anyone here have experience interplanting with brambles (i.e., raspberries, blackberries, etc?) i'm considering an underplanting of strawberries and then some "companion" plants of rue and yarrow, both to attract pollinators and repel deer.

p.s., anyone know of a reason NOT to include artemisia (silver mound, in this instance?) in that planting? not only do i love the color, but it is also supposedly unattractive to deer.

thanks for your thoughts on my first post here at ATP!

devra

Maybe this will help.

http://homeguides.sfgate.com/c...

I haven't grown raspberries or blackberries myself.

In the for what it's worth catagory, this is the spray I use on everything and if it will keep deer and raccoons from eating sweet corn, it should work for your berries. It also kills and repels any number of insects.

This recipe makes approximately 6 gallons of spray. You can make smaller or larger batches to fit your needs, just keep the proportions the same.

In as large stockpot or canner (I use a 16 quart stockpot and a 23 quart enameled steel canner to make 2 batches at a time) add 3 gallons and 1 quart of hot water.

Stir in 1/2 cup garlic powder, 1/2 cup red pepper powder, and 1/2 cup powdered sage. This makes a concentrated tea. To use it on plants, mix the tea with an equal amount of water.(I buy the large containers of spices from a restaurant supply store because they are cheaper; $2 - $3 for 9 - 14 oz. of herbs)

Cover, bring to a boil and continue to boil for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow to sit overnight or until cool enough to work with safely. Don't burn yourself.

When cooled, strain and pour into bottles. It will keep indefinitely without refrigeration. (I use 1 gallon pickle jars and old nylon stockings to strain it and then pour the strained tea into 2 liter drink bottles. Makes it easy to carry to the garden and they won't break.

I apply it with a 3 gallon garden sprayer. Pour 2 - 2 liter bottles of tea and 2 - 2 liter bottles of water into the sprayer and add 1 tablespoon of Palmolive Orange Dishwashing liquid, (that's approx. 1/2 tablespoon per gallon of spray) and shake well. This will leave eough air space in the sprayer so you only have to pump the sprayer one time. The tea repels most animals and bugs and the dishwashing liquid acts as a sticker and contains orange oil and detergent to kill many kinds of insects. It also seems to confuse the insects so they think they are on the wrong plant to lay their eggs. Be sure to spray throughly both top and underside of leaves.

Spray again in 7 to 10 days. Claud

wow, interesting recipe! i will definitely try it on the edibles, as i have been unwilling to use anything else. that article from SFGate is actually part of what suggested the combination to me. i think i've come up with a nice layout as well - will be putting the plan into action this coming weekend.

Hopefully, you'll need my grandmother's recipe for blackberry cobbler before long. Have fun.