Blackberries for the Home Garden
Horticulture at Home
Katy Shook, Area Horticulture Agent
Small fruits are popular additions to the home garden. Blackberries, in particular, are productive and well suited for homeowners in most regions of North Carolina. Breeding programs have released a number of thornless varieties that are large, taste great, and because they have no thorns, are much easier to harvest than berries found in the wild. In addition, studies have shown that this fruit can help fight cancer, decrease cardiovascular disease, and slow down brain aging. Best of all, one blackberry plant can easily supply up to 10 pounds of delicious berries each year.Prepare an easy-to-access location for your blackberries. Blackberries need full sun and plenty of room to grow. The soil should be a well-drained sandy loam soil with a pH of 5.5 to 6.5. A soil high in organic matter is beneficial under non-irrigated conditions. If the soil is not well drained, establish the plants in a raised bed. Erect and semi-trailing blackberry plants should be planted about 3 to 4 feet apart. They can be planted in the early spring several weeks before the last frost. Each plant can produce 10 to 20 pounds of fruit, so four to six plants will easily produce ample berries for a family of four.
Support the canes with a trellis. Erect and semi-trailing types perform well using a two-wire system with wires at 3 and 5 feet from the ground. Once the canes have reached the top wire, remove the tips to encourage branching. The fruit is ripe and at its peak sweetness when it is a dull black color. Pick fruits that are shiny black if you need to store them in your refrigerator. They won’t be as sweet, but they will last longer. Harvest will continue for three or more weeks, depending on variety.
Good horticultural practices can prevent insect and disease problems. Timely pruning, removing fruited canes, and maintaining a regular harvest schedule will help minimize common pests. If necessary, apply pesticides labeled for use on edible plants to manage insect and disease problems. This information is taken from the NC State Publication Blackberries for the Home Garden. Find out more at content.ces.ncsu.edu/blackberries-for-the-home-garden.
