Rubus spp <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Introduction: The Blackberries has to be the top of my list of garden fruits to grow, they are vigorous, tolerate almost any type of soil and thrive in sun or shade. They bloom late so aren’t much bothered by late frosts. They can also be incredibly productive, and are delicious raw or cooked. They are particularly outstanding for fruit pie, alone or with apples or other fruit. They are also easy to store by freezing and can also be made into preserves. The only good argument for not growing Blackberries is if you have an abundance of wild ones already growing nearby. Another point against them is their thorny nature, but don’t be duped into trying the thornless cultivars. every one I have tried has been very poorly flavored.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
About\nBlackberry<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hours of winter chill:\n200-700<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Size <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Zone: 5-9 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Blooming period: Early spring<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fruiting period: July –\nOctober<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Life expectancy: 5-15 years\n(they do best if allowed to move about somewhat).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bearing age: 2-3 years<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yield: Standard lb (2\nbushels)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Days to harvest: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Spacing: 3-8ft apart<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ease\nof growing: The\nBlackberry is the ultimate bush fruit for all around ease of cultivation,\nflavor and productivity. This is a plant where a small amount of work can\nreward you very well. Even the cultivated Blackberries retain a\nlot of wild vigor and are very independent (so much so they can sometimes\nbecome invasive). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Climate:\nBlackberries grow wild in every state in the Union including Alaska and Hawaii\n(and most of the northern temperate\nzone), so they are pretty adaptable as to climate.\nThey flower fairly late so late frosts aren\u2019t usually a problem<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Soil<\/p>\n\n\n\n
pH 6.5 – 6.8<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Blackberries will grow in\nalmost any soil, but are most productive in a fertile and moisture retentive\none and in ideal conditions some cultivars can\nproduce 2\u201d thick stems 20 feet long. Unlike most fruit it doesn\u2019t have to be\nwell drained (wet soils?). They will also grow in dry soils, but the fruit won\u2019t be\nas abundant or get as big.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Soil\npreparation: The plants will occupy their\nsite for 15 years or more, so take care when preparing the soil. If it isn\u2019t\nvery fertile you should prepare the whole growing area (not just the planting\nhole) by single digging (or double digging if the soil is compacted). This\nenables you to remove perennial weeds, loosen the soil and incorporate organic\nmatter (compost or aged manure), wood ash and some fertilizer mix.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Site: Blackberries do best in a rich, moist soil with full sun. They will also\ntolerate part shade, though they won\u2019t fruit as abundantly. Ideally they should\nbe planted well away from wild Rubus<\/em>\nspecies which may harbor pests and disease (though they are mixed up in my\ngarden). They flower so late they can even be grown in frost pockets. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Support:\nBlackberries are decidedly sprawling\nplants and if space is limited they will need some support to keep them\naccessible, off the ground and under control. These usually consists of 6ft\nhigh posts (guyed with wire or braced with angled posts), with 1\/8″ wires\nstrung between (use straining eyes to enable you to tighten the wires in\nfuture). These should ideally be set up before planting so you don\u2019t damage the\ncanes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Planting<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is important that any\nplants you bring into your garden be free of viruses. If you buy them from a\nreputable place this is almost guaranteed, but if someone gives you them this\nis not so certain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When: In mild climates Blackberry plants can be planted\nany time they are dormant from late autumn to early spring. In colder climates\nthey are usually planted in spring. <\/p>\n\n\n\n How: Blackberry plants should be put in the ground with\nthe crown is the same depth it was in the nursery bed (or perhaps an inch\ndeeper). After planting you should cut down the top growth so the plant is only\n9″ tall. This prevents them bearing fruit in the coming year, so they put\nall of their energy into vegetative growth and getting well established.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Spacing<\/p>\n\n\n\n This varies according to the\nsize of the variety, from a minimum of 4 ft to a maximum of 8 ft. After a while\nspacing becomes academic as they are very mobile and will slowly spread to form\ndense colonies. They root at the tips of the canes and so can actually move\naround in search of sun and fertile soil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Care \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Training: Blackberries naturally form a dense thicket, which may be fine for the\nplants, but is not so good for the harvester (especially with the thorny\nvarieties). If you like wild gardens you may allow them to run wild, but if you\nprefer order and convenience, you may want to train them. Training is\nparticularly important if you have limited space, as it keep the plants\nconfined to a specified area, while ensuring they get sufficient sunlight and\nair circulation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Traditionally\nthe current years fruiting shoots were kept separate from the new growth (this\nhelps reduce the spread of pests and disease). When the currents years shoots\nfinished fruiting they were cut away, to leave more room for the new shoots.\nRemoving the older growth ensures the bush doesn’t gradually become a tangled\nmass of old and new growth. However it is somewhat time consuming as the new\nshoots must be tied in place to keep them where you want. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Pruning:\nBlackberries fruit on two year old canes so should be allowed to grow as much\nas they want in their first year, without any pruning. The following year the\ntwo year old canes will fruit and then die, after which they are cut away. The\nnew growing shoots are then tied to the support wires to replace them. This process\nis then repeated every year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Pruning\nbasically consists of removing the dead or dying fruited canes, and any weak\nnew canes, to leave 8 – 10 strong new canes on each plant. If there aren’t\nenough new shoots then cut back an old cane to a strong shoot at its base.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pruning\ncan be a painful task and requires thick gloves and long sleeves. It\u2019s a good\nidea to dispose of the prunings as you work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pollination<\/p>\n\n\n\n Blackberries are self-fertile so only one variety\nis needed for fruit production. They are insect pollinated (mostly bees).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fertilize: Blackberries can be incredibly productive and if the soil isn\u2019t very\nfertile they should be fed annually in spring.\nMulch can also be used to supply nutrients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Blackberries\nnaturally move around, and this is a way to rotate them to new soil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Watering:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Though\nBlackberries are quite drought tolerant they need plenty of water for maximum\nproduction of tasty fruit. Lack of moisture when fruiting will result in poor\nquality fruit. Water is also important for the production of replacement\nshoots, so make sure they get enough. Some form of drip or trickle irrigation\nis best. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Mulch:\nA mulch of compost or aged manure will feed the plants and help to keep them\nproductive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Blackberries\nare shallow rooted and it also helps to keep down weeds, keep the soil cool and\nconserve moisture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Frost:\nIn very cold climates the canes are sometimes covered in mulch for the winter\nto protect them from frost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pests:\nBlackberries are fairly pest free, though a few pests may occasionally be a\nproblem. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Mites<\/p>\n\n\n\n Raspberry crown borers<\/p>\n\n\n\n Aphids<\/p>\n\n\n\n Deer: These love\nall Rubus<\/em> species and will eat all but the most viciously spiny parts\n(and even then they will carefully nibble the tender leaves off). The thornless\ntypes are a deer dream come true.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Birds: These love the fruit, and are most effectively dealt\nwith by bird netting. You might also try stringing up bright flashing objects\nlike shiny aluminum pie tins, mylar tape or\nold cd\u2019s. Inflatable predator balloons or dummies may also work (though you\nhave to move them around a bit).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Disease:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Viruses can reduce yields.\nPrevention of disease is the treatment, which means buying virus free plants.\nCommercial growers attempt to eliminate all wild raspberry and\nblackberry plants within 600 feet, but this isn\u2019t very practical on a garden scale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rust<\/p>\n\n\n\n Problems:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nmost common problem with Blackberries is their vigor, they spread\nenthusiastically and can become invasive. Harvesting and pruning can be\nsomewhat painful given their stout thorns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Harvest<\/p>\n\n\n\n When:\nThe simplest way to tell when it is ripe is to sample a few. You need to\nharvest the fruit as it comes ripe to encourage further production (and because\nbirds may get it otherwise). The fruit ripen over several weeks, so it is good\nto harvest every few days. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Storage:\nThe ripe fruit are best used immediately and don\u2019t keep for more than a few\ndays in the fridge. It freezes very well though and can also be made into\npreserves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Landscape\nuses: The\nviciously thorny stems make them useful as security barrier plants or to\nreinforce a fence (think of them as vegetable barbed wire). Don\u2019t put them\nanywhere the thorns might come into contact with living flesh, such as near\npaths or gates. There are now quite a few very productive thornless cultivars that\nwork much better in heavily traveled locations. These can be grown on fences,\narches and even pergolas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Propagation: Blackberries are among the easiest plants to propagate and you have\nseveral options. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nsimplest is tip layering, which is the way the plants spread naturally. The\nflexible stems naturally root at the tips of canes and create new plants every\nyear (this makes them quite mobile). These can be dug up and moved or you can\nsimply direct the tip to where you want a new plant. <\/p>\n\n\n\n They\ncan be grown from stems cuttings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Root\ncuttings also work well. I once transplanted some established canes and new\nplants appeared from the fragments of broken roots that remained. Yet another\neasy way involves detaching suckers from the base of the parent plant and\ntransplanting them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Varieties<\/p>\n\n\n\n The most vigorous, hardy and\nproductive varieties are the thorny ones. They may be divided into\ntrailing varieties and erect varieties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n