Grow Blackberries Right in Your Backyard

Blackberries are great, delicious treats which are packed with very useful and natural vitamins. Blackberries are fairly easy to grow, however, some maintenance is required to increase the production of a typical blackberry plant.

First a bit of knowledge is needed to understand blackberries. The Blackberry plant is a perennial with biennial shoots. During the initial growing season, the shoots (first year canes are also called primocanes) of blackberries will be primarily vegetative. The second year the primocanes will turn into floricanes and will produce some fruit then die. New canes will be produced each year from the buds or flowers. Occasionally sucker canes will be produces which will have a reddish look and many thorns; to maintain a healthy plant, remove these canes as soon as possible.

The classification of blackberries is done by their growth pattern. Blackberries can be trailing, semi-erect, or erect. Trailing plants are not winter hardy and require support for the larger berries that are produced. Semi-erect blackberries can also be thornless or have thorns. This type will generally produce more fruit than the erect type and do require some form of support. Erect blackberries do not require support as the canes will generally support the weight of the berries produced. However, a two wire system used to contain the canes might need to be used. This type is more winter hardy than the other types and produces larger, sweeter crops.


Site Preparation

Blackberries will do best in a well drained areas as diseases are more likely to occur in areas will standing water. Blackberries will strive in soil with a pH of 6.0 to 6.8. If your soil is too acidic you might want to increase your soils pH level by simply applying a bit of limestone to your soil. Clay soils can be improved by adding organic matter such as compost to alter the acidity and improve the drainage factor.


Planting

When plating bare-root plants, be sure to plant in the dormant season. Spring is the season of choice for planting bare-root blackberries. Generally a spacing of at least 3 feet between plants and 4 to 6 feet between rows is adequate. As with other plants, when planting bare-root blackberries, dig the whole a bit larger than the spread of the plant's root system. Be sure to bury the roots no deeper than the nursery originally did (this should be visibly evident). Water each plant with a mixture of Fish Emulsion - gallon.


Maintenance

A decent layer of mulch around each plant will keep more moisture near the root system of the blackberry. Generally 1 - 2 inches of water per week during the dry weeks is sufficient. Pruning at the end of each producing season is required to provide room for the new shoots for the following year. The erect type will require pruning of all canes to the ground. Be sure to remove the old canes as disease can occur.


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