How to Get Blackberries Ready for a New Season

Spring is here and it is time to get your blackberries ready for a new season. This season, we are adding a new row of blackberries to our patch here at the Barbour home. They are easy to maintain and absolutely delicious. If you are considering planting blackberries, now is the time.  

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Should I plant blackberries?

You should absolutely plant blackberry plants. There is nothing like going outside to your mini blackberry farm and eating them fresh every day. They start giving back to you the next season if you plant a “start”. A start is a small blackberry plant that rooted itself off of one of your other plants. The root system is very small, but you can take that start, replant it and you will have a whole other plant that will produce for you during the following season. You may get a few blackberries your first season if you plant a more established plant, but with patience, you will see a lot more blackberries the next season. That is why I say plant them this season. 

Will they grow in my area?

Blackberries typically do well in most areas of the United States. If you are in another country you will need to do some research based on the type of blackberry plant, climate, soil type, etc. You can simply do a google search to see if they will do well in your specific area. The plant container will also give you specifics about what they need and where they will do best. 

Where do they grow best?

They need a somewhat colder winter and plenty of sunlight in the summer. We have ours planted in a full sun area in just regular old dirt. They are thriving there. Not 50 feet away, in what I thought was the same dirt, we can’t get grass to grow. Point being, you can’t always predict if your spot will work well with what you are planting, but you can always transplant them if you realize that you need to try them in a different spot for the next season. Give them time to grow and produce before making a transplanting decision. Remember, there is a chance that they will not produce any fruit the first season.  

How do you start a new row?

Starting a new row or just planting your first row is going to allow for a good harvest of blackberries when they are in season. Easter is our reminder that it is time to work on our blackberry plants. You could do this by yourself, but having two people is very helpful. There are some steps you can take to make this process easier. You can break this up into two phases if that helps to simplify things.

Specific Steps for Starting a New Row

Phase One

1. Decide where you want to plant your blackberry bushes. Find a place that will get a good amount of sun and that has well drained soil.  
2. Mow or weed-eat that specific area as low as you can. You want to start with as little grass there as possible. This isn’t necessary, but will help you when you go to lay down the weed mat. 
3. Place three fence posts in the ground. The ones we used were 4 feet tall and metal. You can push them in pretty easily after a rain or if the ground is soft. Nate used a post driver to push them down a bit further, but you could use a hammer or rubber mallet to get them deeper into the ground.  For our particular row, we put one fence post on each end and one fence post in the middle. You may need more posts, depending on how long your row is going to be.  
4. Now it is time to attach your fence. We used two steel fence sections that were around 50 inches high and 8 feet long.  We ended up with 16 feet total. Blackberries need support to grow along and to help hold them up off of the ground. You can use other types of materials to create a trellis for your plants. This is just what we use. We use zip ties to hold the fence against the posts. You can’t use enough so add as many as you would like. You want it to be secure. We took the zip tie, put it through the holes on the fence post and around the fence sections.  

Phase Two

1. Dig the holes to plant your starters or plants. Follow the planting directions on the container if you purchased potted plants. If you are using starters, make sure the roots are covered. We planted ours about every 6 inches. 
2. If you are planting two rows, you will want to lay down some weed mat in between the rows to save yourself some weeding time in the future.  
3. Give them some water. We watered ours every day the first year to give them a good start. Thank you to Wyatt, the younger of our two boys, for taking on that daily job. 

How do I get my blackberries ready for a new season?

We look forward to this every year! Getting your blackberries ready for a new season involves pruning them, also known as cutting them back. Put on some gloves, and cut the main canes back to 3-4 feet and the side shoots back to 12 inches. We completely cut away any dead canes. Canes are just the plants that are done producing. They will look dead, feel dead, and can be cut completely away. They are done producing. Clear away any leaves, grass, and weeds that may be growing up around your plants. We use small and large shears for this. The old canes can be pretty tough to cut through so make sure you have strong enough shears. Gather up everything that you have cut away and throw it out into the woods or into the trash. 

How do I prune them?

You are going to feel like they are naked by the time you’re done, but pruning is essential to growth and berry production. Cut the main canes back to 3-4 ft. You will also cut the side branches back to around 12 inches. If you have runners that have taken the top of their cane and buried it in the ground, cut it in half and now you have two plants. You can dig up the end that planted itself in the ground and now you have a “starter” for another plant. Make sure you dig up the roots, or it won’t grow. We cut our starters back to about 8 inches. 

When is the best time to prune them?

Easter is our mental marker for when it is time to prune them. We had friends who pruned theirs in the fall and they didn’t produce that summer. We have always had luck with pruning them right after Easter, so that is when we recommend pruning. You should start seeing warmer days sprinkled throughout the weeks at this time of year. 

What type of blackberries should I buy?

Thornless and tame blackberries are what you are looking for. Look at the container or description to check the recommendations for your area. Our local area sells them at most stores. I have seen them at Sam’s Club and Lowes already this year. We received our starts from a long time family friend. They always have lots of starters that they give away and they are the ones who have helped us learn how to take care of our plants. I don’t know the exact name of our variety, but they are thornless and huge! We had enough starters of our own this year that we were able to plant a new row and give some to some friends who were wanting to start their own mini blackberry farm. If you can find a friend who has thornless tame blackberries, you may be able to get some starters from them.  

What supplies will I need to get blackberries ready for a new season?

You will need gloves, pruning shears, fence post, a fence or trellis of sorts, zip ties, starters or potted blackberry plants, a shovel, something to drive the fence post in, and some time. 

When is blackberry season?

In the area that we live in, we know that right around the 4th of July they are going to start turning from a bright red to that deep purple/black blackberry color and they will be close to start harvesting.  

How much work is it going to take to get blackberries ready for a new season?

It takes around 1-2 hours to get them ready for the season. When they are in season, it may take you 5-10 minutes a day to pick them. However, if you put down weed mat, you may spend 10 or so minutes here and there maintaining and keeping the weeds away. You don’t have to keep the weeds away, but I like to be able to walk between the rows without navigation through the weeds. I also think they grow better when they don’t have to compete with the weeds.

What can I use blackberries for?

I usually fill my belly with them when I am picking them. They are a delicious and healthy snack! You can use and freeze them for smoothies. They are perfect for several types of cobblers. You can use them for jams and syrups. You can make scones with them as well. Enjoy all the ways that they can be eaten!