Grow Berries In Your Back Yard!

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It's also important to bear in mind that blueberries require a highly acid soil (pH 4 to 5). If the dirt in your garden is neutral or alkaline, plan on working a good quantity of pine needles, acid peat, wood chips, and/or other acidic materials into the ground six months to a year before you set out your blueberries.

At the time of planting (which is to say late fall in California, late winter in warm southern areas, and early spring elsewhere), the uppermost "twiggy" branches of each blueberry bush should be pruned back (this will encourage its roots to develop more rapidly). Pruning will be needed again after about three years of growth as the plants become densely thicketed with twigs and side branches. (Simply cut away all small branches in the lower region of the bush and clip off a number of side branches from the main growing stems to "open up" the plant and let it breathe.) After this third-year pruning, thin your blueberry bushes of unneeded woody growth on a yearly basis (see Fig. 3). This heavy pruning will stimulate new growth and encourage the early formation of larger-than-normal berries.

As you've probably guessed, blueberries—because of their bushy, shrub-like growth habit—make excellent hedges.

GRAPES FOR
THE HOME GARDEN

Because there are so many varieties of grapes (well over a hundred altogether)—each one of which is adapted to a given climate and type of soil—it's virtually impossible for me to recommend any one or two or three varieties in particular as being "right" for everyone. (Especially since the varieties that are best for eating are usually unsuitable for winemaking, and vice versa.)

My own personal favorite for eating purposes is a white grape called Cayuga. The rootstocks of this variety give rise to exceedingly productive vines that bear large, thickly set bunches of grapes . . . grapes that are indescribably sweet. For purple grapes, it's hard to beat the tried-and-true Concord. (My all-time favorite grape product, in fact, is a pie made from the dusky, blackishblue fruits of this variety.)

There are almost as many ways to plant and train grapes as there are apples in the state of Washington, and each method has its advantages and drawbacks. The easiest way I know to get the job done, however, is the Kniffin four-cane system, which goes as follows:

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