Growing Blackberries

Blackberries are easy to grow. A diverse array of blackberry varieties are native to almost all of North America. They are especially abundant in areas with warm summer days, cool nights, and plenty of moisture.

黑莓是由许多被称为核果的小水果组成的集合水果，在口味和生长习性上与覆盆子相似。黑莓从六月下旬开始大量开花。The fruit is ripe by mid-July.

黑莓的味道是黑暗和丰富的独特组合酸甜的美味夏天的款待。黑莓可以作为冰淇淋的配料，添加到甜点或冰沙中，或者作为果酱或果冻保存起来，一年四季都可以享用。每从自家花园里采摘一杯碎黑莓，你就能得到半品脱的果酱、果冻或糖浆。

Grow Blackberries For Profit

The goal of both rural and urban homesteaders is to develop self-sufficiency by growing our own fruits and vegetables.

如果种植得当和管理得当，一片黑莓种植地可以出产大量新鲜可口的浆果;足够装罐，保存，与家人和朋友分享，并在农贸市场出售。

Related Post:Companion Planting For Strawberries

Just three or four blackberry plants will more than supply the needs of a family of four. Commercial growers can anticipate a yield of 6,000 pounds per season from a well-managed one-acre blackberry bramble.

Types Of Blackberries

Divided into three main groups, blackberries are distinguished by a difference in the growth habit of their canes: trailing, semi-erect, and erect. Hybrids also exist.

• Trailing blackberriesgrow lower to the ground, so they may need more trellising or support if you don’t want them turning into a ground cover.
• Erect blackberriessupport themselves more like a bush or shrub, and may not require trellising.
• Semi-erect blackberries介于两者之间。
• Hybrid blackberriesmay be crossed with other cane fruits like raspberries.

黑莓有多年生根系，茎二年生。新芽被称为primocanes，在第一个生长季节发育。primocanes在整个冬天都保留着。在生长的第二年，primocanes被称为floricanes。随着花药的成熟，它们开花，结果，然后开花后死亡。

Readthis excellent primer from Colorado State Universityfor more information.

Erect Blackberries

This type of blackberries has stiff arching canes that are somewhat self-supporting. However, they are much easier to handle when trellised and pruned. Summer prune or tip primocanes to encourage branching and increase fruit production on the second-year floricanes. Plants can become invasive to an area as it can produce new primocanes (suckers) from the roots.

Erect blackberries which produce fruit with relatively large seeds. Flavor and aroma are not considered as intense as in the training blackberry cultivars. They are semi-hardy in climates with rapid springtime temperature shifts, like Colorado.

Primocane-fruiting cultivars of erect blackberries produce fruit on the new canes. This makes management easier as the canes can be cut to the ground each winter.

Semi-Erect Blackberries

Semi-erect blackberry plants are thornless and produce vigorous, thick, erect canes from the crown. No primocanes are produced from the roots. Prune primocanes in the summer to encourage branching and increase fruit production on floricanes. A trellis is required to support the canes. Semi-erect blackberries generally produce a higher yield than trailing or erect types. Fruit quality is similar to that of the erect blackberries.

Blackberry/Red Raspberry Hybrids

These are generally natural crosses between blackberries and raspberries. Because the receptacle (white core) comes off with the fruit, they are generally considered a type of blackberry. Popular cultivars include Boysen (Boysenberry), Logan (Loganberry), and Tay (Tayberry).

For most homesteaders, orderly rows of blackberry bushes present the easiest harvesting opportunities. However, you can cultivate blackberries mixed with other fruit-bearing shrubs.

What Is The Difference Between Raspberries & Blackberries?

除了味道、颜色和大小之外，覆盆子和黑莓的主要区别在于果实是否保留了白色的果核。对于覆盆子来说，花托或果核会留在植株上，果实看起来是“空心的”。对于黑莓来说，果核和果实在一起。

Best Varieties Of Thornless Blackberries For Homestead Cultivation

• Apache– This variety, developed by the University of Arkansas, produces large conical fruit with excellent quality and flavor. Apache ripens mid-July with high production. Sunburn can be an issue after rain. Erect, sturdy canes are self-supporting. Canes are vigorous and prolific: fruit is well presented for picking. Apache is resistant to orange rust and winter hardiness is similar to other thornless varieties.
• Arapaho– Another variety developed at the University of Arkansas dependably produces medium sized, firm and flavorful berries with smaller seeds than most varieties. Arapaho produces berries early in the season for a concentrated harvest. Canes are vigorous and erect with reported good hardiness.
• Black Satin– A late ripening variety developed by the United States Department of Agriculture, Black Satin produces a large, firm, dull blackberry with a tart taste. A vigorous producer, Black Stain is one of the most winter hardy varieties available. Because the berries remain firm after picking with little breakdown, it transports well to sell at farmer’s markets.

Site And Soil Preparation For Blackberries

Blackberries do not grow well in heavy clay soils. Compacted soil makes it difficult for the roots to spread out and grow, and clay soil does not drain well. Blackberries will not grow in areas that collect standing water when it rains.

Choose the site for your blackberry bramble the year before planting. Blackberries should not be cultivated in soil that has previously grown tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, peppers, strawberries, or any other type of berry bush or bramble.

Break up the soil well, incorporating two parts organic garden compost or aged herbivore manure (e.g. poultry, sheep, goat, cow, horse, or lama) and one part sand. When mixed with topsoil, organic compost and manure work wonders with water, allowing good drainage through compacted heavy soil while it retains moisture in sandy soil.

Blackberry bushes do best in nutrient-rich, loamy, well-drained soil in a full sun location. Soil with a pH of 6.5-6.8 is ideal.

Because a blackberry patch, once established, will produce for more than 30 years, it is important to make sure that the soil in the space allocated for blackberries provides the necessary growing requirements. Take a sample of the soil to yourlocal county extension office测试或pH水平的土壤测试套件可从当地的家庭和花园中心购买。

Make sure compost and manure are well worked into the soil, Rake the ground, breaking up dirt clods and removing rocks, weeds, and debris. You will want to give your blackberry bushes the best start possible, so it is worth it to put extra effort into preparing the patch.

Planting Blackberries

• Remove blackberry bushes from packaging, trimming off any broken or damaged roots.
• 将根浸泡在水中6-8小时。在种植之前，保护根部免受阳光直射。黑莓的根部在种植过程中暴露在阳光下会有很高的死亡率。
• Dig holes twice as wide and deep as the blackberry root mass. Spread the roots out in the planting hole, fill with soil and water well. Blackberries require two inches of water a week. Blackberry roots are quite shallow, so do not allow the surface soil to dry out completely between water applications.
• Plant young blackberry bushes in rows spaced 2-4 feet apart. Rows should be spaced from 5-8 feet apart for ease of harvesting. Unless you are planting blackberries as a living fence, most experienced blackberry growers highly suggest choosing a thorn-free variety of blackberries for ease of cultivation, pruning, and harvesting.
• Mulch heavily around the base of each blackberry bush to help retain soil moisture, control weeds, and increase fruit yield. Use straw, pine bark,grass clippings，或未经处理的锯末或木屑。

Companion Planting For Blackberries

Companion planting, or the gardening practice of locating plants close to each other that benefit each other, helps boost fruit yield when cultivating blackberries. Low-growing groundcover plants, including any variety of mint, lemon balm, bee balm, hyssop, borage, thyme, or chives, are excellent companion plants for blackberries.

They attract bees for pollination and help repel foliage and fruit predators, keeping beetles and mice away from your blackberry crop. Planting beans or peas near the base of blackberry bushes helps impart nitrogen into the soil of the blackberry patch. Tansy, blueberries, and rue are also excellent plant companions for blackberries.

References

Blackberry Variety Review, Cornell University

Making Jams And Jellies, National Center For Home Food Preparation

Growing Blackberries In Colorado, Colorado State University

Growing Blackberries In Missouri, Missouri State University

Growing Blackberries And Raspberries In Kentucky, University of Kentucky

Growing Blackberries For Profit, Gardens All

Growing Blackberries In Your Home Garden, Oregon State University