Planting Blackberry Bushes ‘Part 1’

Planting Blackberry Bushes ‘Part 1’ in my backyard.

Around seven years ago I thought I would like to have Grapes in the backyard.  I put a  small arbor up, planted a variety of grape plants and watched them grow over the years.  That is all I did.  Not one grape was ever eaten, smashed or drunk.  BLAH!

I decided to yank the plants this spring and put in more Blackberry Bushes.  The spot was perfect because it was in full sun and planted next to the seven thornless Blackberry Bush’s I planted three years ago.

I choose to plant more Blackberries because from my current bushes I have made jar after jar of Blackberry Jam that is loved by all.

Plus Blackberries bake really well in pies!

The first step was pulling the plants and then the arbor out.

You can see my current Blackberry Bed in the background that we will be mirroring.

Because the soil in the bed was already in great shape I didn’t have to add any compost.

If your soil is heavy clay or sand you will need to till and add compost.

Once your soil is ready, dig the holes as deep as the bush is in the pot and a little wider.

 They recommend you space your bushes 4-6′ apart.  I mirrored the bed that was already planted to the left.  Which is 5′ apart.

Remove bushes from pots and place in hole.  Use your fingers to gently loosen any roots that are bound (which is where the roots have started growing in a circle around themselves in the pot)  you want to encourage your roots to grow out not continue growing in a circle or they will strangle themselves.

Then use the loose soil from the hole you dug to fill in around bush.

Tap soil down around the base of plant and water to help soil trickle down around the plant.

You are done with the planting.

But, you will need support for your bushes or they will be flopping on the ground and so will your berries.

Part II  ‘Pole set up’

to follow……..

You might also like:

Planting Blackberry Bushes ‘Part 2’