When you start to see blackberries, you will realize that summer has arrived. Although they grow wild in many parts of the world, cultivated varieties are usually darker, sweeter and usually larger in size than those grown in the wild. You can grow this plant in almost any type of soil and in areas that have warm summers and cool winters. You can learn to grow the appropriate variety, plant shoots and care for the blackberry plant during the season to produce the best possible crop. See step 1 for more information.
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Method 1 of 4: Choosing a Variety
Step 1. Choose a variety suitable for the climate
Himalayan wild blackberries are hardy in some areas of the western United States. However, cultivated varieties can be adapted to be waterier, larger and softer than wild berries. If you want to grow several of them, you should choose one variety, wherever you are. you live, adapted to the structure, planting patterns and whether the thorny variety. There are hundreds of types and varieties to choose from, but a basic knowledge of the categories will help you make your decision.
- If you live in an area with very cold winters, it is better to choose a variation with upright/straight spines. Upright elements are best and will support your climate.
- If you live in an area that is very dry and windy in summer, is very good for growing the trailing variety, which will be able to grow in areas with temperate to harsh deserts.
- Many varieties can grow in areas with a minimum of 200-300 hours per season below 450F temperatures, including USDA climate zones 7, 8, and 9 in various parts of the Americas.
Step 2. Consider the hardness of the trailing or training variety
The training varieties grow like wild blackberries, by sticking the existing shoots they will grow scattered to all parts, which means they need to be tied with ropes and planted by regulating the growth process. Old fruiting stems should be removed, but new stems need not be pruned. Trailing varieties often survive very cold areas and will not bear fruit until the second year.
Evergreen, Marion, Obsidian, Chester, Hull, and Black Diamond are popular trailing blackberry varieties
Step 3. Consider planting easy, upright, or semi-erect varieties
Varieties like this will grow to resemble a fence and need to be supported with a trellis. This variety is easier to manage and maintain, but requires pruning, planting new stiff straight stems from the plant parts. Many of these varieties will produce fruit in the first year of planting. Varieties with straight spines are the most difficult to grow in cold climates.
Illini, Kiowa, Shawnee, Apache, Triple Crown, and Natchez are popular straight/semi-straight blackberry varieties
Step 4. Consider the advantages of thornless berries
Trailing, upright, and hybrid varieties can now be found with or without thorns, meaning you can harvest directly with more ease. The thornless varieties are more sensitive to colder weather, so the spiny varieties are a good choice for more climates.
Method 2 of 4: Blackberry Planting
Step 1. Determine the planting location
Blackberries will grow in many types of humus soil, especially acidic soils (with a pH range of 5, 5 and 7) which are rich in humus. In particular, sandy or clay-rich soils are less popular. Choose a planting site with good water availability and maximum sun exposure to ensure ripening of the berries, however some thornless varieties "burn" easily, so some shade is not a cause for concern especially in hot areas.
- Don't plant blackberries near night plants, or members of the night plant family, such as tomatoes, potatoes, and peppers. Wilt is a common blackberry problem, it can be carried through the soil.
- Don't plant blackberries around thorn bushes, or close to blackberries that grow wild. Start your plant growth in a fresh location to prevent plants from contracting infectious diseases.
- In colder climates, blackberries can grow well and ripen faster by growing in a greenhouse. Even if blackberries are fertilized individually, the benefits can still be obtained from the cross-pollination treatment, which means it is a good idea to grow 2 different varieties if grown indoors. They need a minimum temperature exposure of 200 hours below 400F, but use 60-700F if grown indoors.
Step 2. Prepare the planting site. When you select the site/soil, you will dig the soil at least a foot deep and the soil used is aerated
Mix 2 inches of artificial fertilizer, 2 inches of organic fertilizer and 2 inches of organic soil as a condition for fertilization.
- It's usually good to start small. Because blackberries can grow in the right weather (long dry summers), it's easy to plant berries by accident. If you want to try how blackberries grow in your location, start with a similar variety, placing it somewhere enough for widening. Plant more if you don't get enough yield after planting one.
- If you are going to plant a few rows of blackberries, keeping the rows 6-10 feet apart. Straight plants can be planted closer to each other than trailing varieties. You can drill the trellis holes before you place your berries, or after. The varieties of trellising will be discussed below.
Step 3. Plant blackberries in late fall or early spring
If you live in an area with very cold winters, it is best to wait until spring to plant blackberries. In areas with mild winters, planting in the fall is necessary to give the plant a chance to adjust to the seasons.
- Blackberry should be set on the ground by 6-8 inches, and are between 3-6 feet from one to the other. Straight berry plants can be kept closer together than tailed varieties, which should be 6-7 feet apart from each other. Add gallons of water during planting.
- Blackberry bought from the greenhouse will typically have a 6/8 inch dormant side attached to the top of the soil protecting the roots. They won't always look like pretty plants, but will start germinating vigorously in the spring.
- Buy a blackberry plant and start in the greenhouse a few days before you plant it in the ground. If you are going to start ordering, try to order your plants 1 or 2 months before you are going to plant them, and keep the roots moist by placing them in the garden and buried with soil around the roots if you need time to plant them in suitable soil.
Step 4. Water the blackberries 1-2 inches each week and consider mulching the grass as a fertilizer in the spring
This plant needs 1-2 inches of water per week, depending on the climate. If you are growing in a large pot, installing drip-line irrigation can be a good option, where a smaller area will suffice with a sprinkler. In particular in dry or cloudy climates, grassing will help prevent erosion.
Grass with pine trunks, pine needles, or plastic grass can help to protect the soil in the area surrounding the blackberry from weeds and erosion. As much as 2 inches of grass of any type will be useful for blackberries
Method 3 of 4: Training and Pruning
Step 1. Define a central system for erecting plants
Position the plants about 6 feet long between plants, with crossed rows about 3 feet long, placed 3 or 4 feet in the center. As stems grow, you can plant new plants around them to help support the weight of the stems, leaves, and berries.
- Straight and semi-straight bellaberry varieties will grow the most, sometimes being quite tall. To aid growth, it is important to use a trellising system, such as roses or other vines. You will need to give your blackberry something to grow upwards. Typically, you don't need to plant or support upright plants in the first year.
- Blackberry plants do not require complicated handling. Plant in conjunction with a fence, or use a hedge pot to grow blackberries. Ideally, thick pots up to 2x2 for good performance.
Step 2. Make supports out of wire to make trailing blackberries
When planting traileing blackberry varieties, it is important to provide a level path between each sticking part. Plant 4-6 feet tall, every 5/6 feet along the row, then create 2 rows of wire fence between the pots, one at the top and one at the ground.
- It is also possible to use twine, sena, or wood to connect each post to another planting post. Use whatever materials you have to make the blackberry to the top.
- Ideally, a trailing blackberry would spread on 2 lines, 1 higher and 1 lower. With proper pruning, you can regulate the growth of new plants by using rigging and cutting off shoots that are not growing well. Keeping the plant trim will promote fruit growth and overall plant health, followed by water and sunlight to achieve the healthiest stems.
Step 3. Weed the weeds in the ground and leave the plants for the first season
Pull the weeds that grow and water the plants weekly as the seasons change. You should see the leaves and maybe some of them bloom in late spring, or you may not, depending on the climate and variety. Stems and shoots should be significant, although you may not bear fruit.
- At the end of spring, the stems should sprout a lot and you can practice planting them together with the tail if you wish, or with the help of a stake. In general, you don't have to worry about cutting as you won't get any fruit, so you'll be letting the plant build a dense root system.
- In winterAfter the first season, you can cut the stems about 4 feet high and 2 feet wide, to let the nutrients return to the roots. Depending on how much growth you get during the season, you can grow your crops in winter. Preparing a winter home for blackberries will be discussed in the next section.
Step 4. Prune any new stems that damage the plant during the second year of growth
Shoots that get no contaminants will give more fruit than shoots that are contaminated with thorns. For your own good, regardless of the variety, prune blackberries regularly.
- When your plant is ready to bear fruit, maintain the health of the strongest shoots by cutting the new shoots from the base of the plant. Plant the most blooming shoots in conjunction with a trellis system, or depending on the stumps, and cut off any newly growing shoots that will weaken water and sunlight from healthy shoots.
- Don't be afraid to cut the blackberry. An over-contaminated system will not produce as much fruit as a well-treated and pruned blackberry. Plants will attack again, if not more the following year, so don't be afraid to throw them away. It can be very difficult to prune the plant to make it healthy with pruning.
Method 4 of 4: Harvesting and Plant Protection
Step 1. Harvest the berries in late summer
Sometime in early summer, the beautiful white blackberries in bloom should form healthy buds, which will give way to tough green berries that will gradually turn red, then darker and then soft and purplish black.
- Berries will be ready to be harvested when the berries can be pulled easily from the vine without any struggle. There should also be no red color remaining on the berry, especially at the top where the berry meets the stem.
- Pick up blackberries in the coldest weather of the day, usually early in the morning, before the sun warms the berries, and store them in the refrigerator to keep them fresh. Blackberries will stay fresh for no more than 4 to 5 days, depending on the variety, and will soften more quickly when harvested warm. If you can't eat all the freshly grown blackberries, they're also good to freeze.
- When blackberries start to come, it's like you need to pick berries every 2 or 3 days, at least depending on the climate. They will harvest once at a time, and it is important that you harvest the berries before the birds eat them, and before they are too ripe in the fields.
Step 2. Keep birds away from the berries
Who is to blame? As long as you like the delicious berry, the birds may like it too. There's nothing more annoying than when you're about to harvest berries and find the best ones are half eaten, so it's important that you harvest them quickly and the following steps are an easy way to keep your bird friends away.
- Hang something dazzling at the end of each line. Cut the tape or damaged CD is usually done to prevent birds. You need something that will flutter and reflect sunlight, so that bright moving light will scare the birds away.
- Use a coward owl. Commonly, sold in garden stores, plastic owls can be planted along the edges of blackberry planting paths and are often useful as bird lasers.
- Try to make a bird cage if you are in serious troubleIf the birds don't want to leave your berries, then you can build a bird cage to remove the berries from your plants. Berimu is still able to get enough sunlight and water, and will keep the birds away. Unfortunately it is possible for small birds to get caught in certain bird cages, making the cage stand out more than the plants.
Step 3. Avoid berries from common ailments
Like pet plants, blackberries are susceptible to plant diseases, and are attacked by pests that you can control by careful inspection and identification. Diseased plants need to be eliminated and isolated from other plants, either by aggressive pruning or extermination.
- Yellow leaves tends to be a sign of a lack of nitrogen in the soil, which you can quickly correct by spreading a small amount of coffee grounds into the soil where you are planting. Yellow marks, in addition, can be a sign of dwarf/blackberry calico virus, which means you need to get rid of infected plants.
- Sucking beetle, Japanese beetle can damage the blackberry, depending on the region where you live. Keep an eye on the leaves and berries and take appropriate action. Soap, citrus oil, and tobacco are all varieties of organic insecticides that you can make yourself.
- Various mushrooms and beetles such as crown rot, double bloom, and stick beetles can be avoided by using a fungicide such as Bordaeux mixture or lemon sulfur.
Step 4. Prune old stems over winter
After a period of growth, the shoots and canes will begin to brown and dry out. It's usually best, however, to wait to prune until all are significantly dead, wait until late fall or winter to prune blackberries whole. This will give the plant sufficient time to absorb nutrients from the long shoots into the root system, keeping the berries healthy during the winter.
- You can prune the upright variety berries as much as 4 feet in height, and no more than 1 foot or 2 wide, then cover with a mat for the winter, if you're going to get a lot of snow, or you're going to leave the berries exposed. It's a good idea to prune the plant slightly into 3 or 4 canes of the strongest primer to give it the best possible growth in the next growing season.
- Used trees can be pruned to remove fruit-bearing pillars and leave the main branches of the stump intact unless the stump dies and no longer bears fruit. Typically, berry bollards can bear fruit for 2 years before dying, although new bollards will continue to grow from the base.
Step 5. Add fertilizer to the soil every spring
Once your plants have survived each winter, give them the best possible start by layering the soil with compost prior to growing. Set properly for re-energizing with fertilizer, blackberries can bear fruit for many years as much as 20 years. Treat them and they will give you the results.
