Fruit: Vermont Bean

Fruit Planting Guidelines

Soak plants 6-12 hours before planting.
Space the plants 4-5' apart.
Mix soil to fill in around plants with aluminum sulfate, 1/2 peat moss or humus, 1/4 topsoil & 1/4 sand. Plant same depth as in nursery.
Water well so no air pockets are around roots. Mulch with 4-6" of decomposed sawdust, leaf mold, or peat moss to control weeds.
Keep moist since blueberries require a lot of moisture (soil must be well-drained)

Moist soil is best, either naturally or with irrigation. It will not survive, however, in very wet areas where groundwater is at the surface for long periods of time.
As with most fruit and berry plants, good light exposure is important.
In regions where the summers are relatively hot, partial shade is recommended. Plants can be spaced 4-5 feet apart or more.
To maintain adequate soil moisture, mulching with compost, peat moss or other similar material is helpful.
Water regularly during dry spells. For healthy, vigorous growth, apply compost, composted manure, or other fertilizer in the fall or early spring.
It is not self-fertile. Plant at least 2 varieties if fruit is desired.
One plant will pollinate up to 5 plants of another variety. It bears the first or second year after planting.
No insect or disease damage has been observed or reported. Removal of dead branches is the only pruning recommended during the first 3-5 years after planting.
After this, every 2-3 years in early spring, before growth begins, remove broken branches and thin out weak and small shoots from the center of the bush.

Soak roots 12-24 hours to re-hydrate the plants.
Never let the root system dry out or be exposed to the sun before or during planting.
Plant in a hole or furrow large enough to accommodate all roots, but DO NOT COVER THE TOPMOST ROOTS WITH MORE THAN 1 INCH OF SOIL! If you plant them too deep they will not grow.
Firm the soil around the roots & water thoroughly. Keep the soil around the roots moist.
Set plants 2 feet apart in rows 8-10' apart. In hill planting, set the plant in holes 4' apart in each direction.
Prune canes back to 6" above the ground. Remove all flowers as they develop the first summer.
Use a mulch of sawdust, wood chips, pine needles, or other loose organic matter to help maintain moisture in the soil & control weeds. Optimum depth ranges from 3-4 inches for fine materials such as sawdust, & from 8-10 inches for straw on well-drained soils.
Avoid deep mulches on poorly drained soils to discourage root diseases. When mulching red raspberries, apply the full depth of material between rows.
Within rows, apply only enough material to control weeds, allowing the new canes to emerge in the spring. Since organic mulches gradually decompose, apply additional material each year.

Rhubarb does best when planted in the spring when the roots are still dormant or when plants are just beginning to leaf out. Rhubarb can also be planted in the fall after dormancy has set in.
Each plant will require approximately one square yard of space. Loosen the soil to a depth of 10 inches. For each plant, prepare the soil by adding 3 to 4 inches of compost or well-aged manure and a handful of fertilizer that is relatively high in phosphorus and potassium, such as 5-10-10.
Set the plant so the crown (tip) is no more than 2 inches below the soil surface and space the plants about 3 to 4 feet apart. As soil and air temperatures begin to warm, new buds will push up through the soil.
Once the plants are up and growing, the addition of a 3-to-4-inch layer of clean straw, compost, or similar mulching material will help control weeds and conserve soil moisture for plant growth and development.
Flower stalks should be removed as they appear, as they deplete reserves from the crown that supports vegetative growth.
Rhubarb, like most vegetables, requires regular irrigation during dry weather. Keep the soil moist, but not soggy.
Rhubarb requires annual applications of fertilizer for good growth and continued production. Fertilize each plant with a handful of a 10-10-10 fertilizer in the spring. A midsummer fertilizer application will also benefit these vigorous plants.

Plant at once whenever possible.
If you cannot plant immediately, please follow these instructions: Open the package to make sure there is no mold and that the plants have not dried out.
Put the bundle in a plastic bag, close it with a twist-tie or rubber band and put in the vegetable crisper of your refrigerator. If space is limited use any part of the refrigerator except the freezer. Do not soak the roots in water. Try not to store the plants more than three weeks.

Do not allow them to flower or produce the entire first season. First year flowers should be removed.
Junebearing produce one sizable crop per season in early summer.
Junebearing plants will produce reliably for up to 6 year if properly maintained.
Replant Junebearing plants every 3-5 years for best production.

Junebearing types are typically planted using a matted row system. Plants are spaced 15-24 inches in rows limited to 12-15-inches wide,

Everbearing plants should have flowers pinched off for the first 6-8 weeks, but then they can be allowed to produce later in the season.
Everbearing types can produce two crops per season (weather permitting). In colder climates, some seasons may be too short for plants to produce multiple crops.
Day-neutral types can be allowed to produce starting in July of their first year and will produce sporadically through the season, typically until October (again, weather permitting).
Everbearing & day-neutral types are not as cold-hardy as Junebearing types.
Everbearing plants should be replanted every other year, to keep them consistently producing, especially in cooler climates (zones 6 and colder).
Everbearing plants do not have much fruit on runner plants so it's best to cut runner plants off as they develop. Cutting off runners encourages multiple crown formation, and each crown will develop one cluster of blossoms; thus, the more crowns the more fruit.

The system of managing everbearing strawberries that results in the most fruit is to grow them in a hill system. This means setting the plants 12-15 inches apart in the row, with the rows 30 to 36 inches apart.