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Blackberry classification

Useful Tips

1. 5 many barren flowers
2. 2 freezing of the kidneys
3. First, so that the hedgehog bears fruit, its branches are buried in earth. You also need to know which variety you bought, the late ones do not ripen with us.

Growing on a trellis

The life span of a group of blackberry bushes depends on the soil and climatic conditions, the methods of its cultivation and the thoroughness of the implementation of measures to combat pests and diseases. So, all other things being equal, blackberry bushes are more durable in a temperate climate zone.

Blackberry plants are fed only in the third year after planting, for the first two years it is provided with the fertilizers that were introduced into the planting pit. In the future, after a year or two, in the fall, 4-6 kg of rotted manure (compost) are introduced, and in the spring nitrogen fertilizers(30 g per bucket of water) or mullein solution (diluted 10: 1), and in summer - complex (30-50 g per 1 plant).

Lighting

To obtain a bountiful harvest of berries, the plant needs feeding. An excellent result can be obtained with early spring mulching of the soil with a layer of 5 centimeters. For mulch, they take rotted manure or compost. You can also add urea or ammonium nitrate.

Watering

Cuttings for propagation are taken 5-7 centimeters long and planted in spring or autumn in fertilized soil, deepening by two-thirds. If you decide to root the shoot, then sprinkle it with earth at the end of summer. Transplant to a permanent place in the spring.

In summer, pinch the tops and remove excess young shoots. In the fall, the sprouted shoots are cut off.

Pruning

This will save space, the plant will receive enough sun and air, the berries will be able to fully ripen, and they can be easily harvested (blackberries bear fruit not at once, but for a month and a half), and young shoots will be able to spread freely along the ground. They are often attached to a fan-shaped trellis. Optionally, you can tie the bush to a pole or pipe.

Everyone knows this wonderful wild berry, distinguished by its original taste and healthiness. And also the fact that it is not very pleasant and convenient to collect, since the thickets of blackberries are usually difficult to pass and very thorny. But modern breeding science does not care about anything. And now we can already pamper ourselves with garden blackberries, which are distinguished by the absence of thorns on the shoots, and its berries are large and sweet.

For strawberries to bear fruit the next year after planting, plant them in early August. Then she will have time to lay flower buds before autumn.

Wintering

This phenomenon occurs on old strawberries, as well as in bad varieties. Therefore, buy planting material from trusted sellers. Choose the variety that suits your climatic zone otherwise the strawberry will not bear fruit.

It so happens that 2-3 year old strawberries do not bear fruit. This can be due to poor care in the past year, when the buds were laid. Therefore, be sure to feed the plantings from August to September. This is the period when strawberries are preparing for the new season and are forming buds. Another 2-3 year old garden strawberry may not bear fruit if it was a harsh winter and some or all of the buds are frozen. To prevent this from happening again, cover the beds with needles, straw or other material, and also cover them with snow.

The strawberries are blooming, but the long-awaited berries are still missing. What could have happened?

Reproduction

The strip method of growing blackberries almost twice lengthens its productive life in comparison with bush. This large difference is explained by the following. With the cultivation of blackberries in the form of individual bushes, the latter are formed mainly due to replacement shoots developing from the buds of the upper part of the rhizome (at the base of fruiting shoots), and only individual shoots that make up the bush develop from buds located on the younger parts of the root system ...

• When growing upright blackberries, pinching (pinching) of young replacement shoots is carried out. Pruning of fruiting blackberries has features: the growing shoot is cut off when it reaches 60–90 cm (with the removal of the top 5 cm long), and in the south, the lateral branches that appear after that are also shortened so that they branch well.
• But keep in mind that 2 - 3 years after planting, blackberries are not fertilized.

Landing

It is advisable to plant a blackberry in a place that is well lit and protected from the winds. Planting is best done in the spring to prevent freezing.

Many gardeners are afraid of the low frost resistance of this garden culture, but if you know how to care for blackberries in autumn-winter period, then she will delight you with a bountiful harvest.

The plant loves lighted areas. Feels good in partial shade, but the ripening period of berries in this case lengthens by 5-7 days, they become smaller and lose their taste qualities.​

All blackberry varieties (over 300) are divided into 3 groups:
We create strawberry plantation for a rich harvest

Top dressing

6 pests

3 strawberries have black flowers

Pests and diseases

There are several reasons why strawberries do not bear fruit.

Harvesting

Passing nutrients(absorbed from the soil solution) along the rhizome is complicated by the presence of numerous stumps - from annually dying two-year-old shoots. This, in turn, leads to the fact that over the years, the nutritional regime of the replacement shoots worsens, their length and productivity decrease. The bush, which consists mainly of replacement shoots, grows old by the age of 10–12 and the site loses its fertility.

In the spring, the lateral branches of the blackberry bush are shortened to 20-40 cm (leaving 8-12 buds on each branch) - depending on the variety, the duration of the growing season, the ripening period of the berries. Fruiting stems are tied to the upper trellis wire, and the newly growing ones are tied to the lower one. The erect blackberry bush is often formed in a fan-like fashion, when the fruiting branches are placed and fixed on the opposite side from the growing young ones; in this case, the distance between the seedlings when planting should be about 3 meters.

OgorodSadovod.com

How to care for blackberries

Blackberries are resistant to pests and diseases. Sometimes raspberry beetles can attack it. To prevent this from happening, try to pick ripe berries on time. With a lack of iron and magnesium, chlorosis develops.

Top dressing

The plant prefers slightly acidic or neutral soil. Do not use limestone soil for planting.

Shaping and trimming

It should be noted that the dewweed does not tolerate winter well, and the kumanika can withstand twenty-degree frosts. But still it is better to cover any blackberries for the winter.

Blackberries are drought-resistant, since their roots are located at a considerable depth.

Kumanika - erect (the most common);

Care in the fall after fruiting

Growing sweet scented strawberries

Pests, for example, strawberry weevil, can reduce the yield. He lays his eggs right in the bud. It is necessary to fight strawberry pests, as well as other garden plants, from early spring. To do this, use insecticides.

In spring, there are recurrent frosts, and strawberries have already begun to release shoots with buds. And if they freeze, then in almost every blossoming bud the middle is black. There will be no berry from such a flower. Therefore, cover the strawberries in the spring while freezing with a covering material such as acrylic.

Strip method of growing blackberries

Instructions

The advantage of the strip culture of blackberry is that in this case the planting is created with the inclusion of a significant number of the strongest and most successfully (i.e. at a distance of 10-15 cm from each other) located root suckers that arise within the strip on the younger part root system. In addition, this method makes it possible to use the most powerfully developed replacement shoots and root suckers for the formation of a bush and due to a more complete use biological features Plants have fertile blackberry plantations up to 20 years of age. This period of existence of a normally fruiting plantation is sharply reduced by the spread of numerous pests and diseases of bushes, especially viral ones.

Most often, an erect blackberry bush has 4-5 fruiting branches. In May - June, pruning is carried out, leaving 6-8 shoots up to half a meter high near the main bush, and cutting off all weak ones just below the soil surface.

Berries ripen at the end of summer. Collect them in several steps.

sad-dacha-ogorod.com

Why doesn't Blackberry bear fruit?

Marina Nikolaeva

First, dig holes to a depth of 45-50 centimeters. Fertilizers mixed with soil are placed on the bottom: rotted manure or compost (5-6 kilograms), potash fertilizers (45-50 grams) and superphosphate (130-150 grams). Then a blackberry bush is planted so that the root collar is 2-3 centimeters below the soil level. Plants are watered, mulched and pruned, leaving 20-30 centimeters.

ByFiGiStK @

Most varieties are bent to the ground, and if you have erect blackberries, then they are tilted gradually as they grow, as if accustoming them. Covering is used for particularly sensitive varieties. Most often with plastic wrap, but you can use leaves or spruce branches. It is advisable to cover it with snow on top. If the plant is not prepared for winter, then the adult bush will not die, but the ground part may freeze slightly, which will undoubtedly affect fruiting.

Why strawberries don't bear fruit

During flowering and ripening of berries, it requires watering. But do not overdo it: excessively moist soil can cause the death of the bush.

Half creeping (rare);

And here we are indulging in strawberries Pay attention 4 poor pollination 1 old strawberries

Establishment of plantations with healthy planting material, high level Agricultural technology in combination with the strip crop method will contribute to obtaining high and sustainable yields.

In autumn, remove old stems of blackberries (without leaving "hemp"). It is recommended to remove them immediately after harvest, as new shoots in better conditions lighting completes development and preparation for winter more successfully. Simultaneously with the fruiting stems, all weak, broken, severely diseased and damaged young shoots are removed, leaving well-developed and healthy shoots.

If you take care of the blackberry and take proper care of it, then it will certainly delight you with an abundant tasty harvest.

Plants are planted in rows. Erect bushes are placed at a distance of 0.9-1 meter, row spacing - up to 2 meters. A distance of 2.5 meters is left between creeping plants.

The plant propagates with seeds, green and root cuttings, rooted shoots and dividing the bush.

In the spring, before the buds swell, it is necessary to do formative pruning: remove frozen, dried, diseased, underdeveloped shoots and shorten too long ones.

Dewdrop - creeping on the ground.

For you Galimax

Strawberries and garden strawberries are one and the same thing; it's more common to call these berries strawberries.

In bad rainy weather, strawberries bloom, but berries are not tied or tied badly because bees and bumblebees do not fly. There are no tips here, because everything depends on the vagaries of the weather.

The most big harvest strawberries give up until the age of five, and then you need to replace them with new, young plants. Therefore, if your garden is many years old, do not expect a lot of strawberries from it. Spare no regrets, dig up old bushes and plant rosettes from the most productive varieties. It is better not to take planting material from your old strawberries, but to buy seedlings or grow them yourself from seeds. Fortunately, the store shelves are full of seeds of fruitful and promising varieties of garden strawberries.

I sympathize ... with me too. The berries have never ripened before frost does not have time.

Creeping and semi-creeping young annual shoots are covered for the winter, bending them to the ground and covered with foil and other materials, and in the spring they are raised and placed on a trellis. For erect shoots of blackberries, the installation of a trellis and bending of bushes for the winter is not carried out, since hard shoots almost do not lie down. In the fall, you should carry out water-charging irrigation.

The next year after planting, in spring, the plants are watered abundantly (up to 5 buckets per bush). The soil near the plants is kept in a loose and weed-free state. Loosening is shallow. In a dry summer, water during the growth of shoots and ovaries once a week, otherwise you can lose the crop.

In one place, blackberries can bear fruit for 12-15 years.

Blackberries are a fairly rare inhabitant of local gardens, much more often you can find bushes with traditional berries: raspberries, currants and other analogues. This is primarily due to the fact that the blackberry has a reputation for being very demanding to care for, unstable to severe frosts and, moreover, having thorns. It is difficult to argue about the last statement, since thorns really are. But they do not create as many problems during harvesting as are listed by those who have never grown blackberries, moreover, absolutely thornless varieties have been recently bred, which are called remontant. The article will focus on how to grow blackberries.

In terms of exactingness, this statement is an absolute myth. Blackberries are no different from their closest relative, raspberries. Before wintering, of course, she needs some care, but this can be said about any garden plant.

But the fact that blackberries please not only taste buds brings bountiful harvest and together with it a significant benefit to the body, but it also looks very attractive both during the flowering period and during the ripening of the berries is undeniable.

Blackberry photo

Therefore, it is definitely worth getting to know both beginners and seasoned gardeners better with blackberries.

Garden blackberry

• Blackberry is perennial shrub, more precisely a shrub, from half a meter to 3 meters high. Its shoots can be arcuate, erect and creeping. The vast majority of shoots are covered with thorns, but at the same time they bloom very beautifully. It can be white, lilac and purple flowers, collected in inflorescences.
• Almost all varieties are self-fertile, i.e. the bush feels great as a single-sorted one. Although, with cross-pollination, the quality of the berries not only does not deteriorate, but on the contrary, new interesting facets are revealed, and the number of berries even increases.
• Blackberries look very attractive, especially large ones. They are a complex drupe of black, black-red and black and gray shades.

• To please with fruits, blackberries must go through a sufficiently long growing season (for example, compared to raspberries). Most varieties bloom by mid-July and bear fruit by the end of summer.

The origin of the garden blackberry

• Blackberries, as already mentioned, are a direct relative of raspberries, more precisely, it is a subgenus of raspberries, which, in turn, belongs to the Rosaceae family.
• In the wild, it can be found in Europe, Asia and North America... As a cultivated garden plant, it began to take root in the 19th century in the United States, and since the 30s of the last century it has gained simply unprecedented popularity. Everyone suddenly wanted to see the truly pristine thickets of blackberries in their garden and feel the taste and aroma of its fruits. By the way, ripe blackberries weigh on average as much as 7 grams.
• It is from the first half of the 20th century that the active breeding of new varieties of this berry begins. Most of them were bred by the Americans and the British, including the aforementioned remontant varieties (without thorns) that appeared in the early 2000s.

• But there are also those bred in our strip, for example, the very popular Izobilnaya variety, which owes its birth to the famous Michurin.

All types of blackberries and their hybrids can be combined into three groups:

• erect(upright) - the most unpretentious and the most frost-resistant;
• curly- can create real thickets on the site;
• semi-sheathing- how snakes crawl on the ground or any proposed support.

How to choose a variety of garden blackberries

Among such a number of species and varieties (only 300 of them were bred in Europe), it is very difficult to make the final choice, especially if the blackberry did not grow in the garden before. It is most logical to pay attention to several of the most popular, which means easy-to-care and well-fruiting varieties.

• Variety Agave... One of the oldest, bred over a century ago. It is a tall, powerful shrub with erect shoots with many thorns (they are even on the leaves). It will delight you with beautiful white inflorescences on annual shoots, which at the end of August will turn into rather large black berries with a pleasant sweetish (but not sugary) taste. The main advantage of Agavam is good frost resistance. Most often, the bush tolerates the winter normally, even without shelter. It can be slightly damaged at -25 degrees, but in general it can withstand temperatures up to -42.
• Variety Darrow also boasts frost resistance. The bush is slightly smaller than that of Agavam, but quite powerful, erect. Fruits are medium in size, appear quite early, but ripen for a long time.
• Variety Abundant grows on a strong, large bush with creeping shoots. Therefore, it grows only on trellises. Bright green shoots, thin and delicate at first glance, have thin, slightly curved thorns. In general, Abundant looks very attractive, thanks to good branching and purple-white flowers. Large berries appear in large numbers on the bush in August, have an oblong shape and a pleasant sweet and sour taste. This variety of blackberries requires a mandatory shelter for the winter.
• Just like Izobilnaya, she is afraid of frost and variety Black Beauty. Distinctive feature this three-meter bush with flexible shoots - early fruiting. The berries appear on it very beautiful and large (from 12 to 20 grams).
• Variety Thorn fries can grow on a bush with long semi-creeping dark green shoots, the main advantage of which is the absence of thorns. Flowers on such a bush can be white or lilac, large berries conical shape appear in large numbers at the end of August. Like any remontant variety, Thornfree is afraid of frost and requires proper cover.

• Amara- This is perhaps the most popular of the thornless varieties. Maybe because he was the first. Of course, this bush needs to be prepared for winter, but what an amazing and abundant harvest it gives (berries weighing 15 grams, with a bright taste) is worth all the trouble.

Blackberry planting and care

Place for planting blackberries

Pledge good harvest garden blackberry is not only right choice varieties, but also competent preparation to planting.

• Garden blackberries are planted in spring (April-May). This is its main difference from the overwhelming majority. berry bushes... Although many gardeners argue that frost-resistant varieties are better fixed during autumn planting.
• What should be the habitat of blackberries? First of all, as less windy as possible, otherwise it threatens not only injury to flowers and berries, but also poor pollination, after which there is a low probability of a good harvest.
• Given the weak winter hardiness of most varieties, a planting site must be chosen one on which it would be easy to cover the blackberry. She demands a large number light, so the gap along the fence will be the most optimal for planting this shrub. It is quite quiet, warm, there is no interference in the form of other plants, and if necessary, the fence can be used as a trellis, tying the plant either directly to it or to a net stretched over it.

Soil for planting blackberries

• Blackberries are quite unpretentious to the soil, the main thing is that they are not too heavy. Although, certain conditions for her correct fit there is.
• If we are talking about an autumn planting, then before planting a blackberry, the place of its future habitat must be covered with a layer organic fertilizer(not less than 15 cm).

• When planting in spring, it is recommended to thoroughly loosen the soil by 50 cm, because blackberry roots are deep enough. Add compost or manure (5 kg), 50 grams of potash fertilizers and 100-150 grams of phosphate fertilizers to the pit.

How to plant blackberries

• The distance between the pits depends on the type of garden blackberry. In any case, it should be sufficient if the variety has thorns, otherwise harvesting will create additional difficulties.
• For erect varieties, the distance between the pits should be 80-100 cm, and between the rows - 180-200 cm.
• The planting of creeping blackberries is influenced by the characteristics of the variety. It is better to find out about them from the professionals working in the nursery, where it is recommended to purchase sprouts. The average distance for creeping varieties is 250 cm, both between the pits and between the rows.
• Before planting seedlings, you need to carefully inspect for damaged pagons and remove them as needed. It is best to let the plant stand for 12 hours in water before planting. If this is done, then immediately after planting the blackberry should not be watered, because it tolerates drought much better than waterlogging. During flowering and fruiting, watering is necessary, but within reasonable limits. It is very important to ensure that the water does not stagnate at the roots.

• And after planting a young plant, it is enough just to compact the soil well around it.

Blackberry care

Fertilizing blackberries

• After the first flowering begins, the blackberries need to be fed, for example, with phosphates, but the main thing here is not to overdo it, otherwise the plant may get sick. It is much more important to constantly remove weeds, weed and loosen the soil, while moistening it moderately.
• All subsequent years of the life of the bush, you need to feed it once a year, best of all with manure, peat or ash. Several times during the summer season, the blackberry bush should be fed with bird droppings.

Pruning blackberries

• In the first year after planting, blackberries are unlikely to produce a crop. But this fact does not exclude the necessary measures. For example, in the summer, a shoot of any variety, even an erect one, is best tied to a horizontal trellis, and this should be done with all the shoots in the same direction. For the next year, the direction of the garter of new shoots should be the opposite. This will help correct formation bush.

Blackberry pruning consists of:

• removal of diseased, frozen, pest-infested or simply unsuccessfully growing stems in the fall or in early spring;
• formation of young stems in early summer;
• pinching shoots in June-August;
• the formation of stems, which have borne fruit, in the fall, after harvesting.

• When the shoot height reaches at least 60 cm, it is possible to significantly increase the fruiting site by cutting off at the beginning of June from 3 to 5 cm from the top. When the lateral shoots reach 60 cm heights, they must be shortened to 40 cm.This procedure, called pinching (pinching), very well promotes branching, a real mini-tree can form on the plant, from which flowers will appear next year. The next year in the summer, the procedure should be repeated, leaving 10-12 buds on the branches. For erect blackberry bushes, pinching is a must.
• Every spring, young bushes of any blackberry variety should be exposed to formative pruning, i.e. those shoots that were cut off in the summer must be shortened, leaving 2-3 buds.
• For better fruiting of already well-established, tall bushes and their formation, in the spring I prune as follows: 5-7 of the strongest shoots are cut at a height of 2-2.5 meters and tied in one direction. Young shoots that appear during the summer are directed in the other direction.

• Many knowledgeable gardeners recommend the following scheme. In the spring, one-year and two-year-old shoots need to be cut at one level, everything else must be removed almost completely. Harvest two-year-olds and prune them thoroughly too.
• For good fruiting and storage in cold weather remontant varieties, in the fall they are cut almost at the root.

Blackberry growing video

Shelter blackberries for the winter

• Many cover the blackberry bushes with something like greenhouses already with the onset of the first cold weather, thereby prolonging the fruiting period. But the fertility of garden blackberries is one of the highest, from one bush you can get an average of 10 kg of berries.
• But, as has been said more than once, blackberries belong to plants that do not tolerate winter very well, with the exception of a few varieties. Therefore, you need to approach her shelter carefully.

• Shoots should be removed from the trellises, carefully laid on the ground and covered with mulching material, it can be dry leaves, straw, earth. And, of course, the first snow does an excellent job with this role.

How to propagate blackberries

Blackberries can be propagated in many ways: by seeds, and by cuttings, and by root suckers, and by the tops of the shoots, and by division.

• Seeds, of course, are more likely to be used for breeding new varieties.
• Erect varieties reproduce well by root suckers.
• Creeping - by the tops of the shoots. The method is quite simple and effective. After fruiting, the ends of the shoots must be arched to the ground in previously dug holes 20 cm deep. They must be pinned to the bottom, covered with well-moistened soil mixed with peat. In this case, the ends of the shoots are brought out by 10 cm. Before wintering, these ends must be covered, and in April they must be dug, carefully separating them from the main shoots, and planted in the standard way.

The benefits of blackberries

• Blackberries should be planted in the garden, if only due to the fact that they are one of the most useful berries. And although it contains quite a bit of the well-known vitamin C, there is a lot of iron and organic acids therefore it is indispensable in the treatment of low hemoglobin.
• Blackberry decoctions have a very positive effect on gastrointestinal diseases, ulcers, inflammation of the bladder, menopause, kidney problems, neurasthenic conditions.
• Its regular use helps to maintain good shape, because this berry can help normalize metabolism, restore hormonal and water-salt balances (and these are the factors that often affect the appearance of excess weight).
• Blackberries are eaten in absolutely everyone possible types... Literally everything is obtained from it - from juice to marmalade. Tea lovers claim that the blackberry leaf drink will outperform the finest Chinese tea.

6 pros in favor of blackberries

• Garden blackberries are second only to grapes in yield. Her direct relative, the raspberry, so beloved by all gardeners, loses to her in this matter very significantly.
• She has a very good natural immunity to all kinds of diseases, temperature fluctuations, fungi. Amazingly, all kinds of pests are absolutely not interested in blackberries.
• Blackberries are not afraid of drought, so they do not need regular abundant watering, which so “ties” the owners to the plots in the summer.
• The plant is not picky about the composition of the soil.
• Blackberries are not afraid of spring and autumn frosts. The first - because it blooms late, the second - because it still continues to bear fruit.
• Blackberry fruits are very healthy, large, easy to transport and store, and are endowed with a real bouquet of taste sensations.

Against the background of all of the above, certain subtleties of caring for garden blackberries seem insignificant, because this plant belongs to the category of those that fully compensate for the efforts spent on them. With proper care, a blackberry bush can live in one place for at least 15 years.

Blackberries are considered one of the most unpretentious berry crops capable of producing crops in any conditions. There is nothing surprising in this: until recently, it was a wild-growing shrub, and its natural habitat (and this is most of the countries of the northern hemisphere) taught it to survive and bear fruit in any conditions. However, with the transformation of the blackberry into garden plant some owners of household plots, engaged in its cultivation, sometimes complain about its poor yield, or even completely infertile.

What is the reason for this behavior of an unpretentious and hardy culture and is there anything you can do about it?

Reasons and details

The most common causes of poor harvest (or poor fruiting) blackberries are:

1. Varietal features. The fact that the yield of a particular crop directly depends on its variety is a well-known fact. In the case of blackberries, it manifests itself as follows: all its varieties available today (and there are about three hundred, or even more) are divided into erect, semi-erect and creeping. The first two can form clusters with many medium-sized berries, the total number of which will be calculated in kilograms. Creeping species are initially characterized as slightly fruiting, but their berries themselves are larger than those of other species. It should be said about hybrids separately: their yield is also insignificant, but they taste better than other varieties.
2. Violation of the rules of agricultural technology - first of all, sheltering for the winter and pruning. Blackberries are afraid of frost, and if it is not sheltered from the winter cold, the shoots will freeze, and in the most severe cases, tissue necrosis may occur around the kidney, which does not have frost resistance. Naturally, in such a state of affairs, there can be no question of any harvest. As for pruning, you should remember its main rule: you only need to cut out old, fruiting branches. If you shorten new shoots or do spring pruning, the plant will not be able to produce a crop - at least this year. For the same reason, pruning of old branches is recommended only in the fall.
3. Irregular or insufficient watering during the ripening of the berries, due to which they can become small and dry, and the yield may decrease. The worst case scenario is also possible, in which the berries may not ripen at all.
4. Lack of flower buds on green vines. The reason for this can be any - for example, the lack of shelter for the winter, which we already talked about a little above, and the result will be that the empty vine will interfere with the fruiting of other shoots.
5. Landing in the wrong place and, most importantly, on the wrong soils. The first means an insufficiently lit area of ​​land, and the second means calcareous soils. If blackberries grow on them, sooner or later their roots will reach the lime, and as a result, the crop will begin to dry out. It is possible to determine that the cause of the crop failure was the soil, and not infectious chlorosis, by the following signs: yellowing of the leaf plate while maintaining the natural color of the veins, the absence of damage and necrosis of tissues and veins, mummification of berries directly on the branches.
6. Inappropriate or unstable climate. Even in their natural habitat, which is not particularly soft, blackberries may not have time to ripen. The fact is that in itself it requires not only a warm, but also a long growing season and usually begins to bloom a month later than its long-cultivated relative, the garden raspberry. In the middle zone, this is the beginning of July. It takes at least two months to ripen the berries, and thus, in the best scenario, blackberries begin to bear fruit in early September. And although at this time it is still warm and there is “Indian summer” ahead, unstable weather is quite possible, because of which the blackberries simply will not have time to bring the harvest. It is also possible that the variety you have chosen was not initially zoned for your area.

How to deal with crop failure

In order for your blackberry to bear fruit, you need a little: just follow the rules of its cultivation and all the nuances inherent in this process, and not allow what we talked about above. For example:

1. When watering the plant, it should be remembered that moisture should not get on the berries, and fruiting brushes should not touch the ground. If this happens, the berries will become infected with gray rot, and then you can forget about the harvest for a long time.
2. When caring for blackberries, it is imperative to make different kinds fertilizers that have a beneficial effect on the yield and on the taste of the crop. The type of dressing is individual in each case and depends not only on the variety, but also on the season, the soil on which the culture grows, etc.
3. When deciding to grow blackberries in your garden, you should carefully choose the variety. It should not only produce a crop that suits you, but also be suitable for your area. Unfortunately, experts have not yet bred varieties that would be both large-berry and abundantly fruiting, so when choosing, you need to rely not only on recommendations experienced gardeners, but also on your own preferences.
4. When planting bushes, simple recommendations should be followed: plant the plant in a well-lit area (slight shading is acceptable); bushes should be arranged in rows, and the distance between them should be chosen depending on the variety; fruiting branches must be tied to supports about two meters high.
5. If the blackberry was unlucky and it turned out to be planted on calcareous soil, the situation can be corrected by foliar feeding with iron chelate and applying a weak solution under the root ferrous sulfate... It is also recommended to apply more manure in the fall or compost in the spring on such soils.

If you follow all these tips, then on long years you can provide yourself with a stable harvest of excellent and very useful berries- and, as you know, in one place blackberries can bear fruit from 12 to 15 years, depending on the variety.

Why does blackberry sometimes bear fruit modestly?
The harvest of blackberries, like any other crop, depends on the varietal characteristics of the plant. The harvest from an adult bush of varieties with a multi-berry cluster is often expressed in two-digit kilograms. Bushes of the varieties Doyle, Evergreen, Thornfree, Black Satin, Smutstem are especially productive.
A multi-berry cluster (up to several dozen berries) is usually inherent in erect and semi-erect varieties. Creeping varieties and raspberry-berry hybrids bear fruit much more modestly. Their berries are usually larger and juicier, but the number of berries in a cluster is most often no more than 5-6 pieces like in Tayberry, Loganberry, Texas, Boysenberry, or up to 6-12 pieces in Silvan variety. It is easy to understand that with the same number of flower buds on the shoot, the yield of the varieties of the first group differs from the yield of the varieties of the second group at times. The yield of hybrids due to the power of the structure is higher or comparable to the yield modern varieties raspberries. The value of the hybrids is not so much in the yield, but in the unusual taste and size of the berry. In addition to varietal characteristics, the reason for the low yield may be non-observance of agricultural technology. It must be remembered that culture requires shelter. Without shelter, shoots that should bear fruit in the next season can freeze. If they are not frozen, then flower buds, which are usually less frost-resistant, can often freeze. In this case, in the worst case, even tissue necrosis around the kidney can be observed. Some gardeners themselves are depriving themselves of part of the harvest, carrying out spring pruning or autumn shortening of new shoots. That is, part of the fruitful vine is simply thrown away. In the fall, only old, fruiting vines need to be cut. Some do not even do this, believing that since the vine is green, it will serve for another year. Will not serve. There are almost no flower buds on it, it will give a dozen berries and will significantly shade fruiting shoots, delaying the ripening of the crop. You can lose a ripening crop by disrupting the irrigation regime. Watering while pouring the berries is necessary, otherwise the berry becomes dry and shallow, but when watering, you need to make sure that the spray does not fall on the ripening berries, and the berry clusters themselves do not touch the ground. If this happens, the berry can be affected by gray rot, the same one that is often seen on strawberries. Therefore, adherence to agricultural practices is very important.
The agricultural technology of the garden blackberry is in many ways similar to the agricultural technology of the raspberry. Fruiting shoots, like those of raspberries, are tied to a trellis.
New- replacement shoots that appear during the summer will bear fruit next year. They are placed on the ground. After harvesting, the fruit bearing shoots are cut out. Separate cultivation allows free harvesting, since replacement shoots are not confused with fruit bearing ones, which is especially important for thorny varieties. Separate cultivation also avoids the transfer of pests and diseases from old shoots to new ones.
Most varieties of garden blackberries are not frost-resistant enough in the conditions of the Middle Lane, therefore they require bending down for the winter, and some, especially studless ones, and light shelter. For shelter I use plastic wrap in one layer. Instead of a film, you can use organic insulation or spruce branches. In conditions Middle Band Shelter is necessary in case of a harsh snowless pre-winter with temperatures below -20 degrees. The garden blackberry, laid on the ground, covered with snow, with snow, winters well even without shelter. But the trouble is that the snow often does not have time to cover the laid bush before the onset severe frosts, therefore, it is imperative to cover. The figure - 20 is not a critical temperature - there are varieties that can withstand up to -30. Adult plant will not die without shelter, but the aerial part of some varieties may freeze or freeze. During the summer, new replacement shoots will appear, but the harvest from last year's shoots will be lost. If the variety of blackberries is creeping, then it is not difficult to bend it down for laying on the ground. It is impossible to lay adult erect and semi-erect varieties - their shoots have such a powerful lignified stem that it is impossible to lay them on the ground without breaking. In order to lay such plants, this must be taken care of in advance. New shoots of replacement, developing vertically, in the period when they reach a height of 40-50 cm, are folded back so that the shoot develops horizontally 20-30 cm from the ground. In order to prevent the shoot from straightening, its position is fixed with a hook stuck with one end into the ground. Bending back a fragile herbaceous shoot is done carefully to avoid breakage. The end of the shoot is pinched (pinched off the growth point). Usually, each bud on the main shoot grows into a long, thinner and more pliable lateral shoot. As a result, instead of one straight (without branching) shoot with a length of 3 to 5 m, a branched shoot of 2-2.5 m in length is obtained. Pinching is needed in order to create a more compact shrub with the maximum number of buds. The replacement shoots formed in this way are easily pressed to the ground when sheltered in the fall, and easily, without breakages, rise to garter on the trellis in the spring. Previously, I did a pinch of a new shoot at a length of 1.5 m, but practice has shown that the bush formed in this way is less pliable for lifting and garter. Each bud on the shoot is flowering. Therefore, the harvest subsequently turns out to be large, and in varieties with a multi-berry cluster, it is huge.
This branched shoot will bear fruit next year, and this season, weighed down by its own weight, it already lies on the ground without a hook. It only remains to cover easily (if the variety requires it).
The shelter is removed after the snow melts in the spring. The branches are carefully lifted and tied on a flat trellis (two posts and horizontal wires between them). The height of the trellis depends on the height of the gardener. Usually no higher than 1.8 m. Do not try to tie the shoots vertically. With such a garter, lignified shoots can break. Shoots are tied at angles that allow the plant itself to withstand. Usually 30 to 60 degrees. Blackberries, unlike grapes, do not grow under cover. I do not limit the number of shoots in the bush. Most varieties and do not give them more than 10 pieces. The land under the bush is cultivated with shallow loosening within a radius of up to 1 m from the center of the bush. Then your plant will not produce offspring. This is a huge advantage of blackberries over raspberries.
Cuttings and annual bushes can be planted both in spring and autumn. It is better to plant in a sunny place, but blackberries also tolerate a little shading. However, the bushes growing in the sun develop better, the berries on them are sweeter and the ripening period itself is earlier. Plants are best planted in rows. If the variety is prickly, then the distance between the bushes in a row is 3m. Distances between studless bushes can be reduced to 1.5m. Plants in a row can be of the same variety - no cross-pollination is required. Since the blackberry bush can grow and bear fruit in one place for many years, the soil is prepared before planting as follows. Several buckets of humus and half a glass of ash are brought into the planting pit (mixed with the removed soil).
Subject to these conditions, this most grateful plant will delight you with a rich harvest.

Blackberry, or in Ukrainian ozhina, is distributed throughout Ukraine in forests, forest belts, swamps, inconveniences, gardens and summer cottages.
Blackberry bushes are an excellent material for landscaping. Erect 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 multi-colored glossy berries.

Reproduction
Straight blackberry varieties are propagated, like raspberries, by root suckers and root cuttings. In blackberries with creeping shoots and the same raspberry-blackberry hybrids, root suckers are not formed. These varieties are propagated by layering - the tops of the shoots. The tops of the growing shoots bent to the ground are laid in a shallow (3-5 cm) oblong fossa; on the shoot, make one or two neat notches with a knife (so that the roots go faster) and sprinkle it with earth. The sprinkled shoot takes root easily and quickly and gives new shoots from the apical buds. It is better to separate the rooted tops and plant them in a permanent place in the spring.

Good propagation of all forms of blackberries and their hybrids by green cuttings in greenhouses and greenhouses with controlled air humidity. Cuttings are cut in the fall from the shoots of the current year. The handle should have at least 2-3 buds, the length should be 10-12 cm.

A good variety of blackberries is the Yang variety, characterized by early ripeness of fruits, high yield, and size of berries. Fruits are dark cherry, shiny, sweet, but no aroma.

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

Varieties El Dorado, Snyder differ in cold resistance, varieties Thornfree, Smustem, Austin, To rnless - shipless, Nessberry - drought resistance.

The variety has very valuable positive properties. Agave erect blackberry 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.

Choosing a site.
When determining a place for planting, take into account the weak winter hardiness of most varieties. The site should be well lit, warm and protected from cold winds. Blackberries are less demanding on soil than raspberries, but maximum yield gives on fertilized, well-drained loams. It does not tolerate damp, waterlogged soils, on which the formation of shoots is delayed until late autumn, which sharply decreases the winter hardiness of the plant. The reaction of the soil should be from slightly acidic to neutral. Blackberries, like raspberries, cannot be planted on calcareous (limestone) soils, since the plant, due to a lack of iron and magnesium, becomes sick with chlorosis.

Landing
Blackberries bear fruit soon, in the second year, and regularly. It is unpretentious - it grows on a wide variety of soils. He does not like only carbonate (it is affected by chlorosis) and salinization. Responsive to feeding. Most high yields gives on fertilized, well-drained loams. Does not tolerate waterlogging.

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

Planting blackberries is wiser in the spring. For each bush, a planting pit with dimensions of 40 x 40 x 40 cm is prepared. Before planting, 5-6 kg (half a bucket) of well-rotted manure, 100-150 g of superphosphate, 40-50 g of potash fertilizers are introduced into it and thoroughly mixed 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.

For erect blackberries, you need a trellis. V otherwise strong shortening of the stems is possible. Because of this, the total yield of berries decreases, however, their mass increases and the quality improves.

In the south, it is better to place the trellis from a grape reinforced concrete stake 2.4 m high, which is buried in the ground by 60-80 cm with a distance in a row of 6 m, and to the extreme, anchor post, a support is placed from the same stake 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 up in the direction where they grow, creating a fan formation. With green pruning, 6-8, but no more than ten shoots per running meter are left. Length - within 1.4-1.8 m, lashes are tied to a trellis. The shorter the pruning, the larger the years, however, if pruning is too short, vegetative shoots can grow.

Saplings of erect blackberries are placed at a distance of 0.8-1 m from each other; the distance between the rows is 1.8-2 m. When planting a dewdrop and raspberry-blackberry hybrids, one must take into account what the size of an adult bush will be. Blackberry trellises 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 a tensioned 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 the supporting wires. Wrap them around the bottom three wires. In autumn, shoots are removed from supports, laid on the ground and covered.

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

SECOND YEAR

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

Untie the current year's increments at the same time and braid them around the bottom three wires. In spring, remove the tops of young shoots with weak buds.

Havemove

The soil near the plants is kept in a loose and weed-free state. Two-year-old shoots that bear fruit are cut out. Creeping and semi-creeping 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 raise and put on the trellis. For erect shoots of blackberries, the installation of a trellis and bending of bushes for the winter is not carried out, since hard shoots almost do not lie down. Due attention should be paid to watering blackberry plantings. The next year after planting, in 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 raspberry pest and disease section describes a range of common raspberry and blackberry pests and diseases. In addition, blackberries are attacked by the blackberry gall mite, which damages the fruit. The pest is very small, 0.2 mm in size. It hibernates on a bush, in early spring moves to flowers, then to fruits. It is not difficult to deal with it: after picking the berries, you need to cut out and destroy the sprouted 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 infestation.

Pruning blackberries and placing fruiting and growing stems separately:

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

4. Fan-shaped method of formation. Fruiting shoots are fanned out one by one to the right and left, and new ones are placed in the center.
5. Formation by ropes. Fruiting shoots are directed along the wire, and new ones are left in the center.
6. Wave formation. 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. Braid them securely to the lower wires. In the second summer, these shoots will give flowers and berries. At the same time, new shoots will rise at the base of the plant. They should be formed according to the chosen method. When fruiting is complete, untwist the old branches and cut them back to the base. With a fan system and when weaving, new branches should be sent to the old place. Pruning in the third and subsequent years consists in removing the branches that have already bearing fruit and replacing them with new ones. If there are not many replacement shoots, you can keep the best of the old ones, but the quality of the berries will deteriorate. Every year in early spring, trim off frost-affected tops into a healthy bud.

Shelter for the winter
For the winter, bushes of non-resistant blackberries are laid on the ground. In order not to damage the plants, you can lay them together with the trellis - gently 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 they are covered with snow.

In the spring, the bushes must have time to open before the buds swell strongly and make a formative pruning. That is, to shorten too overgrown shoots on the growth of the current year (cut off from a third to half the length of the shoot), pinch the shoots that have gone in an unwanted direction for you.

Young shoots are tied up in the summer as they grow. Old, fruiting stems, which will no longer give berries, are cut out at the very 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 the blackberry bush "... the bush burns with fire and does not burn." The blackberry is a symbol of the purity of the Virgin Mary, who gave birth to "the flame of divine love, not burnt with 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, the blackberry also surpasses the machine. Its berries contain more organic acids, P-active substances, wide range microelements. Its blackberry berries are denser, easily separated from the seagull, well transported, 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 antipyretic effects. Leaves exhibit antiseptic properties, improve intestinal motility. The leaves exhibit antiseptic properties, improve intestinal motility, eliminate heartburn, are used for lotions for eczema and other skin inflammations, for rinsing the mouth and throat for tonsillitis and stomatitis.

Sugar and acid are harmoniously combined in blackberries. They are used fresh, in dried form they are added to dried fruits for compote - uvara, they are used to prepare jam, jams, jam, marmalade, marshmallow, jelly, compotes, syrups, extracts, drinks and wines. 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, tasty 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, mineral substances 0.4-0.6, nitrogenous 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%. There are a lot of pectin, tannins, aromatic and coloring substances, as well as macro- and microelements, especially copper salts (up to 200 mg%), manganese, and iron. The seeds contain 9-12% fatty oil.

Fresh and processed fruits are used for food: they are dried, made from them juice, jam, soft drinks, marmalade, marshmallow, jam, compotes, jelly, tinctures and confectionery. Thanks to a good combination sugars and acids the berry does not become boring. Dried berries are used to prepare purple food paint. Dried flowers and leaves are used.

For a long time, blackberries have been used in preventive and medicinal purposes... Berries are used as a cough remedy. They are part of children's and dietary meals... Overripe berries have a laxative, and unripe berries have a fixing property. Berries, infusion and tea made from them are a tonic and soothing remedy for climacteric neuroses.

Blackberry fruits, decoctions and infusions of dry berries quench the thirst in patients, have antipyretic properties, they are used in the treatment of acute respiratory diseases, pneumonia. Decoctions and infusions of dry berries are considered one of the most active diaphoretic 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 (with 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; an extract with a diuretic effect is obtained from the root.

The fruit juice is used to paint fabrics and threads in violet and red-violet colors. Shoots and leaves are suitable for tanning leather, young leaves replace tea. A good honey plant, giving fragrant and transparent honey for a long time. In landscaping it is used to consolidate the slopes of ravines and talus.

Varieties

Agave m developed over 130 years ago in the United States. Refers to erect blackberries. The bushes are powerful, tall, the shoots are thick. The berries are large, short-conical, black, dense, much sweeter than those of raspberries, ripen in August. Abundant and Texas derived by I.V. Michurin. Refers to the creeping blackberry. The bush is strong, the shoots are long, thin. Berries Abundant large, elongated, black, sweet and sour, ripen in August; Of Texas - at full maturity, dark raspberry, almost black, with a slight waxy coating, aromatic, excellent taste with pleasant sourness. Thornfree- thornless variety, bred in the USA, Berries are short-conical, black, shiny, sour taste, ripen in August. All of the listed varieties, unfortunately, are not resistant and require shelter for the winter.

Harvesting

Berries ripen at different times. They, like raspberries, are harvested in several steps. Ripe berries are easily separated from the calyx along with the fruit. Unlike raspberries, blackberry fruits hardly crumple during harvesting, are distinguished by good transportability and are stored longer at zero temperature.

From berries you can make juice, jam, jam, compotes, jelly, marmalade, marshmallow, jelly, all kinds of fillings and drinks. The leaves make 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 of it improves metabolism and blood composition. Fresh fruits and blackberry juice are a good multivitamin, general tonic, good thirst quencher when high temperature... They improve the activity of the gastrointestinal tract, enhance digestion and appetite. Ripe berries slightly relax the stomach, unripe berries are astringent. Blackberries are used for inflammation of the kidneys and bladder.