blackberries

[nace]

sunday, june 3rd i picked a gallon of blackberries....they usually don't ripen till the first week of july down here in kentucky. if i had tapped in the middle of december, it still would have been a short season. i was waiting for the middle of january to get cold...then february,still not cold.the buds popped out by the end of febuary and now the blackberries are a month early. i suppose i'll just be ready to tap in august, just in case.:confused:

[Dill]

That's a lot of picking. The wild blueberries around here are coming in heavy not ripe of course but full of green fruit. The only better "crop" right now are the ticks you pick up trying to find the berries.

[spud]

Is there anything I can spray on my wild blackberries that will help produce a bigger crop? I have a lot of blackberries that are with flowers right now.

Spud

[GeneralStark]

Is there anything I can spray on my wild blackberries that will help produce a bigger crop? I have a lot of blackberries that are with flowers right now.

Spud

In short, No. But, mowing and weeding around them may help them produce and make it easier for you to get them. We have tons of flowers this year as well, so it may be a good year, though lots of flowers does not equate to lots of berries necessarily.

[Thad Blaisdell]

what I do is spray them first thing in the season with round up. before they begin to leaf out, that kills off all the weeds. Then throw down some 10-10-10 that makes new growth like crazy

[spud]

Could I dig the plants up and replant them near my garden in rows? If so what time of year should I do this? This way I could manage them better.

Spud

[GeneralStark]

Could I dig the plants up and replant them near my garden in rows? If so what time of year should I do this? This way I could manage them better.

Spud

In my experience, replanting blackberries, if that is what we are talking about here as opposed to black raspberries or wild raspberries, yields mixed results. If you favor the plants that appear to be larger producers and healthier plants and give them lots of light and nutrients and well drained soil, they may produce well. In my experience blackberries aren't necessarily biq producers consistently however, so if you are going to go through the trouble of replanting and making beds for them, it may be worth planting something that is a better producer, like a cultivated raspberry.

It will work though, so depends on your goals and time. I would say though that giving them some more space, light and some TLC if they are already in a field with good sun would be a better option though for blackberries.

I personally avoid roundup and chemical fertilizer and use a hand scythe to mow around them and humanure compost to enrich them, but clearly there are differences of opinion and philosophy here on the trader. :)

[Thad Blaisdell]

Easily, several ways to do it. Just remember this, almost impossible to kill a blackberry bush. If I had an abundance of them and didnt care about losin a years crop on a few what I would do right now is cut some off at about 6" dig them up and move them, they would send out new shoots, the problem with doing that now is those shoots will never be full sized. Do it in the fall or spring for best results. Plant rows at least 11' apart.

[happy thoughts]

Could I dig the plants up and replant them near my garden in rows? If so what time of year should I do this? This way I could manage them better.

Spud

Sure. Best to transplant when they are dormant, especially in the fall. You might want to do a bit of pruning and also cut out the old canes to make them easier to move. But for what it's worth I'd think twice about moving them near your garden as they may spread into your beds. I'd set them off in their own space and allow them plenty of room.

[Rhino]

Up here in Northern Wisconsin all you have to do is look for some county land that has been logged off about 2 to 3 years ago and you will find blackberries o plenty. We have a spot that has been produceing great numbers for about 3 years now. Usually 3 of us go in picking, and each ends up with 2 ice cream pails (5 qts each) full. Best spot we have found so far. Usually after a few years the underbrush takes over and we start searching again, but for some reason this area that has oak left, that are big enough to keep the underbrush down is just unreal. We sell them at our farmers markets for $4.oo/pint and can't keep them on the table long. I think people realize how you have to do battle with the thorns to go get em. They started to flower a week ago and the berries on our raspberries are set already. I was worried about my plum trees with the frost we had earlier but a good amount are set also. Out of all our crops, this by far is the easiest as far as no cultivateing, planting, weeding, fertilizeing, nothing..... just go harvest and sell.

[slammer3364]

I got some Doyles thonless blackberries in June of 2010. You plant them and mulch them and run some poles and heavy wire and run them like grapevines.Last year they took off and grew like crazy,I spoke to them and they told me they should produce very well this year.( you can Google it for more info)

[nace]

my main patch is about 50' long and 20' at it's widest spot. i have 2 types, one will get about 7' tall if supported ( i believe it is the semi-erect veriety ) and the other is the erect veriety and will stand as a bush 4'-5' tall. the bush type bloom about a week earlier but both ripen about the same time. i have allowed runners to come up away from the main patch so that i can have easier access for transplanting. i have tried to plant from seed but the seed must need to pass through the digestive tract of a critter 'cause they didn't germinate. all of mine are wild, i don't like tame one's. i plan on using rebar to make hoop's for the semi-erect ones, creating a tunnel with two paralell rows 10' apart, then a row or two of the bush type. this should make for easier picking and less bloodletting. if you start small or don't have many plant's, you can propagate them by bending a cane over and digging a hole 5" deep, secure with a pin ( a small forked stick ) and cover with dirt. it may be best to pluck off leaves and thornes from the part you burry. oh, they will send up shoots everywhere, but by planting the end of the cane, you get them where you want them. several extension services have plenty of info but i think they are mostly talking about tame one's...i say, "where's your sense of adventure?" let the bloodletting begin!!!

[Sdave]

I got some Doyles thonless blackberries in June of 2010. You plant them and mulch them and run some poles and heavy wire and run them like grapevines.Last year they took off and grew like crazy,I spoke to them and they told me they should produce very well this year.( you can Google it for more info)
Your blackberries told you that they should produce very well this year?............ sorry couldn't resist.

[maple flats]

I'm not sure how well transplanting blackberries, or wild blueberries or any other wild variety, but I do know that you would not want to plant them anyplace near cultivated ones. The wild varieties host a multitude of diseases, viruses and other nasties that will cross over to and ruin the crop on the cultivated ones. Keep the well separated (like at least 700' separation) if you value your cultivated varieties.

[KenWP]

my main patch is about 50' long and 20' at it's widest spot. i have 2 types, one will get about 7' tall if supported ( i believe it is the semi-erect veriety ) and the other is the erect veriety and will stand as a bush 4'-5' tall. the bush type bloom about a week earlier but both ripen about the same time. i have allowed runners to come up away from the main patch so that i can have easier access for transplanting. i have tried to plant from seed but the seed must need to pass through the digestive tract of a critter 'cause they didn't germinate. all of mine are wild, i don't like tame one's. i plan on using rebar to make hoop's for the semi-erect ones, creating a tunnel with two paralell rows 10' apart, then a row or two of the bush type. this should make for easier picking and less bloodletting. if you start small or don't have many plant's, you can propagate them by bending a cane over and digging a hole 5" deep, secure with a pin ( a small forked stick ) and cover with dirt. it may be best to pluck off leaves and thornes from the part you burry. oh, they will send up shoots everywhere, but by planting the end of the cane, you get them where you want them. several extension services have plenty of info but i think they are mostly talking about tame one's...i say, "where's your sense of adventure?" let the bloodletting begin!!!


Did you try to freeze the seed before planting. I found if you plant them in the fall and the cold weather makes the sprout the next spring. grape seeds seem to be the same way also.