How to Grow Blackberry Plants

Blackberries are plump, juicy berries that grow readily in sun and shade as well as a variety of soil conditions. Many home gardens would be suitable for growing blackberries, which have multiple uses, including being eaten fresh or baked in desserts. Learn how to grow blackberry plants and enjoy the sweet harvest from abundant blackberry canes.

Things You'll Need

• Blackberry canes Hoe Compost Bonemeal Shovel Gardening Gloves Pruning Shears Water 4-inch by 4-inch Wooden Posts (6 feet tall) 10-gauge wire Twine Scissors

Instructions

1. Choose a spot in your garden. Keep in mind that even though blackberry canes adapt well, they will produce the most berries when planted in full sun. Work compost into the soil with a hoe before planting since blackberries like a rich soil that drains well.

2. Determine the proper spacing for the blackberry canes. This spacing differs based on variety. Space strong-growing varieties approximately 13 feet apart. Space medium-growing varieties approximately eight feet apart. Space light-growing varieties approximately four feet apart. Ask for advice from a local nursery if you are unsure about the requirements for your particular variety of blackberry canes.

3. Dig a hole that is approximately five inches deep and wide enough to accommodate the roots when they are spread out in the hole. Place the blackberry cane into the hole and spread the roots carefully. Cover the roots with dirt and pat down the soil.

4. Trim the blackberry canes, leaving about 10 inches above the ground. Trim right after placing the canes into the ground.

5. Water the canes thoroughly and keep them evenly moist while they get established.

6. Place a thick layer of compost around the base of the blackberry canes. If compost is not available, scatter 1-2 tablespoons of bone meal on the ground around each blackberry cane to provide nutrients during the growing season. Keep the bone meal three inches away from the canes and work the bone meal approximately two inches down into the dirt around the blackberry canes.

7. Place a layer of pine bark or synthetic mulch around the blackberry canes to control weeds, keeping them from stealing nutrients from the shallow roots of blackberry canes.

8. Determine when the blackberries are ripe by observing their color: They should be a very dark purple and very plump in appearance. Before picking many blackberries, pick one and test it to make sure it is ripe. If the blackberry does not come easily off the branch, it may need more time to ripen. If the blackberry is easily picked and tastes sweet, it is ripe.

9. Prune stems that produced blackberries immediately after picking. Prune those berry-producing stems even with the ground. Do not prune the stems that did not produce blackberries; these will be the berry-producing stems during the next growing season.

10. Pound the wooden posts eight to ten inches into the ground approximately every six feet along the row of blackberry canes when the canes grow to the point that they need support. This may not be until the second growing season.

    Run the 10-gauge wire horizontally between the posts at heights of two feet, four feet, and six feet. Attach some of the canes to the wires as they grow by tying them with twine. You do not need to attach all of the canes because the canes that are attached will support the canes that are not.

Tips & Warnings

• October is the best time of the year to plant blackberry canes. Pick blackberries often to prevent the berries from becoming overly ripe on the canes. It is also best to pick blackberries on a dry and sunny day. Berries that are picked in the rain will turn bad more quickly.

• Because blackberries produce their fruit on the stems that grew the previous year, do not expect a blackberry harvest during the first year.

References

• Blackberries

Resources

• Read this Article in Portuguese