Garden blackberries are valuable not only for their fortified fruits. Blackberry bushes greatly decorate the garden during flowering and fruiting.

Thornless blackberries have been growing in my garden for over ten years. Unlike the well-known semi-cultivated Agawam prickly blackberry, this is a completely different crop, or rather, hybrids bred by man. Agawam thorny blackberry is not a hybrid, and is most likely obtained by selecting seedlings.
What non-thorny blackberries have in common with thorny ones is that their fruits are removed from the bush along with the fruiting stem.
I grow both thorny Agawam blackberries and two forms of non-thorny blackberries - Thornfree and Thornless. They cannot be called varieties, since they have bushes with different berries and different shoots (hairy or not, more or less winter-hardy: the more blackberry shoots “lie” on the ground, the less winter-hardy the bush). And for blackberry varieties, the name is made up of two words (for example, Thornless Evengren, Thornless Logan).

Any blackberry is extremely rarely affected by any pests. Over many years of growing blackberries, only once, when a huge number of raspberry beetles flew out, the opened flowers of the Agawam variety were damaged by it (the adult beetles ate them).

Fruiting of garden blackberries

Non-thorny e-chewberry form Thornfree differs from Thornless in the size of the fruits and the time of their ripening, the number of berries, the flexibility of the stems and their cutting.
The Thornfree bush has more flexible, rounded, and darker shoots. And the number of berries of the Thornfree blackberry is simply fantastic: from one bush you can harvest up to 20 kg (it is even more productive in more southern regions). Mass ripening of berries begins in mid-August.
Fruiting on the long hanging shoots of Thornfree blackberry lasts 2 months. Its fully ripe berries taste like mulberries. In ripe berries, the fruit drupes are separated from each other; in this state they are very tasty, but not transportable. Slightly unripe Thornfree blackberries can be transported, and their taste is similar to wild bramble, but without the bitterness.

The bush has shape Thornless shoots are pentagonal, powerful, almost erect. Only by the end of August, with a sufficient amount of moisture in the soil, the ends of the shoots of the blackberry bush intensively lengthen and bend towards the ground for rooting. If there is not enough moisture in the soil, the ends of the shoots freeze.
The berry arrangement and cluster of Thornless blackberries are reminiscent of the wild brambles that grow in our forests. And the size of Thornless berries is simply amazing. The yield of Thornless blackberries is lower than that of Thornfree, but the size of its berries is twice as large; ripe fruits its transportable. Thornless berries have less acid than Thornfree. Their ripening begins immediately after the end of fruiting of the Agawam blackberry variety and ends by October.

Prickly blackberry varieties Agawam In terms of productivity, it is significantly inferior to the non-thorny form of Thornfree. To get a large harvest of Agave berries, you need to leave a large number of shoots. But due to the strong thorniness of the bush, picking its berries turns into torture. Therefore, Agave blackberries have to leave no more than 4 shoots (if this variety grows as a bush) or tie a shoot from a shoot after 25 centimeters (if the bushes are planted along a trellis). But even in this case, before the blackberries begin to bear fruit, Agaves have to shorten the lateral shoots of young replacement shoots and cut out excess layers. Otherwise, you won’t be able to get to the ripe berries. The berries of the Agavam variety taste bland; but when these blackberries become very ripe, they are more tasty.
In 30 years of growing, we have never figured out what can be made from Agawam blackberries; We eat its berries only fresh. The fact is that syrup, wine and berry juice have a not very attractive “ink” color.
A big problem when the berries of the Agawam variety ripen, wasps, as well as green and blue flies, which significantly reduce the fruit yield by sucking the juice from the ripe berries.

This drawback almost does not apply to the forms of thornless blackberries Thornfree and Thornless, since when their berries ripen it is already quite cool, so there are significantly fewer flies and wasps. Yes, and even the presence small quantity the acids in Thornfree and Thornless berries repel wasps, and whole drupes are inaccessible to flies.

We eat very large and tasty Thornless blackberries fresh.
And the Thornfree form is convenient because it ripens together with remontant raspberries. Over the course of two months, we prepare a wonderful compote from their berries, adding fresh juice of Chinese lemongrass berries (or lemongrass juice with sugar in a 1:2 ratio) to it after it is ready. The taste of this assorted compote is simply amazing.

Sheltering garden blackberries for the winter

Blackberry varieties Agawam easily withstands long-term frosts down to -30 degrees and stronger short-term frosts - provided that it does not grow in the shade, and its shoots are well ripened (if the plants have not been overfed with nitrogen fertilizers). That’s why lately I haven’t bent down or covered my Agawam blackberry bushes for the winter. Although in severe winters its shoots sometimes freeze to the level of snow.

Unfortunately, non-thorny forms of blackberries cannot boast of such winter hardiness. Thornfree And Thornless, which cannot withstand severe frosts (below -22 degrees). Therefore, their bushes need to be bent and covered (we cover them at the same time as roses, although Thornfree and Thornless blackberries are more frost-resistant than roses).

We cover the bushes of thornless blackberries in the same way as we cover grapes: we remove all the leaves and fruit-bearing shoots of the blackberries, we shorten the lateral branches of the shoots of the first year to 30 cm. You can try to root the tops cut off from the shoots of the blackberries.

Thornfree blackberry shoots bend down easily, but Thornless shoots have to be bent down in three steps. But, in any case, due to the lack of thorns, this is much easier to do than bending climbing roses.
With Thornless blackberry bushes, you can do this: when young shoots begin to grow, pinch their tops at a height of 30 cm. As a result of this operation, the “dormant” buds of the shoots, located below the pinching site, begin to grow. The growth delay of young shoots after this manipulation is about two weeks; but this is not so important, since this blackberry is a covering one. As a result of this pinching, the newly formed shoots are easily bent in the future, which prevents their breakage. This solves the problem of bending shoots of this variety.

The most successful shelter for blackberry bushes is an air-dry shelter, under which temperature fluctuations are reduced to a minimum, and where there is enough air to quickly dry the shoots.
For Thornfree and Thornless blackberry shoots, dripping moisture is most dangerous in the cold season, so the protective frame on top must be covered with a whole plastic film.

If the blackberry shoots are not properly covered or untimely opened and ventilated, it may freeze or cause diseases; The most dangerous disease is shoot burn. Therefore, during thaws (especially at the end of February, when the sun is already warm enough and there is no snow on the shelter), the blackberry bushes need to be opened for ventilation. In this case, I usually open the ends of the blackberry shelters. If expected warm winter, then the ends of the blackberry shelters are constantly open. In the fall, I hammer in the ends of the shelters only when the ground inside the shelter freezes.

In the spring, I tie all the shoots of thornless blackberry bushes to a trellis, securing them 25 cm apart (Thornfree and Thornless blackberries produce few replacement shoots). Fruiting blackberry shoots grow from their buds - about 50 cm long in the Thornfree form, up to 80 cm in the Thornless form.

Propagation of garden blackberries

Unlike the Agawam variety, thornless blackberries reproduce mainly in four ways:

1. Dividing the bush(this method is unproductive);

2. Tops of shoots(most good way). But for this method to be successful, there must be enough moisture in the soil during intensive shoot growth. Then the ends of the young blackberry shoots do not freeze and continue to grow until late autumn. But only at the end of August can you forcibly bend down the shoots and bury their tops (without paying attention to the presence of leaves).
Michurin called this method of reproduction “pulp”. Due to the fact that our autumn is short and cold, not all blackberry shoots have time to take root sufficiently. In the fall, the rooted tops of blackberries need to be cut off from the main shoot and covered very well for the winter. Only in the spring can they be transplanted for growing (my attempts to dig up and store the rooted tops of blackberries in a cool room did not always give good results).

3. Etiolated young shoots.

4. Summer cuttings in artificial fog.

As for fertilizers, I apply only fresh manure directly to the blackberry shoots (once every two years). When there is a drought, I always water the blackberries. When growing it, I do not use any chemicals, since blackberries are practically not affected by pests.

Nedyalkov Stefan Fedorovich (Novopolotsk, Republic of Belarus)
[email protected]

All about blackberries on the website website

Blackberries are a very tasty and aromatic berry. It is distinguished by its taste, as well as its high yield and high content of vitamins and other useful substances. There are many types and varieties of blackberries.

Blackberry is the name of several species of plants from the genus Rubus of the Rosaceae family. In different places in Russia, several species of the genus Rubus are called by this name, mainly two: Rubus caesius L. and Rubus fruticosus L. Some authors call the first of these species blackberries, and the second - brambles; others, on the contrary, call the first of these types ozhyna (borrowed from the Ukrainian language).

During the process of ripening, blackberry fruits first acquire a green, then brownish, and then bright red-brown color. Ripe blackberries are black in color..

Both species are subshrubs, the stems and shoots of which are covered with thorns; their stem shoots are flexible, sometimes erect, sometimes recumbent; Rubus caesius leaves are trifoliate, the lower ones sometimes even having 5 leaflets; Rubus fruticosus leaves consist of 5 and 7 leaflets.

Rubus caesius has black fruits with a bluish coating, which is why in some places they are called turquoise; Rubus fruticosus has no plaque. The juice of the fruit is dark red; taste sour, slightly resinous; in southern countries these fruits are sweetish. Can be used to make jam. Both species are very common in temperate and warm European countries up to Scandinavia and the western part of the Arkhangelsk region inclusive.

In the Caucasus, these species, especially Rubus fruticosus, grow unusually, forming impenetrable thickets together with other shrubs.

Blackberries are a close relative of raspberries.. In Russia it is often found in the wild.
The most common is blue blackberry (Rubus caesius). Its shoots are covered with small, tenacious thorns, and it is this species that forms impenetrable thickets in forest clearings, in ravines, near rivers and streams. Apparently, because of this, blackberries received another popular name - blind raspberry.

In total, in Eurasia and North America More than 200 types of blackberries are known. Most of them are natural hybrid forms; bushes growing from 50 cm to 3–7 m.

Like raspberries, blackberry shoots have a two-year development cycle: in the first year they grow, lay buds, in the second year they bear fruit and die.

Blackberries bloom late - in June, which means that the flowers are not damaged by spring frosts and the berries ripen annually and abundantly. The fruits are complex drupes (like raspberries), dark purple, black or red, often with a bloom.

Garden blackberries are divided into two groups:

Blackberries, or brambles, with straight-growing stems
Dewberry - with creeping shoots

There is also an intermediate form - semi-creeping.

In straight-growing varieties, tall (3–4 m or more) shoots are abundantly covered with thorns. Creeping fruits have larger and juicier fruits, and they ripen earlier and are more productive. But creeping stems complicate plant care, and dewberry is not winter-hardy, and therefore less common.

Among the brambles, there are many varieties that are quite winter-hardy and suitable for growing in central Russia..

Dewberries are very demanding of warmth; in the conditions of central Russia they must be covered for the winter.

Landing

Like raspberries, blackberry shoots have a two-year development cycle: in the first year they grow, lay buds, in the second they bear fruit and die. Blackberries bloom late - in June, which means, as already noted, that the flowers are not damaged by spring frosts and the berries ripen annually and abundantly.

Blackberries bear fruit soon, in the second year, and regularly. She is unpretentious - she grows on the most various soils. It only dislikes carbonate soils (they are affected by chlorosis) and salinity. Responsive to feeding. Most high yields produces on fertilized, well-drained loams. Does not tolerate waterlogging.

Since blackberries in central Russia are not frost-resistant enough, you should choose places for them that are protected from cold winds and well warmed by the sun.

It is wiser to plant blackberries in the spring. Prepared for each bush landing hole dimensions 40 x 40 x 40 cm. Before planting, add 5–6 kg (half a bucket) of well-rotted manure, 100–150 g of superphosphate, 40–50 g of potash fertilizers and mix thoroughly with the soil. It is better to cover the roots with natural soil (to avoid burns), and place the enriched soil in the hole on top. Straight-growing blackberry seedlings are placed at a distance of 0.8–1 m from each other; the distance between rows is 1.8–2 m.

When planting sundew and raspberry-blackberry hybrids, you need to consider what the size of an adult bush will be. Trellis for blackberries should be at least 2 m high. When forming in a fan, the distance between plants should be at least 2.5–3.5 m.

Separate placement of fruiting and growing stems facilitates plant care and harvesting. The easiest way to place them separately is to direct the fruiting shoots in one direction and the new shoots in the other. With the fan method of formation, fruiting shoots are fanned out one at a time to the right and left, and new ones are placed in the center. When forming with ropes, fruiting shoots are directed along the wire, and new ones are left in the center. When forming in waves, fruiting shoots are directed in waves along the lower rows, and young ones - along the upper ones.

Young shoots are tied up in the summer as they grow. Old fruiting stems that will no longer produce berries are cut out close to the ground and removed from the site.

In central Russia, blackberries are not frost-resistant enough, so additional care will have to be taken to ensure a safe winter.

For the winter, non-winter-hardy blackberry bushes are laid on the ground. In order not to damage the plants, you can lay them together with the trellis - carefully pull out the supports and lower the entire planting flat. The bases of the bushes are covered with peat and leaves from above, and later covered with snow.

In spring, the bushes must be opened before the buds swell greatly and formative pruning must be done.. That is, shorten overgrown shoots in the current year’s growth (cut off from a third to half the length of the shoot), pinch shoots growing in an undesirable direction.

Care

Caring for blackberry plants involves watering, fertilizing, maintaining the soil in the rows in a loose state, destroying weeds and excess shoots. The greatest need for moisture is during the ripening period of berries.

To maintain soil moisture, especially in dry summers, it is necessary to water blackberries during the growth of shoots and ovaries, otherwise you can lose the harvest: the berries become small, dry and fall off before ripening. It is useful to carry out winter watering of blackberry plantings in October..

Subsequently, once every 2-3 years, 4-6 kg of rotted manure or compost per 1 m2 is applied to the blackberry plants, and in the years between the application of organic fertilizers, mineral fertilizers are added, for example, 20-30 g of nitrophoska per 1 m2. Experts believe that blackberries, like raspberries, are very useful to feed in June with water infusions of mullein or chicken manure, diluted in a ratio of 1: 4-6 and 1: 10-12.

In upright varieties, the stems are most often shortened in the fall at the same height - 1.6-1.8 m. In spring, frost-damaged tops are removed. In case of severe damage, the stems are cut off above a well-formed overwintered bud. In varieties with drooping tops, the stems are shortened at the bend. In May-June, the newly growing shoots are normalized. Usually 6-8 pieces are left per bush (or 12-16 pieces per 1 m of row), removing all underdeveloped ones and those that go beyond the line of the row. Subsequently, all emerging shoots when they reach a height of 8-10 cm are cut off.

A very important measure that increases the yield next year is pinching, or removing the tip of the shoot. This procedure helps awaken the lateral buds and form branches. This leads to an increase in the fruiting zone. Pinching is a mandatory technique when growing upright blackberries. In the first year of life of the shoots, when they reach a height of 90-120 cm, the first pruning of the top is carried out by 7-12 cm. After the side shoots grow, they are shortened to 40-50 cm. This pruning prevents the side shoots from growing very long, making the bush longer compact.

In the second year after planting, new shoots of the current year, as they grow, are fixed on a trellis in the opposite direction from last year's fruiting stems. Thus, with this formation system, the bushes are immediately clearly divided into two halves, placed in different directions.

In the fall, after harvesting, the fruit-bearing stems are cut off at the base, and the next year their place will be taken by new young shoots, which should be tied to the trellises in the same way.

Reproduction

Straight-growing blackberries, brambles, are propagated mainly by woody and green root suckers and root cuttings. Blackberries produce few root suckers. Its horizontal roots are located deeper than those of raspberries, so the offspring have a weakly branched root system. Experts recommend taking this feature into account when digging up root suckers.

Most effective way propagation straight-growing propagation by root cuttings: in early spring dig up pieces of roots with a diameter of 6-8 mm and a length of 10-15 cm and plant them in a permanent place, placing them horizontally in the soil at a depth of 7-10 cm.

Creeping blackberries, or dewberries, and raspberry-blackberry hybrids produce few or no offspring. To propagate these plants, rooting of the tops and green cuttings . The tops are rooted very simply: at the end of August, the ends of the shoots are bent to the ground, bent in an arc, placed in a hole 10 cm deep, bringing the tops 10 cm long to the surface, pinned to the ground with metal staples, and covered with fertile, moist soil.

There is another option for rooting by apical layering. When young replacement shoots reach a height of 60-90 cm, they are pinched, as a result of which lateral shoots form on them in mid-summer. At the rooting site, the soil is dug up to a depth of 15 cm, humus is added under the digging, and then a groove no more than 10 cm deep is dug and the top of the shoot is laid on the bottom, pinned to the ground with metal staples, and covered fertile soil and water.

Abroad planting material blackberries in large quantities obtained by clonal micropropagation on artificial nutrient media. Simultaneously with propagation, plants are healed from many pathogens. Thus, in Italy, for every raspberry (blackberry) plant obtained using tissue culture, there are 3 plants grown in the usual way. In the US and Canada the ratio is 1:6 and 1:100 respectively.

Varieties

'Agavam'- very old American variety, one of the most winter-hardy. It can withstand frosts down to –42°C, only fruit buds are damaged at –27–30°C. The plants are powerful. The shoots are tall, arched, faceted, and strongly spiny. The berries weigh about 3 g, black, sweet and sour, aromatic. They begin to ripen in early to mid-August. Productivity 3–4 kg per bush. The variety is resistant to anthracnose, rust and stem cancer.

'Darrow'– a fairly winter-hardy American variety that can withstand frosts down to –30–35°C. The bush is powerful, with straight spiny shoots. Berries weighing up to 3.5 g, conical, black, glossy, sour-sweet. The ripening period is extended. The variety is productive.

'Wilson's Earley'. The shoots are erect or drooping, with small thorns, 1.5–2 m high. The berries are purple-black, ovoid, weighing about 2 g. Relatively winter-hardy, and also one of the earliest varieties. Flowering begins in the second half of May, berries ripen from mid-July to the end of August. It is resistant to anthracnose and rust.

‘Lucretia’- an old American creeping variety. The bush is powerful, with numerous shoots covered with thin prickly thorns. Not winter-hardy, susceptible to anthracnose. The berries are large, black, early ripening.

‘Abundant’. The variety was bred by Ivan Michurin. The bush is powerful, with long creeping shoots covered with strong curved thorns. Productivity is high. The fruits are large, weighing 6–10 g, sweet and sour, and ripen late. In central Russia, ‘Izobilnaya’ needs to be covered for the winter.

Thornless varieties of blackberries are becoming increasingly popular - ‘Thornfree’, ‘Lochness’, ‘Hull Thornless’, ‘Chester Thornless’, ‘Smutsem’, ‘Black Satin’. All of them have low winter hardiness and need shelter in the middle zone.

Diseases and pests

Rust affects leaves and young shoots, taking up to 60% of the harvest. The disease manifests itself in the presence of spores, which at the beginning of summer, in the form of a sticky mass of small orange-brown dots (scatter as they ripen), cover the stem, leaf blades, etc. Soon, all this sticky mass dries out, forming a film, and the first real spores of the fungus appear. The affected part of the stem darkens and ulcers appear on it. The following year, the mycelium remains alive, it grows and causes premature death of the stems.
Basic wrestling technique with rust - raking fallen leaves that are burned. Rust also affects blackberries when there is a lack of moisture in the soil, when the plants are weakened. In case of dry weather, watering is necessary. In the spring, you need to inspect the plants and remove thickening leaves and weak branches. At the first signs of rust, blackberries can be sprayed with garlic infusion. Take 300 g of garlic, grind it in a meat grinder, pour in 3 liters of warm water. Leave for 24 hours, filter and dilute in 10 liters of water, spray the plants in the afternoon. This drug protects against rust infection and other diseases, as well as against aphids and mites. An effective Bordeaux mixture (400 g of copper sulfate + 40 g of lime per 10 liters of water), process until the buds open.

Anthracnose- a common disease of blackberries and raspberries.
The disease affects all above-ground organs of the plant, but especially the shoots and leaves. The disease appears in early summer on young shoots and root shoots that have just emerged from the soil; purple spots appear on them. Subsequently, they increase in size, deepen into the bark tissue, turning into grayish ulcers with purple edges and cracking tissue in the middle. The bark around the ulcers peels off in patches. On the leaves, the spots are small, round, which increase, reaching 3 mm in diameter. On fruiting clusters, the spots form a ring and cause them to wither along with the berries. Gray ulcers form on ripe fruits, the fruits dry out, unripe berries turn brown, become deformed, and dry out. The fungus that causes anthracnose only affects raspberries and blackberries. The varieties Texas and Izobilnaya are resistant to anthracnose.
Fighting method. Blackberries and raspberries are destroyed along with the roots, burned, and only vegetables can be sown in this place.

Purple spot (didemella)) affects shoots, buds, petioles and, to a lesser extent, leaves. In diseased plants, the buds die, the leaves fall and dry out. The development of the disease is facilitated by excessively dense plantings, high humidity air. Plants damaged by raspberry stem gall midge are especially affected.
Control measures, as with rust and anthracnose.

Septoria (white spot). Wet weather favors the development of the disease. Round, pale brown spots appear on the leaves, and then with a white border. Later, the spots merge, the affected tissue turns brown, collapses and falls out. Leaves and thin twigs become slimy, berries rot.
Control measures, as with anthracnose.

Powdery mildew- fungal disease. The causative agent is the spheroteca fungus, which attacks berries, especially in wet weather. Appears on berries white coating, they become unattractive and tasteless.
Control measures as with rust and purple spotting.

The shoot gall midge damages young shoots and causes them to dry out. All plants must be cut out and burned.

Raspberry shoot aphid, weevils, raspberry beetle. The shoots where the pests live freeze and dry out. It is necessary to spray with Fitoverm (2 ml per 10 liters of water), or Kinmiks (2.5 ml per 10 liters of water), and carry out the treatment during the growing season.

In addition to its excellent taste and external beauty, blackberries have beneficial and medicinal (healing) properties.

Blackberries are rich in glucose, fructose, vitamin C, carotene, organic acids and tocopherols. As a result beneficial properties Blackberries are used to treat kidney diseases, Bladder, for diabetes and joint inflammation.

Wild blackberries grow in forests, along the edges of swamps, where there is not enough sun, where there is no drainage, and the soils can be acidic. And the residents of the surrounding settlements in the second half of July, when blackberries ripen, they rush to pick sour, sometimes small, but such healthy berries without fear of getting hurt on sharp thorns. Not so long ago we began cultivating this plant at our dachas, where it grows and bears fruit in completely different conditions. We feed it, water it, cover it for the winter, and it tries to ripen to our delight - the berries of garden varietal blackberries are larger, richer in taste, the harvest is larger, and the fruiting period is longer.

Blackberries have been known to us for a long time, but summer residents began growing them en masse on their plots a couple of decades ago. Moreover, in our country it is distributed mainly among private farms, and is very rarely grown on small farms. In Europe (especially in Poland and the UK), farmers boldly began growing vitamin berries for commercial purposes, but they cannot keep up with the world leaders in production - Mexico, Canada and the USA. By the way, it is from Mexico that this delicate berry comes to Europe.

Blackberries are biennial crops - in the first year of life, their shoots grow, and fruit buds are just being laid; in the second year of life, flowers appear, then fruits. After this, the fruit-bearing shoots die off, which is why they are cut out at the root in the fall. In parallel with the fruiting shoots, replacement shoots grow, on which fruit buds are laid. From these new shoots the bush is normalized, removing the excess ones, leaving the strongest ones that will produce a harvest. next year

. Thus, the owner can plan the development of the bush and the harvest. But there is also a remontant blackberry, which is cultivated as annual crop

. It forms fruits on the shoots of the first year, after which in the fall all the shoots are cut off, and the next year new ones grow, on which flowers will grow, and then fruits. You don’t have to cut the shoots after fruiting, then next year there is a reason to expect two harvests. Berry crops are usually planted in the spring in an open, well-lit place with prepared (generously fertilized) soil. After planting, the seedling is pruned, leaving shoots no more than 30 cm from the ground. Then they take care of it all season - water it, weed it, loosen the ground around it, save it from pests, and in the fall the shoots are carefully rolled up and placed under cover, and in winter they are also covered with more snow. Next year, these shoots will bear the first fruits, which are usually allowed to ripen - they will no longer weaken the bush. In a couple of years root system

will develop, the bush will mature, fruiting will reach its maximum.

When to pick blackberries The wild ancestor of our garden blackberries usually ripens in the second half of summer. But today scientists tell the crop when it is best for it to ripen. The varieties and hybrids created by breeders can be independently selected according to the time of fruit ripening.

Just like a thorny bush, which causes many unpleasant moments for the gardener when caring for it, can be replaced with a thornless one, because a garden thornless blackberry has already been created. There are early, mid-season and blackberries.

The fruits of early varieties ripen in June. There is an opinion that these are not the most delicious, usually sour and small berries, but this is not entirely true. For example, from the beginning of June you can pick large cone-shaped berries of the Columbia Star variety. Its thornless creeping shoots are grown on trellises. This variety is undemanding to growing conditions and care, and produces a rich harvest of aromatic, sweet and sour berries. The very famous Natchez variety produces its first ripe berries in June, and its last in August. This thornless bush forms powerful upright shoots, and its large berries differ in sweetness.

“Thornfree”, “Karaka Black”, “Loch Tay” - all these are early varieties that are resistant to traditional crop diseases. The only thing you can be afraid of when growing early blackberries is spring frosts; if they occur at the beginning of flowering, the harvest will be spoiled.

Most varieties of blackberries have extended fruiting: flowers bloom at the same time, ovaries form, and berries ripen. All this can last from 4 to 6 weeks, for some even longer. Harvest should be done after 2-3 days; it is not advisable to leave the berries on the branches after they are fully ripe.

This feature is considered as an advantage if you want to constantly receive fresh berries, or as a disadvantage if you want to quickly harvest the crop in order to process it.

July – ripening time mid-season varieties blackberries. Among them there are prickly and thornless, large-fruited and not so large. Large-fruited “Black Satin” and “Loch Ness” are deservedly popular. “Laughton” is an old variety, its berries are not very large, but aromatic, with a dessert sweet-sour taste; they tolerate transportation well and are stored for several days without losing their qualities. "Laughton" usually gives an excellent harvest, blooms even when there is no threat of late frosts, and ripens under the bright warm sun.

The late blackberry harvest ripens in July–August, sometimes in September, like “Chokeberry.” The most famous varieties are: “Chester Thornless”, “Navajo”, “Texas”, “Apache”. It’s good to get a harvest of delicious vitamin berries at the end of summer, when all the others have long been ripe, eaten and forgotten. But with late ripening there is always a danger of losing part of the harvest with the arrival of cold weather. The fact is that even those blackberries, which the creators declared frost-resistant, will freeze in our winters without shelter. This means that in the fall, before the cold weather arrives, you need to have time to trim and cover the shoots for the winter, even if not all the berries are ripe.

There is also a remontant blackberry, which is capable of producing a harvest not only on the shoots of the first year, but can produce two harvests: one on the shoots of the second year (if they are not pruned), and the other on new shoots. Then the first harvest will occur at the beginning of summer, like raspberries, and the second can go into autumn (it may become a problem for it to ripen before frost). There are hybrids of raspberries and blackberries (so-called raspberry varieties) that are so not afraid of cold weather that they can ripen almost in frost. Remontant varieties not like that. In protected soil conditions they produce two excellent harvests: in May–June and in September. But in open ground Not all climatic conditions may allow this.

There are so many varieties and hybrids of blackberries that every gardener can choose them not only by the size and taste of the berries, but even by the timing of fruiting.

Video “How to get a record blackberry harvest”

From this video you will learn what kind of blackberries you need to plant on your plot and how to care for them in order to get record harvests of berries from June to September.

Blackberries, or ozhina in Ukrainian, are distributed throughout Ukraine in forests, shelterbelts, swamps, wastelands, gardens and dachas.
Blackberry bushes are excellent material for landscape design. Upright shoots can be used to create beautiful hedges. They will not only be absolutely impenetrable, but also very picturesque - both during flowering and during fruiting - with colorful glossy berries.

Reproduction
Straight-growing varieties of blackberries are propagated, like raspberries, by root suckers and root cuttings. Blackberries with creeping shoots and similar raspberry-blackberry hybrids do not produce root shoots. These varieties are propagated by layering - the tips of the shoots. The tops of growing shoots bent to the ground are placed in a shallow (3-5 cm) oblong hole; Make one or two neat cuts on the shoot with a knife (so that the roots grow faster) and sprinkle with earth. The sprinkled shoot takes root easily and quickly and produces new shoots from the apical buds. It is better to separate the rooted tops and plant them in a permanent place in the spring.

Propagation of all forms of blackberries and their hybrids by green cuttings in greenhouses and greenhouses with controlled air humidity is good. Cuttings are taken in the fall from the current year's shoots. The cuttings should have at least 2-3 buds, length - 10-12 cm.

A good variety of blackberries is the Yang variety, characterized by early ripeness of the fruit, high yield, and large berries. The fruits are dark cherry, shiny, sweet, but without aroma.

Variety Boysen with larger fruits the size of small ones egg, black in color, sweet and aromatic. The bushes are more powerful.

Varieties El Dorado, Snyder differ in cold resistance, varieties Thornfree, Smusstem, Austin, Thornless - thornless, Nessberry -drought resistance.

Very valuable positive properties has a variety Agawam , related to erect blackberries, and varieties Abundant And Texas , related to blackberries with creeping shoots.

New very productive varieties, without thorns, characterized by vigorous growth, winter hardiness, resistance to diseases and pests, suitable for mechanized harvesting.

We choose a site.
When determining a place for planting, take into account the poor winter hardiness of most varieties. The area should be well lit, warmed up and protected from cold winds. Blackberries are less demanding on soil than raspberries, but produce maximum yield on fertilized, well-drained loams. It does not tolerate damp, waterlogged soils, where the formation of shoots is delayed until late autumn, which sharply reduces the winter hardiness of the plant. The soil reaction should be from slightly acidic to neutral. Blackberries, like raspberries, cannot be planted on carbonate (limestone) soils, since the plant develops chlorosis due to a lack of iron and magnesium.

Landing
Blackberries bear fruit quickly, in the second year, and regularly. It is unpretentious and grows on a variety of soils. It only dislikes carbonate soils (they are affected by chlorosis) and salinity. Responsive to feeding. It produces the highest yields on fertilized, well-drained loams. Does not tolerate waterlogging.

Since blackberries are not frost-resistant enough, you should choose places for them that are protected from cold winds and well warmed by the sun.

It is wiser to plant blackberries in the spring. A planting hole measuring 40 x 40 x 40 cm is prepared for each bush. Before planting, add 5-6 kg (half a bucket) of well-rotted manure, 100-150 g of superphosphate, 40-50 g of potassium fertilizers and mix thoroughly with the soil. It is better to cover the roots with natural soil (to avoid burns), and place the enriched soil in the hole on top.

Upright blackberries require a trellis. Otherwise, severe shortening of the stems is possible. Because of this, the overall yield of berries decreases, although their mass increases and quality improves.

In the south, it is better to install a trellis from a 2.4 m high reinforced concrete grape stake, which is buried into the ground 60-80 cm with a distance in a row of 6 m, and a support from the same stake is placed to the outermost anchor post at an angle of 30-40? C. The first wire is pulled at a height of 80cm, the next two - 30-40cm apart. Young shoots are periodically tied in the direction in which they grow, creating a fan formation. With green pruning, 6-8, but no more than ten shoots per linear meter are left. The length is within 1.4-1.8 m, the lashes are tied to a trellis. The shorter the pruning, the larger the years, however, if pruned too short there may be growth of vegetative shoots.

Straight-growing blackberry seedlings are placed at a distance of 0.8-1 m from each other; the distance between rows is 1.8-2 m. When planting sundew and raspberry-blackberry hybrids, you need to take into account the size of an adult bush. Trellis for blackberries must be at least 2 m high.

A fan-shaped method of forming a bush is possible, in which fruiting and growing shoots are placed separately. When forming in a fan, the distance between plants should be at least 2.5-3.5 m.

Placing stems on a support

Supports in the form of a trellis 1.8 m high with stretched wire in 4 rows at a height of 0.9; 1.2; 1.5; 1.8 m.

FIRST YEAR

In the summer, as young shoots appear, tie them to support wires. Wrap them around the three bottom wires. In autumn, the shoots are removed from the supports, laid on the ground and covered.

After fruiting, cut all fruiting branches to the ground. In autumn, the shoots are removed from the supports, laid on the ground and covered.

SECOND YEAR

Direct new shoots up through the center of the bush and further along the top wire. Berries ripen on the side branches of last year's stems

At the same time, untie the current year's growth and braid it around the three bottom wires. In spring, remove the tops of young shoots with weak buds.

Umove

The soil around the plants is kept loose and free from weeds. Two-year-old fruit-bearing shoots are cut out. Creeping and semi-cresting annual shoots are bent to the ground for the winter and covered with potato tops or vegetable crops, film and other materials, and in the spring they are lifted and placed on a trellis. For erect blackberry shoots, installing a trellis and bending down the bushes for the winter is not carried out, since rigid shoots almost do not lie down. Due attention should be paid to watering blackberry plantings. The next year after planting, in the spring, the plants are watered abundantly (up to 5 buckets per bush). During the growing season, watering is required depending on the condition of the soil, especially during the period of filling and ripening of berries. The section on raspberry pests and diseases describes a number of common pests and diseases of raspberries and blackberries. In addition, blackberries are attacked by the blackberry gall mite, which damages the fruit. The pest is very small, measuring 0.2 mm. It overwinters on the bush, in early spring it moves to flowers, then to fruits. It is not difficult to fight it: after picking the berries, you need to cut out and destroy the fruit-bearing shoots. After pruning, spray the bushes 3 times with infusions of garlic or pyrethrum with the addition of laundry soap. In the spring of next year, the bushes are treated with the same solutions in order to prevent a new tick invasion.

Pruning blackberries and placing fruiting and growing stems separately:

1. Immediately after harvesting, fruit-bearing branches are completely cut off
2. First year.
3. Second year. Fruiting shoots are directed in one direction, and new shoots in the other.

4. Fan forming method. Fruiting shoots are fanned out one at a time to the right and left, and new ones are placed in the center.
5. Forming with ropes. Fruiting shoots are directed along the wire, and new ones are left in the center.
6. Formation by waves. Fruiting shoots are directed in waves along the lower rows, and young ones - along the upper ones.

In the first summer after planting, young shoots are formed. Attach them securely to the bottom wires using a braiding method. In the second summer, these shoots will produce flowers and berries. At the same time, new shoots will appear at the base of the plant. They should be formed according to the chosen method. When fruiting is complete, unravel the old branches and trim them back to the ground. With a fan system and when weaving, new branches should be sent to replace the old ones. Pruning in the third and subsequent years consists of removing branches that have already bear fruit and replacing them with new ones. If there are not many replacement shoots, you can save the best of the old ones, but the quality of the berries will deteriorate. Every year in early spring, trim the frost-damaged tops onto a healthy bud.

Shelter for the winter
For the winter, non-winter-hardy blackberry bushes are laid on the ground. In order not to damage the plants, you can lay them together with the trellis - carefully pull out the supports and lower the entire planting flat. The bases of the bushes are covered with peat and leaves from above, and later covered with snow.

In spring, the bushes must be opened before the buds begin to swell and formative pruning must be done. That is, shorten the overgrown shoots in the current year’s growth (cut off from a third to half the length of the shoot), pinch the shoots that have gone in an undesirable direction for you.

Young shoots are tied up in the summer as they grow. Old fruiting stems that will no longer produce berries are cut out close to the ground and removed from the site.

Useful properties of blackberries

The amazing qualities of blackberries are reflected in ancient legends. The burning bush, in the form of which the angel of the Lord appeared before Moses, is considered to be a blackberry bush “... the bush burns with fire and is not consumed.” The blackberry is a symbol of the purity of the Virgin Mary, who gave birth to “the flame of divine love without being burned by lust.”

The yield of blackberries and their hybrids is 3-4 times higher than that of raspberries. And in terms of the content of biologically active substances, blackberries also surpass the car. Its berries contain more organic acids, P-active substances, and a wide range of microelements. Blackberries are denser, easily separated from the tea leaves, transport well, and can be stored in the refrigerator for a long time.

Blackberry fruits have astringent, hemostatic, anti-inflammatory, cleansing and pathogenic effects. The fruits and juice quench thirst and have an antipyretic effect. The leaves exhibit antiseptic properties and improve intestinal motility. The leaves exhibit antiseptic properties, improve intestinal motility, eliminate heartburn, and are used for lotions for eczema and other skin inflammations, for rinsing the mouth and throat for sore throats and stomatitis.

Blackberries harmoniously combine sugars and acids. They are consumed fresh, when dried they are added to dried fruits for compote - broth, jams, jellies, jams, marmalade, marshmallows, jellies, compotes, syrups, extracts, drinks and wines are prepared from them. They freeze well and are also used as food coloring.

Most modern blackberry varieties do not have thorns. In addition, the yield of varietal blackberries is much higher; large, juicy berries with small seeds have a set of more valuable dietary and medicinal qualities.

Chemical composition, use.

Ripe, juicy, pleasant-tasting blackberries are used as a dessert dietary dish. Fruits contain dry matter up to 10.5%, sugars 3-8 (fructose, glucose, sucrose), organic acids 0.4-1.6, fiber up to 4, minerals 0.4-0.6, nitrogen 0. 4-0.95%. Vitamin C 5-48 mg%, P-active substances 1200-1500, carotene 0.5-0.8, B1 0.03-3.0, B; 0.03-3.8, K - up to 0.4 mg%. Quite a lot of pectin, tannin, aromatic and coloring substances, as well as macro- and microelements, especially copper salts (up to 200 mg%), manganese, iron. The seeds contain 9-12% fatty oil.

Fruits are used for food in fresh and processed forms: dried, made into juice, jam, soft drinks, marmalade, pastille, jam, compotes, jelly, tinctures and confectionery. Thanks to a good combination of sugars and acids, the berry does not become boring. Purple food coloring is made from dried berries. Dried flowers and leaves are used.

Blackberries have long been used for preventive and medicinal purposes. The berries are used as a cold remedy. They are included in children's and dietary dishes. Overripe berries have a laxative property, while unripe ones have a strengthening property. Berries, infusion and tea made from them are a general strengthening and sedative for menopausal neuroses.

Blackberry fruits, decoctions and infusions of dried berries quench the thirst of patients, have antipyretic properties, and are used in the treatment of acute respiratory diseases and pneumonia. Decoctions and infusions of dry berries are considered one of the most active diaphoretics and diuretics in folk medicine. A decoction of the leaves is used for hemoptysis, gastric hemorrhages, diarrhea and dysentery; for lotions in the treatment of skin (for lichen, eczema, ulcers or purulent wounds). An infusion of leaves is taken for diseases of the upper respiratory tract, and also as an expectorant and sedative for increased excitability. Powders from dried blackberry leaves are used to treat wounds, and an extract with a diuretic effect is obtained from the root.

The juice of the fruit dyes fabrics and threads purple and red-violet. Shoots and leaves are suitable for tanning leather; young leaves replace tea. A good honey plant that produces fragrant and transparent honey for a long time. In landscaping it is used to stabilize the slopes of ravines and screes.

Varieties

Agave m bred more than 130 years ago in the USA. Refers to the upright blackberry. The bushes are powerful, tall, and the shoots are thick. The berries are large, short-conical, black, dense, much sweeter than raspberries, and ripen in August. Abundant And Texas bred by I.V. Michurin. They belong to the creeping blackberry. The bush is strong, the shoots are long and thin. Berries Abundant large, elongated, black, sweet and sour, ripen in August; Texas - when fully ripe, dark crimson, almost black, with a slight waxy coating, aromatic, excellent taste with a pleasant sourness. Thornfree- thornless variety, bred in the USA. The berries are short-conical, black, shiny, sour in taste, ripen in August. All of the listed varieties, unfortunately, are not winter-hardy and require shelter for the winter.

Harvesting

The berries ripen at different times. They, like raspberries, are harvested in several stages. Ripe berries are easily separated from the calyx along with the fruit. Unlike raspberries, blackberries hardly crumple when harvested, are well transportable and can be stored longer at zero temperatures.

From the berries you can make juice, preserves, jam, compotes, jellies, marmalade, marshmallows, jelly, all kinds of fillings and drinks. From the leaves it turns out excellent tea. In folk medicine, it is believed that it has a multifaceted effect - wound healing, anti-inflammatory, diaphoretic, diuretic, astringent and hemostatic. Long-term use improves metabolism and blood composition. Fresh fruits and blackberry juice are a good multivitamin, tonic, good thirst quencher. high temperature. They improve performance gastrointestinal tract, enhance digestion and appetite. Ripe berries slightly relax the stomach, unripe ones have astringent property. Blackberries are used for inflammation of the kidneys and bladder.

Blackberries are a popular garden shrub. Its unique taste appealed to Russian gardeners, which is why you can find several blackberry bushes on almost every plot.

The plant bears good fruit, but there are situations when blackberries do not produce a harvest or the berries that appear are so small that collecting even the minimum amount of berries is problematic. Finding out why blackberries do not bear fruit will help more detailed study of growing conditions and agricultural technology.

Reasons for poor fruiting and lack of berries on blackberries

Blackberries are considered a rather unpretentious berry, the insufficient fruiting of which is a consequence of gardeners violating the rules of agricultural technology.

The following factors have a great influence on fruiting:

characteristics of the variety;
soil quality and moisture content;
climatic conditions;
pruning;
application of fertilizers.

Low yields may be a consequence of improper crop care.

Varietal diversity

Blackberries can be erect, semi-erect or creeping. The degree of fruiting directly depends on the variety.

The most productive bushes with straight shoots and multi-berry clusters are considered. Creeping species produce much fewer berries, but they are larger than those of upright shrubs.

Hybrid species have a low yield, but their value lies in their good taste and lack of astringency. Therefore, when choosing a seedling varietal characteristics should be taken into account.

Watering and fertilizing

Irregular watering or insufficient soil moisture leads to the fact that few berries are set, they are small and dry.

Watering must be done carefully so that moisture does not get on the berries. Shoots with tassels should be tied to a support; berries lying on the ground are not recommended for consumption. Blackberries touching the ground begin to deteriorate, mold, and rot, so part of the harvest can be lost if you do not take care of tying up the bushes in a timely manner.
Excess moisture leads to the development of rot on blackberries.
Without fertilizing high yields are very difficult to achieve. Blackberries need potassium, this element helps improve the taste of the berries. When potassium compounds are added, the berries become large, sweet, and juicy.
Fertilizer and fertilizing are the key to a good blackberry harvest.
In autumn, the plant is fed with potassium-phosphorus compounds., gardeners often add organic fertilizers – ash, humus, bone meal. Organic matter is poured into trenches dug between rows and covered with soil. You can add dry substances or aqueous solutions. The ash is brought in Once every 3 years. It is advisable to alternate fertilizers annually.
Wood ash must be sifted before application.
In spring and summer you can also feed the crop with complex formulations. In spring it is recommended to use ammonium nitrate. Additionally, you can spray the foliage with urea (carbamide). Potassium nitrate scattered around the bushes and watered. This promotes the accumulation of potassium, which improves fruiting.
Potassium nitrate is fundamentally different from other mineral supplements in that it contains significantly more potassium than nitrogen.

Soil characteristics

Blackberries may not bear fruit if the soil on the site does not meet the requirements necessary for the crop.

To plant blackberries, you need loamy or sandy soil. To improve drainage on loams, before planting blackberries, dig up the area and add sand at the rate of 1 bucket per 1 m² of area.

The area for blackberries is prepared a year before planting: they are cleared of weeds, fertilized, dug up and left fallow.

Wetlands are considered unsuitable for growing blackberries.. On constantly wet soil, the roots of the bush suffer from a lack of oxygen and also begin to rot. This affects not only the yield, but also the general condition of the plant. Most often, on such soils, blackberries die before they have time to bear fruit.

An important soil indicator is acidity.. To plant blackberries, the soil must be neutral or slightly acidic. Alkalinization leads to foliar chlorosis, which occurs due to poor nitrogen absorption.

Growing conditions

Blackberry – drought-resistant plant, which must be planted in warm, well-lit areas, protected from cold winds.

A good solution is to plant blackberries along the fence, where the crop will be protected from the cold wind, in the branches from breakage.

In temperate climates, blackberries need shelter for the winter. The shrub can withstand frost without shelter, but the fruit buds are damaged and the bush does not produce a harvest.

To prevent this from happening, you need to take care of covering the plant in the fall. For this purpose special materials, film, burlap, spruce branches. The bushes are removed from the trellis, rolled up and wrapped in burlap, covered with spruce branches on top, and covered with a thick layer of snow in winter.

Bush pruning

The main reason why blackberries do not bear fruit is improper pruning.

Blackberries bloom and bear fruit only on two-year-old branches.

Blackberry is a two-year-old shrub in which fruiting occurs on last year's shoots. If you remove them when pruning, the bush will not bloom and will not produce a harvest.

Everything needs to be trimmed in the fall. fruit bearing branches. They will no longer produce a harvest, but will only hinder the development of the bush. To increase productivity, young shoots are shortened by a quarter in the fall. In addition, all broken and pest-damaged branches are pruned.

Pruning may also be necessary in the spring. If frozen shoots are detected, they must be removed.

conclusions

Having studied the main reasons why blackberry bushes do not bear fruit, you can take appropriate measures and achieve high yields. Proper agricultural technology and crop care help improve the quality of berries.