If you get fruit this year, that’s a pretty good indication that you have everbearing, but not 100%. The easiest way to tell is to cut them down to the ground once they are established. If you get fruit next fall, you have everbearing, if they don’t fruit the same year that you cut them down then they are summer bearing.

Also—will I have fruit this year from the transplants?

A past patch I had was supposed to be Canby, and (in Montana) would only (very) rarely fruit at the very tips of the primocanes in early fall.

I read up on them then, and am again now (which is how your site came up), as I’m looking at varieties to start a new patch (and other sites also say Canby is June bearing).

The info I was really searching for was a site I read years ago with strategies for planting both varieties (traditional, everbearing) to get both early and late harvests with minimal work. I think it even suggested the easiest method was to cut (all) the everbearing canes (your method 2) every year, and every 2 years completely cut the traditional/floricane varieties for half of the patch(es), and alternating yearly between halves.

This means you only get fruit every other year from 1/2 of the traditional patch(es), but the pruning is much easier. You would need more space/land available to get the same yearly harvest versus keeping new/thinning old every year, so it’s mainly for those with larger patches.

It may be that completely cutting a traditional patch every 2 years might increase the resulting harvest, since the first year canes will likely grow more vigorously without the fruiting floricanes stealing resources. Although, like an earlier commenter, my traditional Canby patch would get primocanes of 12-16 feet, even with the floricanes sapping resources, so it may mean topping them if growth gets out of hand with that method.

Your patch sounds like it’s NOT everbearing. Traditional (floricane/holdover fruiting) varieties can/may produce a tiny fall harvest (just at the tips), but the biggest harvest is the following year on the holdover canes. Traditional and everbearing are like mirror images of each other with regard to early/late fruiting.

The traditional plants can be thought as “late” blooming, and everbearing as “early” blooming. Both will start blooming/bearing at the tips, and work down the cane until first frost, then resume blooming/fruiting the next spring/early summer- it’s just that the everbearing has usually bloomed/fruited most of the way down the cane by the first frost, while the traditional may have only bloomed/fruited at the tips (or not at all).

I haven’t noticed the traditional type “working down the cane” in the second season as much as the everbearing type does the first year. The holdover canes seem to randomly fruit everywhere along the cane.

Here’s a link to a video I did on this topic:
https://youtu.be/evFzqDwdvfU

Am I confused? The CTgardengal mentioned “I’ve tinkered with row tunnels, usually using fabric and steel hoops, and many times I’ve come out after a snowfall to find the hoops crushed by the weight of the snow and the plants broken beneath them.”. Is that NOT the same as what you suggest? IF NOT, please lead me to your information on hoop houses and cold frames. It would be nice to have building instructions. Thanks!

Hi Rick. Thanks for your informative article. I have a seed- starting dome and heat mat which I plan to use in a unheated garage where temps range from 40° to above 50°. Is this viable?

Also, I have to start over for a raised garden after moving last year but trying to keep down costs. Instead of a wood frame kit, I’m thinking of using grow bags for tomatoes and companion flowers. What do you recommend for a bag size?