Strawberries grew unbelievably with the addition of Azomite last year
As far as perennial fruit goes, I already cut back the new raspberry plants a few days ago. They are a fall variety called Polana from Norse nursery online. They were fantastic last year with us harvesting lots of raspberries in their first year. So this is their first trimming. I trimmed them back within an inch or two of the ground and they are all still alive. I wasn’t sure as I forgot to water them last fall for a few months but with all the precipitation we got this winter, they are fine.
I also cut back the new blackberry plants called Triple Crown, and saw lots of new start-ups that rooted that I will move. Now I won’t have to buy some to finish up the blackberry row. Hopefully I will get blackberries in their second year.
Today I pulled away all the dead leaves around the rhubarb (Victoria) and they are starting to come up too. A very hardy perennial plant.
I checked the strawberries and pulled all the dead borage plants that grow up in the strawberry patch each year from dropped seeds. Borage is a good companion plant for strawberries and the bees love them. The strawberries need a haircut too-but not too short. The strawberries did fantastic last year.
The verdict is out on the artichoke. It came back last year in its second year but I don’t see any signs of life yet this year. They actually are not supposed to be grown here as a perennial because we are in a colder zone than they like, so we will see if it makes it or not.
Next up is to prune back the grapes and the apple trees and other fruit trees. I’m late on the apple trees but they need to be desperately thinned and pruned now before they come back to life. Last year I put Azomite, a mineral supplement, in my veggie garden which really helped the crops and I have some leftover which I will sprinkle around the fruit trees this year.
giantveggiegardener 
Thank you! Is that picture of your strawberries currently??? Mine are not so green…
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No that was taken last summer. They are not even growing yet.
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yummmm!
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Hello northern neighbor! Love your blog! Such a challenge at 8000′ growing a garden. How much amozite to you apply?
Thank you
Jenny
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I bought a 40 lb bag from Peaceful Valley last spring but didn’t use but maybe half of it on my 3000 sq ft garden. I sprinkled it like heavy black pepper over each raised bed while prepping last year in spring. I first added compost and lightly turned that over and then put the Azomite on and scratched it in the top 2 inches or so. My whole garden had a noticeable improvement in plant health and production. Since I have some leftover, I’m going to sprinkle it around my fruit trees this year, In fact, for perennial veggies or fruits just sprinkle it around the plant and water it in. I had never done this before and boy what a difference it made. I figure in another 3-4 years I’ll reapply it as the plants don’t use up all the minerals right away. Good Luck!
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Wow, this is late for apples and grapes. Apples are already blooming, and the grapes are already putting out new leaves. I pruned one that had not been pruned properly since it was planted. It laid on the ground, and rooted in several spots. By the time I was done pulling up the rooted bits, there were about nine new plants. Most are still here. We could not give away more than just a few.
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