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.
