Hi everyone! Regardeng BLACKBERRIES, we, on the opposie side of the pool, have the same problems of OVERWINTERING the canes and the flower buds. Admittedly I yet have no own experience as I got interested in blackberries only this fall when discovered the existance of the new thornles and prolific varieties. So I read all that was worth reading in the Russian and US internet, especially the rather high-profile specialised forums of our blackberry enthusiasts.. I discovered that throughout Russia and Kazakhstan which both have areas with very serious frosts blackberry growing in those is nevertheless quite successful. Maybe someone here would benefit from their experience same as e.g. you grow plums of Russian origin such as ptitsin and fofanoff. Apparently Blackberries can bring huge yealds in climates with very low winter temps, even downing to -40C for rather ptolonged periods. The TECHNIQUE below allows overwintering without much problem. Plus some easy principles to follow. 1. All blackberries need to be laid down and covered for the winter, preferably after the first frost when the land is frozen. To ensure that this task is easy and hassle free: 2. Choose thornless varieties only. Those with thorns are said to be hell to lay and cover. 3. In early summer watch for the new canes (primocanes) to emerge. As soon as a shoot reaches 15-20cm carefully bend it 90 degrees and secure with a metal peg. When the cane grows another 40-60cm, secure it parallel to the ground with yet another peg. After it reaches 1 m let it grow as it will but better tie to the lowest string of the trellis Which gets them out of the way. Do not tip the ends as this would increase the leaf mass. Do the bending for all the emerging primocanes. 4. In autumn at the time of first frosts when all the fruiting canes have long been cut down lay the primocanes in lines stretched along one side of the trellis. Peg them to the ground, cover with two layers of 60g/m2 thick white non-woven fabric and secure all sides to the ground with no holes. This is said to help greatly even if serious frosts come before the snow. In milder and wetter climates they also put a plastic film layer on top of the fabric, leaving however the end bits open so there is always air circulation. The advice here is to experiment as all natural circumstaces differ. 5. Take off the cover layers gradually, and completely only after all danger of frost is over. By then the canes are likely to bear some yourg leaves and side shoots, but this is ok. Raise them carefully as the canes of come varieties are brittle, and tie to the trellis. 5. Winer frosts may not be a problem for blackberries, but summers need to be warm or hot. The shorter and milder/cooler the summers, the earlier fruiting varieties should be chosen. 6. Floricane varieties like PA Freedom in cooler and shorter summer climates may very sucessfully fruit if treated in the same way as other primocanes, i.e. as above, in a two-year culture. They would be one of the earliest to perform. If you have any questions do feel free to write me, I will try to help with more information. cathpetro at gmail dot com.

Hi Randy & Lynn, Got down to 37 degrees here and a very light, patchy frost. No damage to plants I was expecting a frost because we were supposed to be "partly cloudy, variable winds". Well, by 8 p.m. it was clear as a bell and no winds, so I covered up anything tender that I thought needed it. Like Randy, I am in a low-lying microclimate that freezes easily. Lynn, I watch the mesonet closely just like Randy does and there are times I wish we stayed a little colder like y'all do. With our erratic warm days in January and February the fruit trees ALWAYS seem to bloom too early. In spite of last night's brief frost, it still feels like an early spring here. As my DH, who is from Pennsylvania, said to me the other day....we knew it would be an early spring because the groundhog said so! Here it is the early emergence of many insects, the early arrival of birds and the rapid greening up of many trees that indicates an early spring to me. Dawn

Bryan, Just so you know, I'm not necessarily growing them out in the conscientious and controlled way that our more experienced cohorts grow out tomatoes. This is my second summer of gardening and starting seeds and this variety was from seed my wife and I had collected over a summer of eating from farmer's markets and a friend's garden in Washington, DC. We actually just tossed all our seeds together in a film canister in the refrigerator with no labeling. When I first planted these, I was pretty sure they were Sungold seeds (I didn't know it was a hybrid at the time) but they turned out nothing like Sungold and not really like anything I remember buying. Last year the fruits came out 2-3 inches across, dark red with dark green shoulders. I gave a few seedlings to a friend and, as I recall, one of his looked kind of like a Green Zebra before it ripened. I don't remember anything specific about the taste, but I ate plenty of them sliced and we roasted a lot of them for salsa that was delicious. All that said, I'd be happy to share seeds -- I'll have to look and see if I have any of the ones I planted this year, but I certainly plan to save them again. It's a lot of fun to have a mystery variety and it does seem to put out a lot of fruit. Kelly (who is is less of a new Texan with every passing day)

Yesterday, I visited my other site with 2 boxes that are on a couple diff. properties. The week before, a HOSP was inside the entrance hole to one chirping away! I wasn't able to get him. So when I returned yesterday, I set out my Van Ert. A bird that clearly LOOKED like a HOSP landed on the box and moved around like one too. At the same time, I was hearing HOSP vocalization. I watched the box. I heard it go off, thinking "YES!" Upon further inspection, I found it was a female bluebird!! In my other box, I had a Van Ert set, and again heard the HOSP vocalizations. 2 birds were at it. 1 was trapped. I opened the box with bag, out flew another female bluebird! Turns out the HOSP left and there are 2 pairs at this site who were near each other at one box WITHOUT fighting. Despite the females being trapped, they promptly returned to their boxes. Here at home, I have 2 box pairs, and my TRES pairs just returned for the season. I have a Blue pair actively, slowly but surely building a nest. A male and female HOSP just showed up at the other pair, and TRES were harrasing them. Of course, at the same time, my Van Erts are set! This is my first ever experience trapping bluebirds with the Van Ert. Contrary to what sialis says, both female bluebirds flew straight out INTO my mesh bag. I scurried them back in the boxes, removed the bag, and opened the doors. They exited immediately. Crazy stuff here! the Bluebirds appear in control, even at my second site, where there are many HOSP. Can't believe it. ~Tim~