Content

• To step
• Part 1 of 4: Selecting variants
• Part 2 of 4: Planting blackberries
• Part 3 of 4: Leading and pruning
• Part 4 of 4: Harvesting and protecting your plants
• Warnings
• Necessities

When the blackberries come up, you know that summer has arrived. They grow wild in much of the world, but the cultivated varieties produce characteristic dark berries that are juicy and sweet, and usually larger than their wild cousins. You can grow them in most types of soil, and in most regions with warm summers and relatively mild winters. You can learn to choose a suitable variety, manage the shoots, and care for your blackberry plants throughout the season to give yourself the hardiest crop.

To step

Part 1 of 4: Selecting variants

1. Select a variety suitable for the climate. The wild felted blackberry is a stubbornly spreading variety in large parts of the Netherlands, but cultivated varieties are generally juicier, larger and firmer than wild blackberries. If you are going to plant blackberries, it is wise to choose one of these varieties, based on the structure of the trunk, the growth pattern and whether the variety has thorns. There are hundreds of types and varieties to choose from, but knowing the basic categories will help you make an informed decision.
   • If you live in a region with very cold winters, an upright variety with thorns is the best choice. These can best withstand the elements and will provide the most solid foundation for your climate.
   • If you live in a region with very dry, windy summers, it is best to plant a creeping variety. These can withstand the conditions in particularly harsh desert climates.
   • Most varieties are capable of growing in regions where the temperature drops below 7 ° C for at least 200 to 300 hours, including growing zones 7, 8 and 9.
2. Consider the robustness of creeping or guided varieties. Traditional led varieties are very similar in growth to the wild blackberry, sprouting into shoots, spreading in all directions, meaning they must be guided over a trellis with wires to control growth. Old fruit-bearing stems will need to be removed, but new, first-year stems (new growth) do not need to be pruned. Creeping varieties often struggle with particularly cold winters, and they don't bear fruit until their second year.
   • The Evergreen, Marion, Obsidian, Chester, Hull, and Black Diamond are all popular varieties of creeping blackberries.
3. Think about easy planting of upright, upright, or semi-upright varieties. These varieties of the blackberry grow more like a hedge and will have to be supported with a T-frame or some kind of post. They are easier to control and maintain, but require thorough pruning; the offshoots grow straight up, from the heart of the plant, instead of creeping across the ground. Many of these varieties will produce fruit in the first year after planting. The upright varieties with thorns are best able to withstand the cold climate.
   • Illini, Kiowa, Shawnee, Apache, Triple Crown, and Natchez are all popular varieties of upright and semi-upright blackberries.
4. Determine the importance of the benefits of thornless blackberries. Creeping, upright, and hybrid varieties are now all available in thorny and thornless varieties, which means it's a lot easier to harvest without opening your fingers. Thornless varieties tend to be a bit more sensitive to colder weather, making the thornless varieties a more robust choice for most climates.

Part 2 of 4: Planting blackberries

1. Choose a location to plant. Blackberries can grow in most fertile soil, especially in slightly acidic soil (between 5.5 and 7 pH) that is rich in humus. Special soil rich in sand or clay is less desirable. Choose a planting location with good drainage and maximum sunlight exposure to ensure that your blackberries ripen evenly. Some thornless varieties are prone to "sunburn", so some shade is not a problem, especially in sunny regions.
   • Don't plant blackberries near nightshades, or members of the nightshade family, including tomato, potato, and pepper. Wilt, a common infestation in blackberries, can be transmitted through the soil.
   • Do not plant blackberries near other thorn bushes, or any wild-growing blackberry. Grow your blackberries fresh to avoid common communicable diseases.
   • In colder climates blackberries can thrive and ripen faster in a greenhouse. Although they are self-pollinating, they still benefit from cross-pollination which means it is a good idea to grow two different varieties if you are growing them in a greenhouse. They need at least 200 hours below 4 ° C, but can be kept indoors between 15 ° and 21 ° C.
2. Prepare your plot. When you have selected your plot, you should dig the soil at least 12 inches deep to allow it to aerate properly. Mix a 5 cm layer of compost and a 5 cm layer of organic fertilizers to fertilize.
   • It is usually best to start small. Since blackberries can really proliferate in the right climate (long dry summers), it is easy to accidentally overwhelm yourself with blackberries. If you want to test how blackberries will fare in your area, start with a single standing variety. Place this somewhere with room to expand. If you don't get the kind of production you want, you can plant more rows.
   • If you are going to plant several rows of blackberriesthen keep a distance of 2 to 3 meters between the rows. Upright plants can be closer together than creeping varieties. You can place the canes in front of your trellis before planting your blackberries, or after. Railings are discussed in the next section.
3. Plant blackberry trunks in late fall or early spring. If you live somewhere with really cold winters, it's best to wait until spring to put your blackberries in the ground. In areas with milder winters, it is better to plant the blackberries in the fall. This gives them a chance to settle down for the growing season.
   • Blackberry plants should be planted about 6 - 8 inches deep, and spaced 90 to 180 cm apart. Upright and upright plants can be closer together than creeping varieties, which are preferably planted 180-210 cm apart. Water the stems about 4 liters after planting.
   • With blackberry plants bought from greenhouses will usually stick 15 to 20 cm of stem out of the root ball in rest position. They will not always look like the prettiest plant, but will produce vigorous shoots in the spring.
   • Buy your blackberry plants from a greenhouse in your area a few days before you want to put them in the ground. If you buy your plants online, try to order them one or two months in advance. Keep the roots moist by putting them in your plot and covering the root ball with some soil until they are ready to be planted.
4. Water blackberries 1 to 2 inches (2.5 to 5 cm) per week and consider adding a layer of mulch in the spring. Blackberry plants may need between 1 and 2 inches of water per week, depending on the climate. If you have a large plot of blackberries, drip irrigation may be a good idea, while smaller areas of soil can be hand-watered just fine. In particularly dry or windy areas, a layer of mulch can help prevent erosion.
   • Mulching with pine bark, pine needles, or root cloth can help protect the soil in the immediate vicinity of the blackberries from weeds and erosion. About 2 inches of any type of mulch will be sufficient for blackberries.

Part 3 of 4: Leading and pruning

1. Place a system of posts for standing plants. Plant posts about six feet high around each standing plant, with a cross beam about three feet long, which you attach to the posts at a height of about three feet. As the stems grow up, you can direct the new shoots around the posts. That way you help support the weight of the stems, leaves and berries.
   • Upright and semi-erect blackberry varieties will mainly grow straight up, sometimes very tall. To stimulate growth it is important to use a slatted frame, as you do with roses, or with another winding stem. You want to give the blackberry something to climb along. In general, you don't need to guide standing plants in their first year.
   • Slatted frames for burrs do not need to be worked out in detail. Plant them along existing fences, or use old trellises to support brambles. Ideally, posts will be about as thick as your wrist, so 2 x 2 bars will work fine.
2. Install a wire fence for guiding the burrs. When planting creeping varieties, it is important to provide them with a horizontal route that they can wind around. Line up 120 to 180 cm high posts 150 or 180 cm apart. Then run two lines of fence wire between the posts, one at the top of the posts and one about 12 inches above the ground.
   • It is also possible to use twine, cord or wood to connect each post to the next. Use whatever materials you have on hand to make the burrs climb past.
   • Ideally, creeping burrs will spread in two rows, one higher and one lower, along both wires. Pruning properly allows you to guide new robust growth along the fence and cut back less strong offshoots. Keeping the plants in order promotes fruit growth and overall plant health by allowing water and sunlight to reach the healthiest stems.
3. Weed the soil and leave the plant alone for the first season. Pull out weeds growing around the blackberries and keep watering them weekly as the seasons pass. In late spring, you should see leaves and maybe some blossoms emerge, or not, depending on the climate and variety. Stems and new shoots will appear, although you will not get any fruit.
   • In late spring the stems will start making ambitious shoots and you can practice guiding the shoots along the fence if you wish, or support them with the posts. In general, you don't have to worry about pruning back as you won't have any fruit. You want the plant to form a solid root system.
   • In the winter, after your first season, you can cut stems back to about 1 meter high and 0.5 meter wide, to allow the nutrients to return to the roots. Depending on the type of growth you have had during the season, you can winterize your plant accordingly. Winterizing is discussed in the next section.
4. Prune away intrusive new stems during the second year's growing season. Freed shoots will bear more fruit than the same shoots in a thorn bush. Whatever the variety, it is to your advantage to prune the blackberry regularly.
   • As soon as your plant starts to produce fruit, you should do what you can to keep the most robust shoots healthy by cutting back new shoots from the base of the plant. Route the shoots with the most blossoms along your trellis or post, and cut back new growth that will take sap, water and sunlight from the healthy shoots.
   • Don't be afraid to prune the blackberry back vigorously. Overloaded shrubs will not make as much fruit in the same amount of space as a tamed and well-pruned plant. The plant will come back for a while the next year, if it is no more, so feel free to really cut it back. It is very difficult to kill a healthy plant with vigorous pruning.

Part 4 of 4: Harvesting and protecting your plants

1. Harvest the blackberries in late summer. Sometime in early summer, beautiful white blackberry flowers will form along the healthy shoots, after which hard green blackberries will appear, gradually turning red and then deepening the color to a soft and dark purplish-black color.
   • Blackberries are ready to be harvested when they are easy to pull off the handle without much effort. There should be no red left on the blackberry, especially on the top where it sits on the stem.
   • Pick blackberries during the coolest part of the day, usually in the morning, before the sun warms them. Keep them in the fridge to keep them fresh. Blackberries won't stay fresh for more than 4 or 5 days, depending on the variety, and will soften much faster if you pick them warm. If you cannot eat all the blackberries that you harvest fresh, they can be frozen.
   • When the blackberries begin to ripen, you may need to harvest them every 2 or 3 days, at least depending on the climate. They will all ripen at once, and it is important that you pick them before the birds have a chance and before they become overripe on the stem.
2. Get started to keep birds away from your blackberries. Who can blame them? As much as you love a meaty, juicy and delicious blackberry, the birds probably love it even more. Since there is nothing more frustrating than going out to pick your blackberries and then discover that the best ones are half eaten, it's important that you take a few quick and easy steps to cut your bird friends off.
   • Hang something flashy at the end of each row. Well-known bird repellants are pieces of mylar tape or shards of broken CDs. Look for something that moves slightly in the wind and reflects the sunlight, as bright or flashy movements will scare away birds.
   • Use an owl-shaped scarecrow. These are plastic owls that can be placed on the edge of your blackberry field and often chase away the smaller birds. They can be bought everywhere at garden centers.
   • Try bird nets if you have a serious problem. If the birds don't want to leave your blackberries alone, you can buy bird nets to throw over your plants. They will still be able to get all the sunlight and water they need, but it will keep the birds away. Unfortunately, smaller birds can become trapped in some bird nets, making it a less popular choice for some breeders.
3. Watch out for common blackberry diseases. Like any cultivated plant, blackberries are susceptible to a number of diseases, pests and pests. You can control this with careful inspection and identification skills. Affected plants and stems should be removed and kept away from the rest of the plant, either by thorough pruning or removal.
   • Yellowish leaves tends to be a sign of nitrogen deficiency in the soil, which you can quickly remedy by spreading some coffee grounds around the base of the plants that seem to be struggling with it. Yellow spots, on the other hand, can be a sign of the bushy dwarf virus (RBDV) or the blackberry calico virus (BCV), which means that you must remove the affected plants.
   • Mites, stem borers, aphids and Japanese beetles can affect blackberries, depending on the region you live in. Be alert for eaten leaves and blackberries and take appropriate measures. Soap, orange oil, and tobacco are all organic varieties of insecticide that you can make yourself.
   • Various fungi and pests such as crown rot, stem death or brown stem disease can be treated with fungicides such as Bordeaux mixture and lime sulfur.
4. Prune the old stems during the winter. After the growing season, the shoots and stems will turn brown and die. However, you may want to wait until late fall or winter, when they are clearly dead, before completely pruning the blackberry. This gives the plant enough time to suck the nutrients from the long shoots back into the root system, thus remaining healthy for the winter.
   • You can cut upright varieties to a height of 1 meter, and no more than two feet in size. If you expect a lot of snow, you can cover them with mats, otherwise you can leave them uncovered.It is a good idea to cut the plant back to the 3 or 4 strongest main stems to give the plant the best possible start in the next growing season.
   • Creeping offshoots can be pruned by removing the fruit-bearing stems and leave the main stems intact. Unless they have died and are no longer growing fruit-bearing stems. Generally, blackberry stems will fruit for about two years before dying, but new stems will continue to grow from the base.
5. Fertilize the soil every spring. After your plants survive the winter, give them the best possible start by spreading compost or the fertilizer of your choice around the blackberry before the growing season begins. Blackberry plants can continue to give fruit for up to 20 years if you take good care of them and give them new energy with fertilizers. Invest in them, and they pay it back.

Warnings

• Blackberry bushes proliferate. Even if you think you have them under control, offshoots grow elsewhere, unseen. They are seen as unwanted usurers in many parts of the world.

Necessities

• Suitable space in the garden
• Gardening tools
• Blackberry