Guide for Cultivating Blackberries: Steps and Tips for Successful Harvesting
Discovering the Best Blackberry Varieties for Optimal Yield and Flavor
Save your wallet and enjoy the delightful taste of homegrown blackberries! Wild brambles might be free, but they can't match the flavor of cultivated blackberries.
Make the Most of Your Blackberry Patch All Year Round
Tamed Brambles: Cultivated Blackberries
Compared to their wild counterparts, cultivated blackberries are more refined and easier to manage. Tie their canes to a supporting structure, making your patch look tidy!
Although easy-going, blackberries love the sun and well-drained soil, with plenty of garden compost added for optimal growth. Stock up on bare-root plants - known as stools - in winter, and give them a good soak before planting. Plant them up to their old soil mark, water them well, and enjoy bumper crops! Space each plant based on the cultivar's vigor, usually around 1.5m.
Nurturing Your Blackberries
Blackberries fruit on two-year-old canes, so be careful not to let them mingle with older ones to prevent the spread of diseases. In the first year, cut back old wood to soil level and tie in new canes. Keep them well watered during this growth period.
Post-fruiting, cut the fruited canes down to soil level and cover the cut ends with compost to speed up rotting. This prepares the next lot of canes for spring. Every few years, enrich the roots with well-rotted compost or farmyard manure to boost the plant's vigor.
Berry Picking, Storing, and Cooking
For the sweetest berries, let them ripen fully before picking. Avoid crushing them in a container, and be mindful of juice stains on your clothing. Blackberries don't store well, but they freeze nicely.
Freshen up your cooking repertoire with blackberries! Use them for delightful summer fruit pudding, smoothies, jam, pies, crumbles, and home-made wine. Here's a simple recipe for Apple and Blackberry Crumble.
Protecting Your Blackberry Patch from Pesky Birds
Average Yield:6-9kg per 3m row
Drape some fleece over the patch once the flowers have been pollinated to keep the berries safe from birds. Ensure that growing tips of canes don't touch the ground or they'll develop unwanted roots. Pull out any suckers from the stool below the soil level, as they weaken the plant.
If your blackberry plant isn't producing new canes, watch this Quick Tips video to help revive it.
Hybrid Berries: The Next Generation
Fans of both raspberries and blackberries should try hybrid berries like loganberries, tayberries, tummelberries, and boysenberries. These beauties are easier to harvest than blackberries and can be grown the same way. They fruit earlier and provide a sweet flavor that everyone will enjoy. Happy berry harvesting!
Top-performing Blackberry Varieties
- 'Adrienne': Delicious berries on strong, thornless stems
- 'Black Beauté': Sweet, fragrant berries with few prickles
- 'Loch Maree': Pink flowers followed by tasty berries, thorn-free, and great for big pots
- 'Loch Ness': Vigorous with high yields of large fruits on thornless canes
- 'Merton Thornless': Large crops of well-flavored berries, compact, thornless
Spacing:150 apart200 between rowsUp to the old soil mark
Enhance your home-and-garden lifestyle with a cultivated blackberry patch! Cultivated blackberries are more refined and easier to manage, making them perfect for your home-improvement projects.
If you're looking to expand your home-gardening pursuits beyond blackberries, consider hybrid berries such as loganberries, tayberries, tummelberries, and boysenberries. They offer a sweet flavor and are easier to harvest, stepping up your home-gardening game.
