Thursday, August 1, 2013

Blackberries


This is the time of year for blackberries. And, as you all know I am the Blackberry Patch lady.

Well, my blackberries are not doing too well this year. As a matter of fact, they are doing horribly.
I think I am going to start a new row where our garden is. It will get them away from my other two rows and maybe I'll be able to keep the weeds away easier.

In the summer,  the weeds take over my patch. It is hard to use the lawnmower up too close for fear of cutting up or damaging the vines. So, I end up pulling away a lot of the weeds by hand. That is very time consuming and tiring. Plus, in one of my rows are two sections where pesky poison ivy likes to hang out at, so I need to wear my gloves at all times when I'm weeding.

I went down to the patch a few days ago to try and start new ones.

This is what I did.







I got Styrofoam cups, added dirt and put the tip end of a new vine into the dirt. The tips will take root, then you go up three feet or so and cut off the vine and replant it where you want it to grow.

This happens sometimes on it's own, without my help. The tip will touch the ground and start roots. But it doesn't always start a new plant where you want it to.

Another way I tried this is to punch a hole into the sides of the cup, slip the end of the vine through the first hole (making sure that a section where a little leaf is, is inside the cup) and keep pushing until it goes through the other hole on the other side of the cup and then fill with dirt. I tied a string around the cup and attached it to the wire on the berry trellis.


I'm hoping these will also root and I can plant them in a row in my garden space.

Do you love blackberries?  I do!

Go here and here and here for some of my favorite recipes. And go here to see what it is like in the blackberry patch when they are having a good year.


Posted byJanet Smart  on Writing in the Blackberry Patch.


8 comments:

  1. I think it rained a lot when they were blooming in my area.

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    1. Are they doing good where you live? They say the wild berries in our area are doing great and it is a good year for them. But, my berries are tame and they have a tendency to get diseases easy.I've cut out tons of branches filled with berries that are so dried up and brown they look like a blow torch was put to them.

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  2. Janet, what a grand idea to use the cups. I love blackberries! But we have a garden full of tomatoes.

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    1. So do we, Linda. The tomatoes are taking over.

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  3. I do like blackberries, except for their big seeds. I think wild berries have smaller seeds because I don't remember them being a bother to me as a child. My youngest daughter has worked at the university agricultural experiment station this summer. One of her jobs was picking blackberries and testing them for sugar content and taking a few seeds for starting new varieties. The other berries were then given to the workers or 4-H club members; she brought some to me for eating with ice cream or cereal.

    I'll tell her about the way you start new plants.

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    1. lil red hen, that sounds interesting. Tell her to try and start a thornless, sweet blackberry that is resistant to diseases :o) Enjoy your berries and ice cream - yum!

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  4. Janet-loved your process of starting new blackberry briars. I need to do that too!

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  5. "Writing in the Blackberry Patch" has been included the A Sunday Drive for this week. Be assured that I hope this helps to point even more new visitors in your direction.

    http://asthecrackerheadcrumbles.blogspot.com/2013/08/a-sunday-drive_25.html

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