How to Grow Blackberries & Raspberries

Video Transcript

"Hi, this is Yolanda Vanveen and in this segment, we're going to talk about how to grow blackberries and raspberries. Now blackberries came with the property and they are considered an invasive weed because they are taking over acres and acres of property all over the country. And so they're a great fruit and I love to eat blackberries, but when you grow them, make sure that you're very careful with them and not grow them near any natural areas where they can take over because they can really take over and they're so easy to grow. So blackberries and raspberries have one thing in common: they don't even really need a root to get a new start. All you need is a cutting and as long as that reaches into the ground and you just barely cover it up, or throw it into a bucket of water, it'll start rooting. And you can even set a piece of blackberry down on the ground and it'll immediately start rooting. So, it'll grow almost anywhere and they're very easy to start. But the easiest way to grow raspberries and blackberries in your garden is up against a fence or even put some string out on a row because they will grow right onto the fence and you can kind of lead 'em that way. And then every fall when they start dying back, you can just prune 'em back a bit 'cause they'll get rr...really lanky and you can keep 'em along that fence. They'll give you lots of fruit that you can collect in the fall and freeze or use over the winter. So raspberries and blackberries are really easy to grow. They just need a full, sunny spot with good drainage and good compact, composted, organic soil and make sure when you do grow them that you do keep them under control because they can take over and whether you have them on your property naturally and just let 'em grow or you grow them along the fence for fruit in your garden. They're very rewarding and they're a wonderful fruit that is full of anti-oxidants and I love them back, in the back part of my property, although they are wild, they do give all types of birds a place to rest and they do give the deer all the fruit that they need through the winter. So they are really beneficial to a lot of animals and I love blackberry pie as well."