Blackberries

Blackberry Plants

Very few things say 'summer' like a blackberry. Many people have fond childhood memories of picking summertime blackberries; hand and lips stained with the rich purple juice and more berries finding their way into their mouth than the bowl or bucket. Whether they are baked into cobblers, cooked down into jams or preserves, or simply eaten fresh off of the vines, blackberries are the perfect addition to the backyard garden as well. During the summer, we offer several varieties of fresh blackberries including Triple Crown, Black Satin, Natchez, Arapaho, Chester, Navaho, and Ouachita. These berries can be purchased directly from the farm at our Napa location or at several farmer's markets throughout the North Bay. This fall and winter, we are also excited to make locally-grown blackberry plants available to home gardeners. Plants can be purchased at our Napa location .

$10.00 each
Bulk pricing also available

'Triple Crown'

Cane: Thornless
Planting Zones: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Light requirements: Full Sun, Light Shade
Soil Conditions: Moist, Well Drained
Height at Maturity: 5 - 7 ft
Harvest: July 5 - August 15
Yield: Up to 30 pounds per plant

CURRENTLY
AVAILABLE
in 1 Gal pots

Triple Crown is arguably the best tasting blackberry available to commercial and home growers today. These thornless vines produce huge yield of large, juicy berries with a sweet, distinctively complex flavor. Perfect for eating fresh, making into jams and preserves, baking into pies and cobblers, or freezing for later use. An all around perfect berry !

'Black Satin'

Cane: Thornless
Planting Zones: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Light requirements: Full Sun, Light Shade
Soil Conditions: Moist, Well Drained
Height at Maturity: 4 - 5 ft
Harvest: July 14 - August 21
Yield: Up to 25 pounds per plant

SOLD OUT
for Spring 2013

Great flavor, massive yields, and unparalleled disease resistance all in one plant. Black Satin thrives in a wide range of climates(including our hot western summers) and its resistance to common berry ailments make Black Satin a great introductory variety for new berry growers. The loads of syrupy sweet berries with a distinctively rich, honey-like flavor make it a favorite with experienced growers as well.

'Chester'

Cane: Thornless
Planting Zones: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Light requirements: Full Sun
Soil Conditions: Moist, Well Drained
Height at Maturity: 5 - 7 ft
Harvest: July 21 - August 31
Yield: Up to 25 pounds per plant

SOLD OUT
for Spring 2013

Chester picks up right where Triple Crown leaves off by producing huge quantities of large, sweet berries right through the heat of summer. What is most distinctive about these berries is the deep, inky black color and the rich, complex flavor. When planted alongside Triple Crown, you can expect a solid month of continuous blackberry harvest in your garden .

Blackberry Care and Culture

Even for the novice gardener, blackberries are relatively simple undertaking. With a little bit of planning and care throughout the year, gardeners will be rewarded with buckets of high quality blackberries that will best anything that you might pick in the wild.

Selecting a Site

Like raspberries, sites with full sun exposure and well-drained soil are essential.

Cultivated blackberries are easiest to manage when grown in rows. To help protect the fruit from burning in the summer, orienting the rows in a north-south direction is generally preferred. Rows that are 36" wide with a 36" aisle between the rows will maximize space and allow adequate light and airflow around the vines.

Unlike raspberries, many varieties of blackberries cannot support their own weight making a trellis system a necessary undertaking(the top wire of the system should be 60 to 79 inches above the ground).

Transplanting Blackberries

For the best results, only transplant blackberries while they are dormant during the winter and early spring. To avoid stressing the plants, try transplanting them during the early evening hours or on an overcast day.

1. To transplant, dig a hole 1 foot wide by 1 foot deep and place a hand full of compost or manure in the bottom.

2. Place the blackberry plant in the hole and backfill with soil such that the soil level of the plant is even with the level with the ground.

3. Plant additional plants to stand 3 to 4 feet apart.

4. Water each plant thoroughly.

Tips for Blackberries

Like most varieties of brambles, blackberries require soil that is rich in organic matter . After pruning in the late fall or early winter, top-dress blackberry rows with a thin layer or seasoned manure or compost.

In areas that experience high summertime temperatures, berry clusters can be susceptible to sunburn. Planting blackberries in an area that gets a little bit of afternoon shade or the seasonal application of shade cloth are effective in combating this.

Go drip ! Overhead watering often leads to a variety of diseases including botrytis, or "gray mold." Drip irrigation systems keep the water exactly where you want it and out of the fruit zone.

Pruning Blackberries

The majority of cultivated blackberry varieties are considered floricane-fruiting, meaning that they only produce fruit on floricanes, or canes that grew during the previous year's summer. Primocanes, or the canes that were produced this year, will not produce any fruit until next summer. This means that during the growing season, two different ages classes of growth will be present which can make pruning a little complicated. With a little patience and practice though, it will become second nature in no time.

To prune floricane-fruiting blackberries ...

In the late fall or early winter, carefully cut off and remove all of the floricanes at ground level. Floricanes will generally be brown or grey and much thicker and woodier than the younger primocanes which will be thinner and green.

With all of the floricanes removed, now thin the primocanes such that only 5 to 7 strong canes remain per plant.

On the remaining primocanes, trim all lateral branches(branches coming off of the main cane) down to 10 to 12 inches in length.

To provide a additional support during fruiting, attach the main canes to the trellis wires with gardener's tape.

During the spring and summer, regularly tip new primocanes growth as they reaches the top wire of your trellis system. This will cause the cane to form lateral branches and boost the fruit yield the following summer.

During any season, if any growth appears damaged or diseased, remove and discard it immediately.