I have been picking the berries since May 22 this year. I think I have one week more to go for a total of a three week window. I generally harvest the berries at least every other day. This year I have placed a netting around the boysenberries for the first time because the birds like them too. It seems the birds have figured out a way to get the topmost berries despite the netting.
I think this is a bigger crop of berries than in prior years. One likely factor was our very heavy winter rains of 2016-2017 because I do not generally water the berries. The plant seem to be fairly drought tolerant.
It is a real treat to have boysenberries. Mine are fragile and fall apart easily. I really have no idea how they would handle being picked, packaged, and then sold, even at a farmer's market.
The next task will be to target the vines which bore fruit and to cut those canes back completely. Berries develop on the second year canes so I try to make sure the first year canes stay intact.
The orange things are a few Sungold cherry tomatoes. The first Sungold I harvested this year was May 3. At this point of the year, we are still early in the season, and I have been getting 6-8 cherry tomatoes every two days, just enough for a tiny salad.
more on boysenberries here.
