“Pruning and Maintaining Blackberry Plants”
My system of pruning raspberries and blackberries, is so simple that there is really hardly enough about it to be called a system.
First I remove the stakes and wires used to train the blackberry plants because they will be in the way when the time comes to give the plants winter protection.
The stakes and wires for the blackberry and raspberry plants also interfere with the use of the cultivator, which should be run along the rows frequently after the seasons crop of fruit has been gathered, to keep grass and weeds from getting established among the plants, and to prevent the soil from becoming hard.
Once the stakes and wire for the blackberry plants are removed, I nip off the top of the young canes, when they are about three feet high. This encourages the production of laterals, and gives as much bearing surface as the plants can produce.
This is all the pruning my blackberry plants get, except in the cutting away of the old growth, after fruiting, and the occasional thinning out of young canes if there seems to be more than are necessary.
If a blackberry cane is pinched back when about three feet tall, it will not make more than a foot more of growth, that season, and this will make it just about the right height to tie to your upper wire in spring.
The ground should be well manured each season. Work the manure into the soil around the roots, so the blackberry plants will get the full benefit of it early in the season, when their fruit is setting.
By keeping the soil highly manured, you increase the size of the fruit and you secure a strong growth of canes for fruiting next season. By practicing this method of feeding your blackberry plants, they will in turn continue to multiply and produce fruit.
Indeed, if neglected for a single season, your blackberry plants will show signs of deterioration, and it will take some time to bring them back to the vigorous state they were before. If given proper care, the backyard gardener’s fruits will remain in healthy condition for 150 years.
There is no reason why your blackberry plants should not continue to be productive if you encourage your plants to fully renew them-selves each year.
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Tags: backyard gardener, benefit, blackberries, blackberry plants, canes, laterals, manure, pruning blackberries, pruning raspberries, Raspberry Plants, soil