By Lyle Hillyard
Utah State Senator, District 25

This year the weather has been so unsettled that it has been hard to plan some time to finish what needs to be done.  I have weeded the raspberries very thoroughly (that will last for about a week), fertilized them and added iron. I also must re-dig the furrows so the bushes can be watered.

Our raspberries are cut off to the ground each spring so it looks like nothing is growing in the patch.  That makes it easier to weed.  The bushes grow back in a thick patch and the berries come on big and sweet about September 1^st. I have even found bees working on the blossoms in October and typically, unless the patch is frozen, berries can still be picked in November. There is usually a Cache Valley frost the second week of September but we have plastic strips that we can use to cover them for the one or two nights this happens and unless the temperature goes below 25 degrees, the berries survive just fine.

The apple trees look good as well.  We will begin the irrigation of the rest on Wednesday.  I can’t believe how the plants will shoot up when we begin to irrigate and the weather turns sunny and warm.

I wish you the best of luck in your garden endeavors this year.