Growing Blackberries is easy if you plant them in the right conditions and give them the support they need. There are even thorn-free varieties which makes handling them much less painful. Download and save my graphic for 10 Tips For Growing Blackberries.
Health Benefits of Blackberries
Blackberries are a low-maintenance, easy-to-grow fruit that have many health benefits. They are high in antioxidants and vitamin C, which help protect the body against disease.
Blackberries also contain dietary fiber, potassium, and magnesium, all of which are essential for good health.
As far as fruits go, blackberries have less sugar than most, making them a good choice for people who are watching their weight or have diabetes. And because they’re high in fiber, they help regulate digestion and can even reduce the risk of developing cancer.
How to Grow Blackberries
The best way to grow blackberries is in a sunny location with well-drained soil. They can be grown in containers or in the ground. Growing thornless blackberries make planting and picking the fruit easier than ever.
#1. Plant where they will get at least 10 hours of direct sunlight.
#2. Construct trellises for trailing varieties before planting.
#3. Space upright varieties at 3-foot intervals in rows 8 feet apart. Set trailing varieties 5 to 8 feet apart in rows 6 to 10 feet apart. Set plants 1 inch deeper than they were grown in the nursery.
#4. Cut the plants back to about six inches after you plant them.
#5. Fertilize the ground as soon in the spring as you possibly can.
#6. Make sure the growing blackberry plants receive about one inch of water a week.
#7. You need to make sure you do not plant the bushes where peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, potatoes or strawberries are growing, or have grown in the past three years or so.
#8. Your soil should have a pH between 5.6 to 6.2.
#9. After you see ripened blackberries, you want to pick them every three to six days.
#10. To prevent chilling injury in the winter, lay the canes of trailing types on the ground in winter and cover with a thick layer of mulch.
Blackberry FAQs
Can I use containers to grow blackberries?
Yes, growing blackberries in containers is a great option when you’re short on space or want to keep your planters off the ground.
What is the best soil for growing blackberries?
You should use a soil that is well drained and has a pH between 5.6 to 6.2.
Do I need to prune blackberries?
Yes, you should prune growing blackberry plants to keep them healthy and productive. Pruning usually takes place in the early spring.
Growing blackberries is easy with these 10 tips. Whether you’re growing them in your garden or inside a container, the most important thing to remember is that they need lots of sun and water.
I hope this content has been helpful for you and inspires you to try your hand at gardening this Spring!
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Other 10 Garden Tips Infographic:
10 Tips For Growing Green Beans
Can I plant a blackberry plant in a container?
This is our first year to grow blackberry do I pick them just turning or wait. ?
Blackberries should be picked when ripe.
Great tips! Thanks for posting them. Do you have any tips for pruning them in fall/winter?
Hi Trish,
I do not prune in the fall, but early in the spring and late summer.
Do not prune first year.
Second year canes should be pruned by cutting off the tips of the blackberry canes. This will force the blackberry canes to branch out, which will create more wood for blackberry fruit to grow. The rule of thumb is to cut them to 24″tall.
After your last blackberry has been picked, long before the first frost you want to do your second trim. Blackberries only produce fruit on canes that are two years old, so once a cane has produced berries, it will never produce berries again. Cutting these spent canes off the blackberry bush will encourage the plant to produce more fist year canes, which in turn, will mean more fruit producing canes next year.
Don’t compost your canes because of disease that may be present.
Best of luck.
Amy