How to Grow and Harvest Blackberries in Your Garden

Dig a hole that is wide enough for each plant’s roots to fit inside. The hole should be deep enough so that each plant’s roots are only planted about 1 to 2 inches deep. Roots planted deeper than 2 inches below soil level may not have the energy necessary for sending shoots above the ground. When the primocanes are five feet tall, remove the top two inches to encourage branching.

Select the best 5 or 6 canes of vining varieties and train them onto the support structure. For the clumping, shrub-like varieties, keep the canes about 3 feet long. Install a trellis or other support structure for vining varieties, which can grow to about 5’ high.

How to Grow an Endless Supply of Raspberries and Blackberries

A permanent cover crop may also be sown following harvest the second year. Sow a noncompetitive grass cover, such as a bluegrass-fescue mix, between the plant rows. Take care to prevent grass from spreading to within a foot of the raspberry plants, or it will compete with the raspberries for water and nutrients.

Repot blackberries every year when the plants are dormant. Set the plant in the hole and refill the hole around the root ball with a combination of native soil and aged compost or commercial organic planting mix. Firm in the soil so that no air pockets remain near the roots. Plant cultivated blackberries at least 1,000 feet away from wild blackberries to prevent disease infection. For that reason, blackberries and raspberries are some of my favorite perennials to incorporate into a yard. Your berry plants will thrive – and the harvest will be abundant.

The 2-year-old, fruit-bearing canes, called “floricanes,” have a thin, brown bark. After those second-year canes bear fruit, they die — never to fruit again. By late winter, they have gray, peeling bark that stands out from the rest. Just cut all those old, peeling canes back to the crown.

Pruning

They’re most productive in slightly acidic soil, so they benefit from the addition of organic matter. Blackberries- Thornless-erectVarietiesDescriptionApacheLargest fruit of the three cultivars. Large fruit; very erect canes.ArapahoRipens earlier than Navaho and has very small seeds. Vigorous and productive.NavahoGood flavor; small fruit. This was the first release in the thornless erect category.

• Very cold-hardy, productive canes with large, sweet fruit.DirksenVigorous, productive, erect canes.
• Avoid low areas that remain wet late into the spring, but select a site with access to a water supply.
• An elevated site or raised beds will not only help drainage but will also prevent late spring frosts from damaging flower buds.
• Modern blackberry varieties and cultivars are derived from native species which are still found growing wild along roadsides.
• Decide whether to trellis or otherwise support the plants, which can affect the space required.
• Bend a branch tip to the ground, cover it with soil, and hold it down with a garden staple or rock.

For erect types, you can plant them a foot or two apart. Erect blackberries produce stiff, shorter canes that come from the crown and from root suckering .Erect blackberries benefit from summer pruning. Remove the top one to two inches of new primocanes when they are four feet tall. This causes the canes to branch, increasing next year’s yields. Plants will require several pruning sessions to tip each cane as it reaches the four foot height. Primocanes that grow outside the hedgerow should be regularly removed.

In fall, after the last harvest, cut all the canes that produced berries down to the ground level. Cutting the canes regularly gives new canes room to grow, keeps the plant in check, and reduces the possibility of disease. The plants must have 3-4 feet between them so they can spread out. If you’re planting rows, allow at least 1-2 feet between the rows. This space is for you to walk through to harvest and prune. The area must be wide enough for the plants to spread out a bit and for you to walk through.

Blackberries, in particular, are productive and well suited for homeowners in most regions of North Carolina. In addition, studies have shown that this fruit can help fight cancer, decrease cardiovascular disease, and slow down brain aging. Best of all, one blackberry plant can easily supply up to 10 pounds of delicious berries each year. This fungus disease is becoming very serious in Georgia.