallon in 2018. The location of our patch was the shadier part of our garden. It also experienced quite a bit of debris from the nearby tree line. I knew this environment may hinder the growth of the berries but decided to wait another year before making any changes.

2019

In 2019, we didn’t add any strawberries to our patch. It already measured about 100 feet, almost the length of our garden. I purchased chicken wire from TruValue to drape the berries due to extensive squirrel damage the year before. Tobacco sticks were cut in halves or thirds to use for stakes. The wire draped over the stakes and were secured with garden staples. When I picked berries, I would roll the wire back and return it afterwards. The first berries were picked on April 26. We harvested about three gallons. With as many plants as we had, our harvest should have been much larger. After this small harvest, we decided to make a change.

Present

This year, we moved our strawberry patch from one side of the garden to the opposite side. The new location receives more sunshine and it’s away from tree debris. I tilled the area several times to prepare the soil. Brent and I laid plastic down for weed control and proceeded to plant the berries in holes cut with a box cutter. Note for the future, a hand torch would make this part of the process much easier and make the holes more uniform in shape and size. A total of 186 plants were planted, 67 from Lisa’s patch and 119 from our own.

In the days afterwards, I tried to pinch off the blooms to prevent fruiting. I want the plants’ energy to be spent rooting, not spent bearing fruit. My hope is that this will make the plants stronger for the years ahead. So far, our berry plants are bigger than ever. We have seen more growth in just a few months than the rest of the years planted in the old site. We are very happy with the decision to move the patch.

A few things to remember when you plant strawberries. Location is key. Make sure the area gets plenty of sunshine and is free from tree debris. Prepare the ground well to slow the growth of competing grass and weeds. Be patient. It won’t be long before you are enjoying the sweet taste of a harvest!

Around One Lane Farm, a lot of plants require trellising. We use trellises for plant support and to increase the health of our plants. Here, we trellis our grapes, blackberries and several of our garden vegetables. By using mostly things on hand, we are able to recycle materials from other projects. And we are always looking for ways to improve our methods.

Blackberries

Blackberries don’t vine. But they do grow long branches that need support in order to keep them off the ground. For our berry trellis, we used sturdy wire, metal fence posts, wood fence posts and some eye screws. I ran strands of wire on each side of the berries, post to post, in order to encourage and support the long branches growing upward. This allows more sun exposure on all sides of the berries, makes mowing and trimming easier around the base and limits the hiding places for pests. Taller fence posts would have been ideal, but I’m satisfied with the outcome of using what I had on hand.

Grapes

In the beginning, I planted grapes without having any knowledge of what they really needed. I don’t know much more now than I did then but I have tried to improve our trellis system. First, I used some wooden 4 x 4 posts with a wooden type ladder panel on the top. I ran wire vertically down the length of the posts, hoping to inspire the vines to reach the top. This did not work out. The ladder panel rotted as it was not treated wood and the grapes did not reach the top. As I had to replace the trellis this year, I started watching videos and researching different methods. My grapes were planted next to the wooden posts and as the posts would not be moved, I had to adapt the trellis to my setup. I took inspiration from the two tier Cordon training system. We ordered one way wire vices from Amazon to hold the 9 gauge wire. The vice allows for strong tension on the wire to hold the weight of the grapes in full production. The 9 gauge wire we purchased at Lowe’s. Our grapes have suffered a couple of frosts and one hard freeze this year. The grapes have not had much growth and I do not expect fruit. So I cannot say how effective this trellis system will be. Hopefully, next year will allow for a better review.

Vegetables

Brent has taken down a few long rows of woven wire fencing around the property since we bought it. Instead of scrapping it, I have started using it as trellises for our garden vegetables. Last year it replaced bean sticks used for greasy greens and butter beans. It changed my life. The fencing provided so much stability for the beans. We didn’t have to worry about the wind or storms. The fencing improved air flow and sun exposure. And picking was a dream. This year Brent had taken down even more fencing and so we expanded to using it on our beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash and zucchini. The fencing replaced almost 400 tobacco sticks that we used last year on the tomatoes. Yes, they were a nightmare especially the cleanup. Although, I am thankful to have had them at the time and glad to use something different now. It took four of us and two hours to put up the six rows of fencing for the vegetables but I am confident it will be worth the effort. My hope is that it will extend the life of the tomatoes and decrease the blight and disease on the vine vegetables. I’ll keep you posted on how everything holds up, literally.

Also, some very exciting news! Brent surprised me on Friday afternoon with the beautiful farm sign you see below. It’s at the entrance of our property. I absolutely love it!

Here on the farm, me and Brent collaborate each year on ways to grow and expand our produce production. Over the past couple years, we planted two apple trees closer to our house that were an old-fashioned type, which were given to me from my sister. Those two trees triggered our new adventure idea for this year, which would be to start an apple orchard. My Dad had apple trees for a few years that my sister and I loved helping with. He learned how to grow them from talking to different people who had trees. The knowledge I gained through Dad has been unbelievably valuable. With that and our own research, we started our orchard.

Plans for Our Apples

In any new project, it is important to have a vision. Use that vision to establish and obtain your goals. Our goals for the orchard include the following:

• Fresh consumption
• Canning
• Dehydrating
• Making fresh cider from the variety of apples (personal favorite!)
• Selling to customers

Apple Tree Supplier

In the beginning of the process, it is a good idea to establish a relationship with suppliers. Our supplier, Rusty Mangrum Nursery in McMinnville, TN, grows a large variety of apple trees. We previously purchased blueberries from Rusty and decided to also buy our trees from him for our orchard. This year, we decided 18 would be a good number to start with. The trees were purchased in mid-March and planted a couple weeks later. Additionally, in December, we plan to plant more trees. This advice, to plant in the winter, was given to us by our supplier. Planting in winter allows the trees time to absorb all of the winter moisture, increasing their growth in the the spring.

Orchard Locations and Lot Dimensions

The area we cleared for the apple orchard is located on the southeast side of the farm. After that, a designated part of our field was cleared and mowed that would allow for 18 apple trees. We started with two rows, the first has twelve trees and the other has six. The space between the rows is approximately 23 feet while the space between the trees is 15 feet and 7 inches. Since we planted in a slight diagonal path, the row distance varied between 21-23 feet. However, this leaves plenty of room to drive a vehicle between or any kind of ATV.

Types of Apple Trees We Planted

We planted three trees of each of the following types: Arkansas Black, Fuji, Gala, Golden Delicious, Red Delicious, and Winesap. Later this year, we plan to add Granny Smith to the orchard. Pictured below, you can see the trees growing, flowering, and budding.

Follow along each week with updates from around the farm as our journey continues.

I cannot wait!