Back in December I ordered an electric mini tiller from Amazon because I have been wanting one and they were on sale. I got to try it out a little in December before the ground froze and it seemed to be able to do what I wanted it for.
WELL after using it this morning to prepare this year's strawberry bed and etching the sod off the places where I want to plant blueberries and raspberries, I am completely happy with the choice. It was $200 less costly than the major name brand you see advertised a lot "Mantis". Mine is an Earthwise TC70001 11-Inch 8-1/2 Amp Electric Tiller/Cultivator. I am not getting anything for naming this brand, I just think people might want to know it is a less costly choice than the other one :)
I am fortunate to have that lovely sandy soil in my yard. It makes garden work a little easier. One drawback is that it drains too well so watering needs to be frequent.
Here is my new strawberry patch. They will be transplanted down the middle of this tilled strip. To the left is where the rhubarb is, To the right, in the row of hay, is where the garlic is growing. It was planted last October or November, don't remember exactly when. They are doing well.
Tomorrow I will get it out again and dig the holes for the blueberry and raspberry plants, then they will be planted on Thursday. I could do it today but am waiting for a warmer day to plant them.
I got two blue ray blueberries, one blue crop blueberry and 5 latham red raspberry plants.
The blue ray blueberries are 3-4 feet at maturity and the blue crop variety will be 5-6 feet at matirity.
It is best to plant more than one variety of blueberries to increase production. They will bear fruit on their own but the production will be increased by planting at least 2 varieties next to each other. Both varieties I planted are mid season producers. I plan to add an early and late variety, either this year or next spring.
The latham red raspberry is a mid season producer with 10' canes. I might have to put in some restraints for this one. But I will wait and see what they do before going to that extra expense and work. They may do just fine left alone.
Last year I ordered some bare root red raspberries online and due to the drought they died off one by one, all but one. That one gave me 12 (if I remember right) berries last fall :) It is named Caroline, a late season variety that also gives a small crop in the early summer. The plants are short too, needing no fencing or trellis to hold them up.
These are all varieties that do well in our climate here in NW Ohio.
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