How to Grow Sweet, Juicy Blackberries in Your Backyard

If you’re like me, you love blackberry everything – jam, cobbler, pie, glaze, you name it. But fresh blackberries are only available for a short time, and they can be pricey if you don’t buy them from a trustworthy local farmer.

It costs a lot because blackberries are one of the easiest fruits to grow, but picking and growing them still takes a lot of work, especially if you don’t use commercial fertilizers and pesticides.

But you don’t just want pints of local blackberries to enjoy during the summer; you need gallons of them to can, bake, and eat right off the bush. And to achieve this need, without destroying your bank account, you’ve decided to grow your own. Here’s how to do it.

Like other plants in the same genus, like raspberries, blackberries grow on long stems, or canes, every two years. This means that the canes only grow twice a year, but the main plant’s roots come back year after year. The plant doesn’t make any flowers (or almost any flowers) or fruit in the first year of cane growth. Instead, it puts all of its energy into growing strong roots and a strong cane. From the second year on, the main plant sends out new canes and the old canes flower and fruit.

Blackberries have very shallow roots and can grow well in many types of soil, even very poor, rocky soil. They also quickly spread and hybridize with other plants that are similar to them. This is why you can find big, thorny brambles on trails and mountain sides, or even in your own yard next to wooded areas. We can easily dig up, move, and plant these things again, and if we leave them alone, they’ll do it on their own. Spoooooky.

So, if you plant one or two canes in your yard the first year, you can get many more canes and years of blackberries with very little work. Heck, you can let your whole yard get covered in blackberries within a decade. I don’t recommend it, especially if you’re going with a thorny variety, but you do you, Maleficent.

Despite the name, the “erect” varieties still benefit from some trellising for easy picking and ground upkeep. All three types grow somewhere on our property. The second and third were planted on purpose, while the first one gets caught on my sleeves when I mow the grass along the edges of our land.

Blackberries are one of the most delicious fruits that can be grown right in your own backyard. With their sweet, complex flavor and juicy texture, fresh blackberries are irresistible. While wild blackberries can be tart or seedy, growing an improved variety will reward you with plump, sweet berries perfect for snacking, baking, jams and more. Follow these simple tips to get a bountiful harvest of sugary blackberries from your garden.

Choosing the Right Location

Blackberries thrive in full sun, which means at least 6 hours of direct sunlight daily. Morning sun is especially important to help dry dew from the plants, preventing diseases. Select a part of your yard that gets sun most of the day.

The soil should be fertile, well-draining and slightly acidic. Amend heavy clay soils with compost to improve drainage. You can also mix in some pine bark fines to help acidify the soil.

Give blackberries plenty of space to grow. They can spread aggressively via underground suckers. Allow 3-4 feet between plants to prevent overcrowding. Put them in an area where you don’t mind them expanding over time.

Plant in the Fall or Early Spring

The best times to plant blackberries are in early fall or early spring. Fall planting gives roots a chance to establish before spring growth. Spring planting should happen as soon as the ground can be worked.

Purchase healthy disease-free plants from a reputable nursery. Container-grown varieties are a great option because you can see the root system. or bare root plants look for green stems and white roots.

Before planting, soak bare root plants in water for a few hours. Dig a hole the depth of the root system and twice as wide. Fan roots out in the hole and fill with a 50/50 mix of native soil and compost. Cut back the canes to 6 inches.

Provide Support for Upright Growth

Erect blackberry varieties grow vertically if supported properly. Drive sturdy posts into the ground at the end of each row of plants. Run wires between them at 3 feet and 5 feet high.

As new canes emerge in spring, loosely tie them to the wires to train them to grow upright. This keeps the plants contained, prevents sprawling and makes harvest much easier.

Use Mulch for Moisture and Weed Control

Mulching is critical for blackberries. Organic mulches like pine straw or shredded bark help maintain consistent soil moisture. They also prevent weed growth that competes with the plants.

Apply 2-3 inches of mulch in a 3 foot diameter around each plant. Replenish as needed through the growing season. The mulch breaks down over time improving the soil.

Provide Regular Irrigation

Blackberries have relatively shallow roots, so they need consistent watering. Established plants need about 1-2 inches of water per week. More is needed during hot, dry weather or when berries are ripening.

Irrigate with drip irrigation or soaker hoses to target the roots. Water early in the day to allow foliage to dry out before nightfall, preventing disease.

Berries will be smaller and less sweet if the plants get too dry. Monitor soil moisture and water when the top few inches become dry.

Annual Pruning Keeps Plants Vital

Pruning blackberries encourages new growth and improves air circulation and sun exposure. It’s done in late winter just before spring growth starts.

Remove old floricanes that produced fruit the prior summer. These are thick, woody stems. Cut them off at ground level with loppers.

Tip back the remaining primocanes that grew the previous year by about 1/3. This promotes branching and stronger canes. Remove any damaged or diseased stems as well.

Provide Nutrients for Optimal Growth

Fertilizing blackberries boosts plant vigor and fruit production. Use a 10-10-10 balanced fertilizer or something with more nitrogen early on. Organic options like compost and manure work too.

Make the first application in early spring as growth resumes. Spread evenly according to label directions. Repeat every 4-6 weeks until early summer.

After harvest, apply fertilizer to stimulate primocane growth. A high phosphorus formula like bone meal gives energy for next year’s flowers and fruit.

Enjoy the Sweetest Berries at Peak Ripeness

For the best flavor, let blackberries fully ripen on the bush. The berries go through stages, starting out red, then turning black but still shiny and firm.

Leave them on the plants until they become dull, dark black. The skin will seem wilted when totally ripe. Pick gently to avoid squashing.

Harvest every couple days during peak season. Use right away for maximum sweetness. Refrigerate only what you can’t use within a day or two.

Growing your own blackberries ensures you can enjoy these delectable fruits at their sweetest. With a few simple practices, your backyard vines will reward you with juicy, sugary berries all summer long. Trust me, nothing beats the flavor of a sun-warmed blackberry straight from your garden!

how to grow sweet blackberries

Starting Plants: Canes vs. Seeds

You’ll get fruit much faster if you start your blackberries from canes or nursery plants instead of seeds. You can get bare-root or flowering canes from a nursery. You can also ask your neighbor for canes or pull wild ones from one part of your yard to another. However, I strongly recommend starting your blackberries with nursery plants. Why?.

Getting your plants from a reputable nursery means you’ll know the precise variety and characteristics of your blackberry. Take canes from your neighbor Joe, and you’ll probably get blackberries. But they might be hybrids with other plants in the area, or they might be easily sick. Nursery canes are usually sterile (as in, disease-free) and tend to grow bigger, sweeter fruits. Also, I hate thorns, and picking blackberries is hard enough without having to avoid stems that hurt my hands. That’s why I love the thornless varieties we got from a cool local nursery.

Keep in mind that the blackberry plants you bought at the nursery are probably grafts, which means that the blackberry plant is attached to another similar plant to make the coolest parts of the plant bigger. If that worries you, feel free to go the wild route. Or just ask about the plant you’re getting. However, I’m a fan of the grafts, if you can’t tell.

You can also grow canes from seeds, but it will take a lot longer than growing canes. Also, keep in mind that many blackberry plants are actually hybrids or grafts, so the blackberry you choose may not even produce fruits or fruits that are similar to those you planted.

Okay, let’s plant these buggers. You’ve got your canes. Now what?

As I mentioned before, blackberries have very shallow roots, so you don’t need to plant them very deep. If you want to plant something, you should get rid of any grass or other plants that will compete with the roots. To stop this competition, I suggest using sheet mulch and making sure the growing area stays well-mulched every season. Also, avoid tall grass that could hide animals that like to hang out near blackberries, like mice and snakes.

Put the canes in the ground about an inch deeper than they were in the nursery pot. Make sure the roots are completely covered, but not so deep that the cane disappears. Plant canes 5-6 feet apart, at least, and keep rows 5-8 feet apart.

Blackberries can grow in a lot of different types of soil, even poor clay soil. However, they do best with compost added to the soil, soil that is less dense than clay, mulching, and most importantly, good drainage. Blackberries will not thrive with wet feet.

Sustainable Baking, Cooking, and Homesteading

So, you wanna grow your own blackberries? Smart.

how to grow sweet blackberries

If you’re like me, you love blackberry everything – jam, cobbler, pie, glaze, you name it. But fresh blackberries are only available for a short time, and they can be pricey if you don’t buy them from a trustworthy local farmer.

It costs a lot because blackberries are one of the easiest fruits to grow, but picking and growing them still takes a lot of work, especially if you don’t use commercial fertilizers and pesticides.

But you don’t just want pints of local blackberries to enjoy during the summer; you need gallons of them to can, bake, and eat right off the bush. And to achieve this need, without destroying your bank account, you’ve decided to grow your own. Here’s how to do it.

Let’s pull back a bit – how, exactly, does a blackberry plant grow and propagate?

Like other plants in the same genus, like raspberries, blackberries grow on long stems, or canes, every two years. This means that the canes only grow twice a year, but the main plant’s roots come back year after year. The plant doesn’t make any flowers (or almost any flowers) or fruit in the first year of cane growth. Instead, it puts all of its energy into growing strong roots and a strong cane. From the second year on, the main plant sends out new canes and the old canes flower and fruit.

Blackberries have very shallow roots and can grow well in many types of soil, even very poor, rocky soil. They also quickly spread and hybridize with other plants that are similar to them. This is why you can find big, thorny brambles on trails and mountain sides, or even in your own yard next to wooded areas. We can easily dig up, move, and plant these things again, and if we leave them alone, they’ll do it on their own. Spoooooky.

(Also, not literally. They just do the spreading thing underground.)

So, if you plant one or two canes in your yard the first year, you can get many more canes and years of blackberries with very little work. Heck, you can let your whole yard get covered in blackberries within a decade. I don’t recommend it, especially if you’re going with a thorny variety, but you do you, Maleficent.

Speaking of varieties, there are three main types of blackberry plants:

  • If you look at the name, you can tell that these blackberries have thorns—the kind that are so sharp they can tear your jeans. The canes stand “erect,” which means they don’t need anything to hold them up, like trellises or other plants.
  • Blackberries that stand up straight without thorns are now available. These guys can stand up on their own and won’t rip your face off. Win!.
  • Blackberries that trail off and don’t have thorns need to be trained to keep their canes off the ground.

Despite the name, the “erect” varieties still benefit from some trellising for easy picking and ground upkeep. All three types grow somewhere on our property. The second and third were planted on purpose, while the first one gets caught on my sleeves when I mow the grass along the edges of our land.

Grow The Most Incredible BLACKBERRIES In 5 Easy Steps!

FAQ

Why are my blackberries not sweet?

The amount of time the blackberry was allowed to ripen affects how bitter or sweet it will taste. Unripe berries start out bitter and that lessens as they ripen on the vine. When picked fully ripe, blackberries taste very sweet with no trace of bitterness.

How to sweeten up blackberries?

White sugar, honey, agave nectar, and maple syrup are common and should be double the amount of liquid you might add. A splash of balsamic vinegar, a squirt of lemon juice, or a sprinkle of a few herbs or spices can also add a complex layer of flavor.

What do blackberries need to thrive?

Raspberries and blackberries need full sun and well-drained soil that’s rich in organic matter to stay healthy and at peak performance. If you’re growing in garden soil, it’s a good idea to conduct a soil test to make sure your berries get the kind of soil they need for good nutrition.

How to grow sweet blackberries?

To grow sweet blackberries, plant them in an area with full sun exposure and moist soil with good drainage. Blackberries, which are similar to raspberries and loganberries, produce large clusters of sweet berries. This blog post will show you how to grow sweet blackberries.

Are blackberry berries sweet?

It certainly comes down to picking the berries at the right time, but it also depends on the cultivar. Some blackberry varieties, like those listed below, have a higher sugar content than others and will be more consistently sweet. Learn more: Why are my Blackberries Sour? Tips to Grow Sweeter Berries

Can blackberries grow in sandy soil?

Blackberries do well in sandy soil, but it can drain a little too quickly. Sometimes, blackberry plants that grew sweet berries in previous seasons may suddenly produce sour ones. This may be caused by a slower-than-usual ripening period due to very dry or unusually cool weather for the season.

Which blackberries grow best?

‘Navaho’ – This cultivar will appear on several of the lists in this article. It’s one of the best all-around blackberries to grow, largely because of its high sugar content. Zone 6-10. ‘Apache’ – Apache’s berries are not only very sweet, but they’re also one of the largest blackberries.

Where should I plant Sweet Blackberry bushes?

Sweet Blackberry bushes should be planted against a south or east-facing wall since they require at least six hours of sunlight per day to produce well. If your garden doesn’t receive this type of exposure, you may want to consider growing them inside on a sunny windowsill instead.

Do blackberries need full sun?

In hotter US hardiness zones, blackberries can tolerate some shade, but elsewhere you want to provide them a spot in full sun. The plants are going to live in their location for many years and want a soil type that is fertile and well-draining. Do not plant blackberries in soil that gets waterlogged in winter.

Leave a Comment