Growing Blackberries

 

• Ideal Soil pH: 6.2

• Ideal Climate: Moderate sunshine and moderate warmth

• Daily sunlight for mature bushes: 5 - 8 hours

• Watering mature bushes:  Keep soil moist (Water 2 - 3 times per week)

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**If you have already read through our Growing Raspberries page, note that this page will be very similar as Blackberries and Raspberries are grown in almost the exact same way!

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Step 1: Grow Blackberries from Seed or buy Seedling?

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Blackberries are hardy plants that are fairly easy to grow so whichever route you go should not be too daunting of a task. If you choose to grow blackberries from seed, you will not get fruit your first year given that the seeds go through stratification the first year and then start growing to substantial sized bushed the second year that produces berries.

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If you decide to go the seedling route you will either get seedlings in containers (from nursery) or bare-rooted plants that come in packaging. If you get bare-rooted plants then shake of the material they came in and place them in water for at least 4 hours. 

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I personally prefer buying the seedlings from local nurseries because they are easy to plant and you get to see immediate results in the first growing season you have them.

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Step 2: Plant Blackberries in Containers or in Garden?

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Blackberries are known for spreading quickly and sometimes taking over whole properties if they aren't managed, so this should be something to keep in mind if planting in your garden. With that being said I still recommend growing in your garden because it allows your bushes to get to a large size that bears lot of fruit. This just requires some yearly pruning and keeping an eye out for unwanted seedlings popping up so you can rip them out of the ground before they develop strong roots. 

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Planting in containers is still a very viable option, especially if you are nervous about the spreading of unwanted bushes. The minimum container size should be 5 gallons with at least a 6 inch depth of soil, but I recommend larger pots that have at a soil depth of at least 1 foot. If growing in pots it is also smart to have a trellis to train the new canes on each year so you can keep your plant under control.

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Step 3: Choosing your Variety of Blackberry​

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Blackberries are infamous for spreading quickly and have lots of thorns, so many people see them as a nuisance. What most people don't realize is that there are hundreds of blackberry varieties including many thorn-less types. So do a little research or go to your local nursery and figure out a variety that would best suit you and your climate.

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Erect Varieties

These varieties will grow upright so they will need less pruning and trellising making them a good fit for smaller gardens. They grow new upright canes each year but the canes do not produce fruit until they are two years old.

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Trailing Varieties

These varieties produce new canes each year that run along the ground. This usually leads to a need for training and trellising to keep them under control. Like the erect varieties, the new canes do not produce berries until they are two years old.

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Step 4: Germinating Blackberry Seeds

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**If starting with a seedling, skip to Step 5

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It is best to take seeds directly out of fresh berries by mashing them or blending them and then picking out the seeds. Wash the seeds to get all fruit off of them, and then scratch each seed using a knife to break their dormancy. Place the seeds in moist peat or peat moss within a plastic bag and place it in a refrigerator. Leave the seeds in the fridge for 14 weeks, checking every so often to make sure the peat is still moist. Fill starter trays or plastic cups with starter or potting mix. After removing the the seeds from the fridge, place them on top of the mix in your trays/cups and lightly cover with soil. Keep the tray/cups moist and in a warm location (does not need to be sunny but can be) until you see sprouts. Keep soil moist and mix in compost occasionally until the spring time when they can be planted outside. 

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Step 5: Choosing a Location for your Blackberries

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Ideally you want to find a location that gets periods of sun and periods of shade throughout the day. Too many hours of consecutive can dry out or burn the berries. Finding a location where your plants will be in the shade of a tree or other large plant in the middle of the day is great. Try to get your plant 5 - 8 hours of sun a day, and ideally break up those hours so it is getting a couple hours of sun followed by a couple hours of shade or filtered sun before getting direct sun again. If you can't break up the sunlight hours in this way, at least try to find a location with lots of sun in the morning and shade in the mid afternoon.

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Step 6: Preparing Soil for Planting Blackberries

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Blackberries prefer soil that is "decently" drained, opposed to the well-drained preference that most fruits and vegetables have. This means that we are looking for a soil with a moderate amount of clay so that it holds water well. If you don't have much clay content in your native soil then a good option can be to add lots of organic material, mature compost is great because it has lot of nutrients and hold water fairly well. You can always till in a soil mix with with moderate clay content as well. You don't want a soil with too much clay content though because it still need to drain at a reasonable rate. You can tell if your soil has a lot of clay by getting it wet, molding it in your hand, and then letting it dry. If you can pick it up and it holds its shape after it has dried, you are probably dealing with a lot of clay and you are actually going to want to mix in some silty sand. 

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Step 7: Transplanting Blackberry Seedlings

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In the early spring, dig a small pit that has a bottom 2 - 3 inches below the existing ground surface. Next, dig a hole at the bottom on the pit that is the size of your seedling's root ball and place your seedling in it. Fill in with soil and gently compact so the beginning of your seedling's stem above ground is at the bottom of the small pit you dug. Water thoroughly after planting. The reason for digging a small pit is because blackberries like to have consistently moist soil and the pit will direct water to the base of the bush and its roots (when watering or when it rains). It is also smart to cover the area around the base of the plant with mulch to help retain moisture. 

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Of course if you are planting in pots you do not need to dig the small pit before planting each seedling. If planting in pots, it is still smart to cover with mulch and I definitely recommend some structure to train the canes on as they grow.

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If planting in rows then keep the seedlings 3 - 4 feet apart within each row and keep the rows 7 - 8 feet apart.

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Step 8: Watering Blackberries

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Blackberries like to be in moist soil so simply water every time the soil seems to be drying out. Again mulching can help retain moisture so this is a good idea. Make sure that you are not drowning the plants though, there should never be sitting water near their base.

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Step 9: Harvesting Blackberries

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Harvesting blackberries takes place between August - October and most varieties have all of their berries ripe around the same time. Berries are ready to be picked when they are a dark purplish black color and can be taken off with ease.

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Step 10: Fertilizing and Maintenance for Blackberry Bushes

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Fertilize your blackberry bushes with high nitrogen fertilizer in the early spring and then with high phosphorus fertilizer after harvest in the late fall. After the harvest, trim all the canes that produced berries that year back to the ground. You can also prune any canes that are becoming a nuisance or impeding on other part of your garden. Blackberries bushes are hardy plants that are hard to kill so to be too worried about chopping them back if need be. Use mulch to cover around the base of each bushes before each winter.

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