shift trellis action

Here's a shot of the completed trellis system on the blackberries at New Dawn.  The first 4x4 posts were set in early November '12 and the last wires were pulled two months later.  I gotta give a big shout out to Chad Melvin, Jose Varela and Ian Maynard for their hard work helping me get this built.  The trellis is a LARS (Limited-Arm Rotating System) trellis developed by Herb Stiles from Va Tech University. 

Beautiful Fall color!

Look at the color contrast between the burgandy foliage on these young southern highbush blueberry plants and the winter weeds in the row middles. 

Blueberry plants have such gorgeous Fall color giving them a real ornamental value in any setting.

Heavy frost in late November '12!  Temps were in the mid 20's.  Blueberries really benefit from late Fall and Winter chill.  Any time below 45 degrees constitutes a 'chill hour' and it is an important factor in healthy blooming/fruitset in the Spring.

See how the frost accumulated more heavily on the western side (shade side) of the row.  It looks like snow it's so thick!

This closeup shows ice crystals on the bark mulch at least 1/4" long.  Amazing!

Late summer blueberry growth

The blueberry plants have put on a lot of new growth this season and are now generating flower buds for next summer's crop. 

Mechanical tiller insead of herbicide

Here's a closer view of the tiller keeping the blueberry middles neat and clean.

weeding the blueberry middles

Here comes the tractor down one of many blueberry middles, doing its bi-weekly job of weed and grass control.  No damaging herbicides are used on the farm here at New Dawn.  Instead, we use shallow tillage to keep invasive grasses and weeds in check.

the symbiotic circle

The 'Apache' blackberry plants have been in the ground now for only four months, but they are already establishing an interconnected system of thornless vines which are known as 'primocanes'.  These primocanes in Sept. '12 will flower in the Spring of 2013 and be transformed into what is known as 'floricanes'.  The flowers in May '13 will be pollinated by bees to produce berries in June.  The symbiosis between plant itself (primo-to-flori), insect and fruit is one of the main reasons why I farm organically.  This balance between each relationship is truely miraculous and makes me feel fortunate just to be a small part of it.

Apache and me

The 'Apache' blackberry seem to be well adapted to the loamy soil here in the coastal plain of southeastern NC.  This picture was taken on Sept. 4th and by the looks of these 6-8ft primocanes, my trellis will have to be installed sooner than I had anticipated.

New Dawn Organics will have a small crop of blackberries to compliment the 2013 blueberry season.

These blackberry primocanes are taller than me in just four short months!  Check out the beautiful Carolina blue sky...Go Heels!!

September blackberry growth

Incredible primocane growth in just four months on Ouachita blackberry plant!  Photo taken September 4th.

Erect growth of Ouachita blackberry

It's obvious to see the erect growth habit of Ouachita, but it's pretty fast growing as well.  Only 3-4" when planted in early May, this plant is 12-14" tall now!  Although erect, a trellis will be installed this winter to better support the berries next June.

Ouachita blackberry

Ouachita (pronounced 'waa-chee-taa') is an erect, thornless blackberry variety interplanted with Apache for cross-pollination.

Apache new growth

The flush of new growth on this blackberry plant is a good sign of health and vigor...grow baby grow!

two month old blackberry

These blackberry plants have really taken off even after being planted late!

Blackberries at New Dawn!

Apache is one of the thornless blackberry varieties newly planted at New Dawn.  These plants were planted really late (early May), but they are growing well.   The primocanes growing on this plant will be the floricanes which will bear fruit next summer.  Apache has a real depth of flavor which makes it one of my favorites!

The crop on these 'Columbus' plants is more than acceptable for my first organic crop!  Can't you just reach through the screen and pick a handful of these?...Delicious!!

The 'Columbus' variety has large berries with light blue color.  The light, powdery coating on blueberries is known as 'bloom' and it serves as the berry's protection from the sun.  It's like the blueberry's natural SPF and it varies with different varieties.

'Columbus' variety has beautiful, long clusters of fruit!

The farm is still a year away from it's 2013 first harvest, but I did allow a few plants to fruit to get an idea of potential pests in an organic culture.  Take a look at the pictures taken today and you'll see a good crop and nice quality berries!  These plants have already been harvested one time before these photos were taken.