Last year we planted blackberries for the first time. I've had raspberries and strawberries in the past, but not blackberries. Blackberries are generally best suited for zone 5 and warmer, but there are a few varieties that will survive in zone 4 if properly cared for.
Generally, the thorned blackberries are more resilient for zone 4, but I've seen people in our area have success with the thornless, if you care for them properly.
We have both thorned and thornless. Last year I purchased approximately a dozen thorned blackberries and planted them in an area of our property where an old corral used to be, so there is a lot of broken down organic material in the soil, and it is more shady than others because of its proximity to the woods. Here's an article I found on different types of blackberries, as well as pruning tips and trellis options.
I then got a few thornless plants from a local gardener and planted them. Thornless and thorned blackberries grow entirely different. Whereas the thorned grow straight up with cans much like raspberries, thornless are designed to grow long and attached to a wire trellis.
For the thornless berries, I am going to dig in two railroad ties on each end and run two lengths of #9 wire, with some steel posts periodically spaced in between. I doubt that the thornless will have enough growth yet this year to need the trellis, but I certainly expect to need it next year, so want to get it ready. Here's a video I found showing how to use the trellis to grow thornless berries.
For my thorned berries, you will remember that I decided to try tomato cages to trellis these berries. I have to say that, overall, the berries are doing very well. However, I've concluded this may not a long term solution, as the canes are now outgrowing the tops of the cages and the new shoots that come up are almost impossible to feed up through the cages, so I'm considering removing the cages and doing something different. One option I'm considering is to put posts at each end with two levels of wires, with a double set of wires spaced about 16 inches apart at each level, for a total of 8 strands of wires running per row. In essence, you end up with two distinct rows of canes within a particular row. You then take one year's canes and direct them up one side of the trellis. As the new canes grow, you direct them up the opposite side of the trellis. At the end of the growing season, you prune the 2nd year canes (those that bore berries) and repeat the process next year, simply alternating year to year which side has the canes bearing that year.
Hopefully I can get this done yet this fall so by next spring, I'll be ready.
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Have you ever considered using high-tensile wire to build your trellises?
ReplyDeleteYou can buy 4000' of 12 ga. high tensile wire for about $100 (much cheaper than #9 wire), and although you would have to buy some ratcheting tighteners to tighten each wire, it would probably be easier to keep high tensile wire nice and tight in the long run. Just make sure you buy a spinning jenny to install your wire.
Most commercial vineyards use high-tensile for their trellises and I think if you look through a vineyard supply catalog you might even find different brackets that attach to t-posts to build the type of multi-wire trellis you are talking about.
I have not personally worked with high tensile wire, so I'd have to learn that. Because our rows are relatively short (less than 40-50 feet), I'm not sure the high tensile is all that necessary, but I'll give it some thought.
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