If you enjoyed this video, please “Like” and share it to help increase its reach! Thanks for watching 😊TIMESTAMPS here: 0:00 Intro To Growing Blackberry Plants 1:10 Step #1: Blackberry Type Selection 3:27 Blackberry Primocanes VS Floricanes 6:44 My Favorite Blackberry Variety 11:04 Blackberry Taste Test 11:35 Step #2: Selecting A Planting Location 14:11 Step #3: Fertilizing Blackberries 15:52 Step #4: Removing Weeds 17:05 Step #5: Compost And Mulch 20:35 Summer Pruning Blackberries 23:21 Adventures With Dale
Ok beginner here.. I know you have a lot of experience with shade cloths so my question is; if I have a 40% that is way too big for the spot I need to put it over if I fold it in 1/2 will it then become an 80% or does it still act like a 40%? Might be a dumb question but I have zero experience with them. TIA! ❤️
@@JstcountryGirl that is going to depend how the holes line up. Technically, if the holes in the mesh lined up perfectly, there would be no difference. But, if the holes overlapped perfectly, you'd wind up in almost total shade. In reality, it's going to move in the breeze and give you some random amount of % at all times, so the dappled light is going to be constantly shifting. Honestly, if you're concerned about having too much shade, the best thing to do is just buy another smaller shade cloth that fits in the appropriate spot. The smaller shade cloth is usually really inexpensive, and since they'll last for countless seasons, it never hurts to have them on-hand.
@@TheMillennialGardener Thank you, that’s exactly what I’m going to do, buy the right size, 😁. I thought about trying to cut it to size & just add grommets but I’m scared that it will fray once I cut it.
I planted some prime ark freedoms last year. I had a fire get out of control in my yard and burn them up and then the bulldozer came to push a fire line around the woods and ran over them. This year I was walking around my yard and notice both the ones I planted came back up
I grow apache, aparaho, navajo, and thripple crown thornless varieties. All are delicious and they behave a little differently and flower a little offset so I have a longer harvest season. Only remove a cane after its obviously died. I have 2 of each of those kinds and I'm on year 4 of harvest (year 5 of planting). I got GALLONS last year. I'm seeing twice the amount of flowers this year. My original plan was to grow these 4 to pick my favorite, but now I've decided to keep multiples of all of them.
I have 5 Prime Ark Freedom bushes that are now three years old. This is the first year I have gotten a substantial harvest and have gotten about two and half gallons of berries so far! I am thrilled with them!
Just wanted to make a small correction. ON your Prime ARk Freedom blackberries, the berries you are picking here in May are actually coming off of last years growth so it is actually floricane berries. The Primocane berries won't deliver until much later in the summer. That was the tall new growth you mentioned. Two crops per season is the incredible thing about Prime ARk Freedom. Never cut your primocanes after the first year you will miss out on early crop next year.
I’m aware. The primocanes fruiting now are from last season. But, you don’t need to maintain them if you don’t want. Overwintering them will give you an earlier harvest, but even if you cut them back to nothing and mowed the whole bushes down, you’d still get fruit the next year. That’s my point. You can’t do that with floricane producers, and they tend to be later.
You and James Prigioni are getting me addicted to gardening. I meep seeing the plants at local nurseries and been fighting the temptation (blueberries too)… and it’s only been a few weeks 😅
Hi MG! I bought some prime ark freedom blackberry plants from your Amazon link this spring. When I received them I was worried because they were tiny twigs with one or two microscopic leaves. I thought no way these are gonna survive. Three to four months later they are over six feet tall! I’m so impressed. Thank you so much for the recommendation ❤
I use to live in Washington State where there is lots of blackberries. Now living in South Carolina. Still growing great blackberries. I now use shade cloth starting in early June.
Thank you for this very thorough video on how to grow Blackberries. I purchased a couple of "patio" blackberries last year, and planted them in ground, because I wasn't sure they would overwinter without doing that. They have done great but I needed more info and didn't want to spend hours hunting down legitimate and detailed info on how to grow blackberries. You have given such a great presentation imo that is simple and to the point, and have taken the "mystery" out of how to grow them successfully. This is exactly what I was looking for. I am definitely subbing.
I have Prime Ark Freedoms and other varieties and I find that the Prime Ark Freedoms are big berries and prolific, but for me, they tend to be on the tart side(zone 9b). I also have Ponca's which are smaller but sweeter. I also planted Triple Crown and Sweetie Pie but will have to wait for next year to compare. Here in zone 9 temps during summer are in the range of 90 degrees to 103 degrees so I tend to put a cover cloth on them to prevent burning. Great Video on explaining everything about blackberries.
I have all the varieties you mentioned. My favorite is sweetie pie, pure sweet when ripen with a hint of lychee flavor. Ponca is okay, PAF is absolutely sour and I’m about to rip it out😂😂
I have a lot of blackberry varieties, all thornless (or spineless) - I use the short spreading varieties as a ground cover and the rambling types in the low-mid level below larger trees, they thrive in the clay soil and do well in shade as well.
My neighbor just gave me a bunch of plants for free Thorny ones …. the ones she gave me I planted two years ago they are loaded with berries this year , now I have the new plants she just gave me lol hers are wild ones she found growing on her cherry farm …..the flavor is awesome …….i don’t find the thornless ones that flavorful compared to the thorny wild ones , just my opinion …..❤❤
I agree about thornless cultivars. They taste like nothing to me! I have an acre of trellised wild blackberries and they are amazing. Know your thorn locations and you wont get hooked into👍🏻
I noticed my raspberries love the shade and im in Massachusetts which isn't all that hot. I find raspberries under my porch with almost no sun. Raspberries are an amazing plant. Grows just about anywhere. Birds ate mine one year and now as i walk my dog im finding raspberry plants growing in the cracks of the sidewalks way down my street. I was stunned.
I appreciate your advice. I will say that as a boy (long ago a man) who grew up in the PNW as the grandson of berry farmers, that every thorned variety produces berries of a superior flavor to every thornless. I very much miss picking from the ever-abundant thorned bushes that were spread by birds. Never will there be a more flaverfull jam or pie from any thornless variety. The larger the berry, the weaker the flavor per pound. A superior blackberry requires no addition of acid (lemon or otherwise) for any recipe.
I honestly find it hard to believe that *every* thorned variety is better than every single thornless variety, but nevertheless, I've heard people make that claim, so I added that notion to the video. I have not tried enough varieties of blackberries to know, but I can tell you the blackberries I'm growing are much better than what you get in the store, and they're easy to grow. I've only had a handful of varieties, so I don't know blackberry flavors as well as I know something like figs, tomatoes, citrus, etc. where I've had dozens to hundreds of varieties.
I planted two different varieties in my garden this spring so this dropped just at the right time. Can’t wait to watch my kids pluck their own food while playing out in the backyard
I grew up in the Seattle area, where black berries grow on the side of the road and in vacant lots. When I moved to California (and now NC) I laugh whenever I see them at the store
Started some Prime-Ark Freeodm last spring and had a pound of fruit last year. Now I have tons of berries on my flourocanes and the primocanes are growing like crazy and will have more fruit later in the summer. Such an easy grow in Mid Illinois.
Thank you. I got mine by mistake were labeled as blueberries last year. 😂 learning a lot. There are lots of flowers this year after I cut them down last year. So excited !!
Bought couple Prime Ark Freedom about 2 months ago. They are growing fast. I will be excited to see the blackberries appear. Thanks for the video. Enjoyed learning how to manage the dominating canes.
I LOVE the Prime-Ark Freedom, I mail-ordered a few several years ago. I did a container experiment, and put one in a 5 gallon pot, I followed Nourse nursery instructions for growing as a 'tower' by making a cage of 4x4 concrete reinforcing wire around he 5-gallon pot. The instruction was to prune each cane when it grew to 18 inches or so, and let the side branches come out and fruit. This variety is so delicious, and the berries are big! I'm growing in a dry climate on a hill in California zone 9. I can't say enough about this variety.
you prune the primocane tips at 18inches? will the lateral growth then grow vertical as well or will entire height of cane be only 18 inches tall. i may buy prime ark freedom as well trying to figure out ideal pruning of primocanes to still yield good fall harvest
Apache variety blackberries are criminally underrated. I have one plant that has taken over a 14x6 bed in 3 season. Canes as tall as 12ft and the bush is covered in roughly 500 very large berries. Growing in zone 7b east TN
Bought and planted a thornless primacane for my mom like 30 years ago and it was the most vigorous growing and heavy yielding blackberry plant I have ever seen. Growing up in Northeast NY in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains we used to forage wild blackberries among many other wild edibles. Not sure what variety that thornless was but it was leaps and bounds better than what I foraged in the woods as a kid lol
Growing lots of Arkansas varieties, Arapaho, Ouachita, Caddo, Ponca, Osage, Prime Ark Freedom, Prime Ark 45,Natchez. Then I got my Triple Crown, Von, Chester, Sweetie Pie, all in the same area. My little boys will go outside and devour all the Blackberries, Raspberries and Blueberries from the plants, gotta keep growing my food forest.
I respect choice of Prime Ark Freedom, however I suggest having Prime Ark Traveler 😉 in your collection, if you have room. Spreads 8' or better by traveling roots. Good flavor and same large berries, if not larger. Fruits later than Freedom, extends season and harvest
Great information for those. I'm growing blueberries and strawberries for the first time. Wow that really looks super comfy and cooling and relaxing for Dale. I think I would lay there. Lol
Interesting again. Bought them last year in autumn and now they go green here in Netherlands. In a couple weeks the bark of pine is coming, can't wait✌🏼
Great video! Knowing the difference between the Primo and Flori helped me a bunch as I have blackberries on my property and I wasn’t sure how to prune them. Now I do!!! Thank you.
Here in the PNW the Himalayan blackberry grows faster than weeds. I spend half my time chopping it back from the empty lot next to my garden. So when I want to harvest some, it's easy. 🤣
I just pulled up some (3) blackberry or raspberry thorned canes out of my flower bed along the house in my front yard :( Google says they're blackberry. They were 2-3' tall and growing. Maybe I should have just topped them but figured I couldn't leave them there. I did get some of the roots to come up with them so I transplanted two of them in soil and put one in a bottle with water to see what they do. I'm guessing a bird ate some of the store bought berry's I threw out and that's how they started there. I tried starting raspberry's this year from some root cuttings but haven't been successful yet. I was successful at growing strawberry's from seed from a store bought berry, maybe I can grow blackberry's the same way :) Great video. I enjoyed watching it.
Great tips! I've grown blackberries for about 25 years near the Texas Gulf Coast. IMO, the thorned varieties used to have superior fruit. I don't believe that is still the case though. A few things that I learned over the years, the more branches that your plant has, the more fruit you'll get. Tipping the long canes makes them branch and fruit more. Three to four foot long canes are long enough. Thornless plants are much easier to net than thorned ones. A perfectly black, shiny berry, while beautiful, is not ripe. For best flavor, wait and pick your berries once they become dull. Where disease pressure is high, you might not want to mulch the cuttings in place. If you DO mulch on top of your cuttings, you may have some cuttings root, which can be good or bad. P.S. My Apache and Arapaho plants have been producing berries for about a week on the border of 8b/9a.
I had gotten 100 prime ark 45s. Didn't realize they had thorns. I planted them but left them to die cause I didn't like them, them suckers thrived. So I cleaned them up mulched them an they have grown on me I love them now
Thanks for the great tips. I bought 2 blackberry plants last year, knowing nothing about them, and I'm getting some fruit now. They're not as big or as many as yours, but the few that ripened were quite tasty. I'll be using these notes going forward.
Great information. I have 2 Prime Ark plants on the way. I've heard that you can also propagate those top clippings to start new plants if you want more. :)
I lived in Oregon for 10 years and berries grow wild everywhere. I used to to go out to Sauvie Island near Portland and there was a field that a farmer had and he just huge Blackberry brambles as a wind break barrier around his field so we always stopped and picked berries. The farmer didn't cut or cultivate the berries in anyway so it was tough picking. But free !
I've been picking blackberries on the side of the road for a long time. Even the ones with actual bitter seeds taste better than whatever is typical in the grocery store.
Navajo preform great for me in MA. Beautiful eye candy white flowers that turn into delicious monster berries. I had a huge harvest last year and ended up breaking new cane that grew over 8ft trying to shape it, it broke at the base. So sadly not going to have huge harvest this year. Hopefully few of the last year wood gives me something. Great video! ETA: I have Navajo planted on the side of my house, not full sun. And it still performs great. Eastern Mass! Regarding nutrients, all I do is add compost spring, and every other week top dress with compost. That's it.
These Prime Ark Freedom's are pretty vigorous. They grow like a beast, far and away more vigorous and thicker than my other varieties. I'd think these would have a good shot.
I have the Bushel and Berry Baby Cakes which are thornless in containers. They are good for zone 4-8 and only get 3 to 4 feet tall. I have a small yard currently so only grow small varieties in containers (also have raspberry and blueberries plus veggies). They are full of berries.
I’m shocked you didn’t mention that blackberries will spread and take over their roots will go beyond the growing area, I have blackberry shoots coming up in the middle of my yard! Almost as bad as mint lol
Me to! Lol I dig up the small new groups and move them to make a protective area around husbands garage windows so incase anyone thinks of breaking in while I am at work lol
Some of those are probably bird dropping plantings, lol! We have wild florida blackberries and we also have a lot of birds. We never know where they will come up but we do know that we will get a lot of fruit if lawnmower man (hubby) doesn't run them over! 😊 I got 4 quarts this year! They are even growing in my bamboo!
I planted one single blackberry plant a few years ago. Since then it has spread all over my one acre lot. And it’s thorny AF, it pretty much tears through my skin when I walk through it. I hate blackberries now.
I have been growing blackberries for a long time, Prime ark freedom and Osage both from Dr Clark out of Arkansas if am not mistaken are in my opinion the best there are and i have grown many many varieties, Great video as usual. Btw you can get two crops out of PAF , depending on how you prune them. Thank you
We just got as a present thornless blackberry and was not sure how to take care of them. I’m still unsure as to which variety. Can’t believe this video just popped up just in time. I ordered netting so thanks for hyperlinks.
Great video! My Blackberries here in Calabash are doing great and keep multipyling! Be careful with some composts and manures. Some are contaminated with Grazon and that will kill your garden.
Wonderful video! Thank you so much! I would love to see more content on these, even some shorts about how you prune it throughout the year and at the end of the year. Most pruning videos focus on the fluoricane bearing, which is understandable but unhelpful. I have Prime Ark Freedom and Travelers in a setup directly copied from you. I will update my spring chore list! FYI, I have discovered that blackberries really don't like containers. I had one plant in a 30 gallon grow bag and it was unhappy. I transferred it to the bed and it immediately took off! Seriously, thank you for posting this!
I explain how I summer prune the Prime Ark Freedom's at the end of the video. That is how I do it year-round. I just top them at around 4 feet and keep them shaped as a bush. You can do that with the primocane-fruiting types, because they fruit on that initial growth. Then, you just remove the canes when they're done fruiting. With the trailing and semi-erect types where you have to trellis them, they require a lot more pruning and maintenance. I can't produce a video on those, because I don't grow those types. They require more effort than I'm willing to give. Prime Ark Freedom's are so easy to maintain.
I have wild blackberries that grow under a tree in my yard takes a couple of weeks more before harvest but the indirect sunlight seems to be what they like.
Two bushes, two different spots -- one full sun (ehh, not so much berries); one on north side is putting out flushes like never before. Planted same time, same year. I think north afternoon shade is better here in 9b inferno 🥵. Clear out dead canes only
My dream will be coming reality. I've always want it a berry trees. Do you have a video of how to start (seeds or purchase a plant). Timings and all the details (Texas). Thanks a bunch. Enjoy the fruits 😊
I haven’t tried seeds but seedlings and cuttings do well. I’m near Houston and my Blackberries handled the heat last summer, but I’m making some changes to shade them this summer. The plants I put in last fall did extremely well as it was past the extreme heat. The plants I put in last spring had issues from heat stress. All survived to this spring, but the ones that went thru the summer did not produce heavily this spring. Hence the decision to add shade cloth! (Thank you Millennial Gardner for that advice!😊)
Thanks for the video! Honestly it's been hard to find good videos on how to grow blackberries. I live in Central FL zone 9b/10a (sort of on the border). I have 3 thornless Arapaho blackberry plants, so they grow on their 2nd year canes. I have them in large grow bags (I rent) and had an issue with them not producing and struggling with some disease, but I started pruning the canes to be about 4-5ft to stimulate more lateral growth, and supposedly the plant can have a hard time supporting really tall canes and fruiting when it doesn't have all the nutrients of being planted in ground. So I pruned them to be about 4-5 feet (way more manageable), they almost immediately shot lateral growth and started fruiting lol. Same with my boysenberries! This is the first time mine are actually growing berries, they had to be cut back to soil level twice due to disease, but one day they just came back stronger, gave them more sun and better conditions, so 2 years later I actually get a few berries lol, almost done ripening!
I have Natchez and ...oh, my goodness I can't think of the other thornless for my zone 9b. Anyway, this is my 3rd year with them and I have berries on the Natchez this year. I'm so excited!!! Now I remember the other Ouachita! yep, that's the one. Lol!
I planted three blackberry bushes in 2022 not knowing the first thing about growing them (one was a birthday gift, and I decided it needed two friends, big box store offerings). Currently in a raised bed with inappropriately placed bee balm. I’m excited to know how to rehab the bed now (thanks!) and I want to set them up for success next year. Do you have off-season pruning tips/videos for these bushes?
I have a question. Are the Navajo blackberries very sweet and not have the bitter blackberry taste? I am 71 and grew up eating Dewberries which are blackberries with that are much sweeter than your regular bitter tasting blackberries. They were very puffy very sweet and I can’t remember whether they had thorns or not is the same type of blackberry as a Dewberry? I am in North Carolina in the Piedmont. We purchase from a local grower that sells Navajo and they are very sweet. Did you plant from plants or from seeds and where can we get the seeds or plants from? I did not look in your description. Very good video thank you for putting this out. I do follow you because you are in my growing zone and have great content.
In the past I had a variety that grew canes 10-12 feet and got crazy out of control. I removed those a number of years ago. Last year I planted 3 of the Baby Cakes Blackberry Bushes. They stay smaller and compact. They were very tiny plants but this year they have leafed out so well amd have numerous flowers
If you enjoyed this video, please “Like” and share it to help increase its reach! Thanks for watching 😊TIMESTAMPS here:
0:00 Intro To Growing Blackberry Plants
1:10 Step #1: Blackberry Type Selection
3:27 Blackberry Primocanes VS Floricanes
6:44 My Favorite Blackberry Variety
11:04 Blackberry Taste Test
11:35 Step #2: Selecting A Planting Location
14:11 Step #3: Fertilizing Blackberries
15:52 Step #4: Removing Weeds
17:05 Step #5: Compost And Mulch
20:35 Summer Pruning Blackberries
23:21 Adventures With Dale
Ok beginner here.. I know you have a lot of experience with shade cloths so my question is; if I have a 40% that is way too big for the spot I need to put it over if I fold it in 1/2 will it then become an 80% or does it still act like a 40%? Might be a dumb question but I have zero experience with them. TIA! ❤️
Blackberties R my favorite❤! I want the best tasting first and I'll whatever it takes within reason.
Wish I could double like your videos. Thank you.
@@JstcountryGirl that is going to depend how the holes line up. Technically, if the holes in the mesh lined up perfectly, there would be no difference. But, if the holes overlapped perfectly, you'd wind up in almost total shade. In reality, it's going to move in the breeze and give you some random amount of % at all times, so the dappled light is going to be constantly shifting. Honestly, if you're concerned about having too much shade, the best thing to do is just buy another smaller shade cloth that fits in the appropriate spot. The smaller shade cloth is usually really inexpensive, and since they'll last for countless seasons, it never hurts to have them on-hand.
@@TheMillennialGardener Thank you, that’s exactly what I’m going to do, buy the right size, 😁. I thought about trying to cut it to size & just add grommets but I’m scared that it will fray once I cut it.
Greatest blackberry video on RUclips. One of the best Gardening channels on RUclips. Thanks man.
Thank you! I really appreciate it!
I planted some prime ark freedoms last year. I had a fire get out of control in my yard and burn them up and then the bulldozer came to push a fire line around the woods and ran over them. This year I was walking around my yard and notice both the ones I planted came back up
You are really one of the best garden teachers I’ve heard!
Thank you! I appreciate it.
This is just in time! Literally told my mom today that I was tired of paying for blackberries, I needed to grow some!
Excellent! They're very fun to grow, and they're very rewarding.
Get really good seeds soon because non tampered seeds that can keep giving you good healthy seeds will be harder to come by.
Get really good seeds soon because non tampered seeds that can keep giving you good healthy seeds will be harder to come by.
Anything growing in my garden is great. Be grateful of your harvest.
Top quality content, inspirational, very calming. The GOAT of gardening channels 💪
Thank you! I appreciate it!
I grow apache, aparaho, navajo, and thripple crown thornless varieties. All are delicious and they behave a little differently and flower a little offset so I have a longer harvest season.
Only remove a cane after its obviously died.
I have 2 of each of those kinds and I'm on year 4 of harvest (year 5 of planting). I got GALLONS last year. I'm seeing twice the amount of flowers this year.
My original plan was to grow these 4 to pick my favorite, but now I've decided to keep multiples of all of them.
I have 5 Prime Ark Freedom bushes that are now three years old. This is the first year I have gotten a substantial harvest and have gotten about two and half gallons of berries so far! I am thrilled with them!
They’re absolutely prolific producers of huge berries. It’s awesome to have this much fruit this early in spring.
Feed them in feb 20-20-20 prune them back and you will get a huge harvest
As someone that finished year 4, prepare for twice the berries this year
@@danielleterry2331 yes, once I started fertilizing in Feb, the harvest was absolutely insane
Can you grow the Prime Ark Freedom in large containers or do they need to go into the soil?
Just wanted to make a small correction. ON your Prime ARk Freedom blackberries, the berries you are picking here in May are actually coming off of last years growth so it is actually floricane berries. The Primocane berries won't deliver until much later in the summer. That was the tall new growth you mentioned. Two crops per season is the incredible thing about Prime ARk Freedom. Never cut your primocanes after the first year you will miss out on early crop next year.
I’m aware. The primocanes fruiting now are from last season. But, you don’t need to maintain them if you don’t want. Overwintering them will give you an earlier harvest, but even if you cut them back to nothing and mowed the whole bushes down, you’d still get fruit the next year. That’s my point. You can’t do that with floricane producers, and they tend to be later.
Very important point. Thanks!
I just have to say right off the bat, that 'what's growing on' was a fantastic start 😄
You and James Prigioni are getting me addicted to gardening. I meep seeing the plants at local nurseries and been fighting the temptation (blueberries too)… and it’s only been a few weeks 😅
Believe everything he says. My family was from Wilson,N.C circa 1920
All the best
Shaun of NYC
Hi MG! I bought some prime ark freedom blackberry plants from your Amazon link this spring. When I received them I was worried because they were tiny twigs with one or two microscopic leaves. I thought no way these are gonna survive. Three to four months later they are over six feet tall! I’m so impressed. Thank you so much for the recommendation ❤
Me who just bought some blackberry bushes: 👀
Haha same just got some yesterday
Glad to be timely 🙂
Same haha.
I bought and planted mine last week. It just died. What did I do wrong :(
@@Barackriflehave you had experience making other plantings? Did you use soil that was known to be free of pesticides and herbicides?
I use to live in Washington State where there is lots of blackberries. Now living in South Carolina. Still growing great blackberries. I now use shade cloth starting in early June.
Thank you for this very thorough video on how to grow Blackberries.
I purchased a couple of "patio" blackberries last year, and planted them in ground, because I wasn't sure they would overwinter without doing that. They have done great but I needed more info and didn't want to spend hours hunting down legitimate and detailed info on how
to grow blackberries. You have given such a great presentation imo that is simple and to the point, and have taken the "mystery" out of how to grow them successfully. This is exactly what I was looking for. I am definitely subbing.
Thanks for the informative video. It’s alway nice seeing someone enthusiastically and passionately share knowledge about what they love. Thanks again.
I have Prime Ark Freedoms and other varieties and I find that the Prime Ark Freedoms are big berries and prolific, but for me, they tend to be on the tart side(zone 9b). I also have Ponca's which are smaller but sweeter. I also planted Triple Crown and Sweetie Pie but will have to wait for next year to compare. Here in zone 9 temps during summer are in the range of 90 degrees to 103 degrees so I tend to put a cover cloth on them to prevent burning. Great Video on explaining everything about blackberries.
I have all the varieties you mentioned. My favorite is sweetie pie, pure sweet when ripen with a hint of lychee flavor. Ponca is okay, PAF is absolutely sour and I’m about to rip it out😂😂
I have a lot of blackberry varieties, all thornless (or spineless) - I use the short spreading varieties as a ground cover and the rambling types in the low-mid level below larger trees, they thrive in the clay soil and do well in shade as well.
🪻🪻🪻🪻🪻🪻🪻🪻🪻🪻🪻
When I leave South Jersey in a few years to join you in Wilmington, the first thing I’m going to “pack” is my blackberry plants!
On a whim, I dug up about 10 of mine in frozen upstate NY. Drove them down to my new digs in Swansboro NC. They are growing fine!!!
There's nothing like NJ in your rearview mirror. I know! Good luck!
My neighbor just gave me a bunch of plants for free
Thorny ones …. the ones she gave me I planted two years ago they are loaded with berries this year , now I have the new plants she just gave me lol hers are wild ones she found growing on her cherry farm …..the flavor is awesome …….i don’t find the thornless ones that flavorful compared to the thorny wild ones , just my opinion …..❤❤
I agree about thornless cultivars. They taste like nothing to me! I have an acre of trellised wild blackberries and they are amazing. Know your thorn locations and you wont get hooked into👍🏻
I noticed my raspberries love the shade and im in Massachusetts which isn't all that hot. I find raspberries under my porch with almost no sun. Raspberries are an amazing plant. Grows just about anywhere. Birds ate mine one year and now as i walk my dog im finding raspberry plants growing in the cracks of the sidewalks way down my street. I was stunned.
I appreciate your advice. I will say that as a boy (long ago a man) who grew up in the PNW as the grandson of berry farmers, that every thorned variety produces berries of a superior flavor to every thornless. I very much miss picking from the ever-abundant thorned bushes that were spread by birds. Never will there be a more flaverfull jam or pie from any thornless variety. The larger the berry, the weaker the flavor per pound. A superior blackberry requires no addition of acid (lemon or otherwise) for any recipe.
I honestly find it hard to believe that *every* thorned variety is better than every single thornless variety, but nevertheless, I've heard people make that claim, so I added that notion to the video. I have not tried enough varieties of blackberries to know, but I can tell you the blackberries I'm growing are much better than what you get in the store, and they're easy to grow. I've only had a handful of varieties, so I don't know blackberry flavors as well as I know something like figs, tomatoes, citrus, etc. where I've had dozens to hundreds of varieties.
If i had unlimited space and time to prune, I'd try a thorned variety.
Making me miss living in the Columbia River gorge near Portland. We had an unlimited, wild supply of marionberries growing everywhere.
I planted two different varieties in my garden this spring so this dropped just at the right time. Can’t wait to watch my kids pluck their own food while playing out in the backyard
Had a buddy today talking about getting some. Definitely sent this his way lol
I love blackberries. I'm growing them up in Maine, zone 4/5. All the cane fruit, I'm a big fan -- but the blackberries are my special friends.
They’re great. Very easy to grow once you get the basics down, and they’re always reliable.
@@TheMillennialGardener What about currants? I don't think I've seen you talk about or grow them. Potentially an interesting area to explore.
@@51rwyattI haven’t grown them.
I grew up in the Seattle area, where black berries grow on the side of the road and in vacant lots. When I moved to California (and now NC) I laugh whenever I see them at the store
😐 very jelly 🫤
visited sister in Tacoma. Wild blackberries and apples, apples, apples 🍎🍎🍏
EVERYWHERE 😮😢
fantastic work in your garden
Started some Prime-Ark Freeodm last spring and had a pound of fruit last year. Now I have tons of berries on my flourocanes and the primocanes are growing like crazy and will have more fruit later in the summer. Such an easy grow in Mid Illinois.
Thank you. I got mine by mistake were labeled as blueberries last year. 😂 learning a lot. There are lots of flowers this year after I cut them down last year. So excited !!
I swear, you have great timing with my current interests! I just picked up some more berries today and going to try your methods for these new ones.
Bought couple Prime Ark Freedom about 2 months ago. They are growing fast. I will be excited to see the blackberries appear. Thanks for the video. Enjoyed learning how to manage the dominating canes.
I LOVE the Prime-Ark Freedom, I mail-ordered a few several years ago. I did a container experiment, and put one in a 5 gallon pot, I followed Nourse nursery instructions for growing as a 'tower' by making a cage of 4x4 concrete reinforcing wire around he 5-gallon pot. The instruction was to prune each cane when it grew to 18 inches or so, and let the side branches come out and fruit. This variety is so delicious, and the berries are big! I'm growing in a dry climate on a hill in California zone 9. I can't say enough about this variety.
you prune the primocane tips at 18inches? will the lateral growth then grow vertical as well or will entire height of cane be only 18 inches tall. i may buy prime ark freedom as well trying to figure out ideal pruning of primocanes to still yield good fall harvest
Apache variety blackberries are criminally underrated. I have one plant that has taken over a 14x6 bed in 3 season. Canes as tall as 12ft and the bush is covered in roughly 500 very large berries. Growing in zone 7b east TN
Thank you for the video. It makes the choice simple. Can you grow currants in your area?
Bought and planted a thornless primacane for my mom like 30 years ago and it was the most vigorous growing and heavy yielding blackberry plant I have ever seen. Growing up in Northeast NY in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains we used to forage wild blackberries among many other wild edibles. Not sure what variety that thornless was but it was leaps and bounds better than what I foraged in the woods as a kid lol
My prime ark freedom berries are off to a great start!
Excellent! They are *strong* plants. Mine are already starting their second flowering of the season.
Thank You, I just planted three blackberry plants this year with no idea how to care for them. I enjoy your channel very much.
You're welcome! I'm glad I can help.
Perfect timing, I recently bought small ark freedom, now I know what to do with it
Great video! You explained everything really clearly and it feels like the info finally “clicked” for me.
Growing lots of Arkansas varieties, Arapaho, Ouachita, Caddo, Ponca, Osage, Prime Ark Freedom, Prime Ark 45,Natchez. Then I got my Triple Crown, Von, Chester, Sweetie Pie, all in the same area. My little boys will go outside and devour all the Blackberries, Raspberries and Blueberries from the plants, gotta keep growing my food forest.
WOW! Someone loves blackberries 🙂 That's a great collection!
Which ones would you say are the best tasting?
Thank you for the link. My son has been asking for a blackberry plant and i wasnt sure but you changed my mind.
They're fun to grow, and they're very rewarding! You'll be harvesting them early, way before any other fruit trees and vegetables.
I think you read my mind. I was just looking for some blackberries to grow!
I respect choice of Prime Ark Freedom, however I suggest having Prime Ark Traveler 😉 in your collection, if you have room.
Spreads 8' or better by traveling roots. Good flavor and same large berries, if not larger. Fruits later than Freedom, extends season and harvest
Great information for those. I'm growing blueberries and strawberries for the first time. Wow that really looks super comfy and cooling and relaxing for Dale. I think I would lay there. Lol
I figure if my plants like the oscillating fan, why not Dale? 😅
Thank you, I just ordered my first Prime-Ark Freedom plants! I’m so excited. Love your videos. ❤
Interesting again. Bought them last year in autumn and now they go green here in Netherlands. In a couple weeks the bark of pine is coming, can't wait✌🏼
Thorned to help protect birds from predators.
Great video! Knowing the difference between the Primo and Flori helped me a bunch as I have blackberries on my property and I wasn’t sure how to prune them. Now I do!!! Thank you.
You're welcome!
I just bought 1 for the 1st time & need advice so this is great. Woot!
Thanks for sharing I learn how to take care of my Blackberrys ❤
Here in the PNW the Himalayan blackberry grows faster than weeds. I spend half my time chopping it back from the empty lot next to my garden. So when I want to harvest some, it's easy. 🤣
I just pulled up some (3) blackberry or raspberry thorned canes out of my flower bed along the house in my front yard :( Google says they're blackberry. They were 2-3' tall and growing. Maybe I should have just topped them but figured I couldn't leave them there. I did get some of the roots to come up with them so I transplanted two of them in soil and put one in a bottle with water to see what they do. I'm guessing a bird ate some of the store bought berry's I threw out and that's how they started there.
I tried starting raspberry's this year from some root cuttings but haven't been successful yet. I was successful at growing strawberry's from seed from a store bought berry, maybe I can grow blackberry's the same way :) Great video. I enjoyed watching it.
Awesome vid as always! The only tidbit I'll need to google is when the best time is to plant blackberries in my area.
Great tips! I've grown blackberries for about 25 years near the Texas Gulf Coast. IMO, the thorned varieties used to have superior fruit. I don't believe that is still the case though. A few things that I learned over the years, the more branches that your plant has, the more fruit you'll get. Tipping the long canes makes them branch and fruit more. Three to four foot long canes are long enough. Thornless plants are much easier to net than thorned ones. A perfectly black, shiny berry, while beautiful, is not ripe. For best flavor, wait and pick your berries once they become dull. Where disease pressure is high, you might not want to mulch the cuttings in place. If you DO mulch on top of your cuttings, you may have some cuttings root, which can be good or bad.
P.S. My Apache and Arapaho plants have been producing berries for about a week on the border of 8b/9a.
I had gotten 100 prime ark 45s. Didn't realize they had thorns. I planted them but left them to die cause I didn't like them, them suckers thrived. So I cleaned them up mulched them an they have grown on me I love them now
Thanks for the great tips. I bought 2 blackberry plants last year, knowing nothing about them, and I'm getting some fruit now. They're not as big or as many as yours, but the few that ripened were quite tasty. I'll be using these notes going forward.
Great information. I have 2 Prime Ark plants on the way. I've heard that you can also propagate those top clippings to start new plants if you want more. :)
I have this naturally growing under my black Walnut tree and I learned a lot I'm in Wisconsin my variety is different but same plant
I lived in Oregon for 10 years and berries grow wild everywhere. I used to to go out to Sauvie Island near Portland and there was a field that a farmer had and he just huge Blackberry brambles as a wind break barrier around his field so we always stopped and picked berries. The farmer didn't cut or cultivate the berries in anyway so it was tough picking. But free !
I grow KIOWA, and of course they have thorns, but I let them trail over my fences, and they are almost plum size fruit. Delicious!
Thanks for the video!
I've been picking blackberries on the side of the road for a long time. Even the ones with actual bitter seeds taste better than whatever is typical in the grocery store.
100% the ones at the store is hard and not sweet at all. Like watered down. It's weird.
I love our Prime Ark Freedom blackberries. They taste delicious and everyone is shocked at how big the berries get.
They're awesome! They make great blackberry ice cream. That's what we've been doing with ours!
Great information thanks for sharing!!!
Oh lord, I throw so much more fertilizer on in February. But thats because I grow strawberries under them. Never had them hinder the blackberries.
Navajo preform great for me in MA. Beautiful eye candy white flowers that turn into delicious monster berries.
I had a huge harvest last year and ended up breaking new cane that grew over 8ft trying to shape it, it broke at the base. So sadly not going to have huge harvest this year. Hopefully few of the last year wood gives me something.
Great video!
ETA: I have Navajo planted on the side of my house, not full sun. And it still performs great. Eastern Mass! Regarding nutrients, all I do is add compost spring, and every other week top dress with compost. That's it.
I'm in chicago. If u want blackberries in containers you have to grow Thorned they are more hearty. In ground near the house thornless will work.😊
These Prime Ark Freedom's are pretty vigorous. They grow like a beast, far and away more vigorous and thicker than my other varieties. I'd think these would have a good shot.
I have the Bushel and Berry Baby Cakes which are thornless in containers. They are good for zone 4-8 and only get 3 to 4 feet tall. I have a small yard currently so only grow small varieties in containers (also have raspberry and blueberries plus veggies). They are full of berries.
I’m shocked you didn’t mention that blackberries will spread and take over their roots will go beyond the growing area, I have blackberry shoots coming up in the middle of my yard! Almost as bad as mint lol
Check your variety...it may travel by underground roots.
Me to! Lol I dig up the small new groups and move them to make a protective area around husbands garage windows so incase anyone thinks of breaking in while I am at work lol
I grow mine next to the yard like he does. If you're growing a thornless type then you just mow it or yank them when they come up.
Amen! I bought the erect primacane type but has spread EVERYWHERE! 😩
Some of those are probably bird dropping plantings, lol! We have wild florida blackberries and we also have a lot of birds. We never know where they will come up but we do know that we will get a lot of fruit if lawnmower man (hubby) doesn't run them over! 😊
I got 4 quarts this year! They are even growing in my bamboo!
Very helpful, thank you.
Well done!!
As always- great information !!
Glad it was helpful!
I planted one single blackberry plant a few years ago. Since then it has spread all over my one acre lot. And it’s thorny AF, it pretty much tears through my skin when I walk through it. I hate blackberries now.
Great info, my Freedoms are blooming now in Central Kentucky!
Nice!
I have been growing blackberries for a long time, Prime ark freedom and Osage both from Dr Clark out of Arkansas if am not mistaken are in my opinion the best there are and i have grown many many varieties, Great video as usual. Btw you can get two crops out of PAF , depending on how you prune them. Thank you
Thank you ! I Just planted 5 Chester Blackberries.
Nice!
We just got as a present thornless blackberry and was not sure how to take care of them. I’m still unsure as to which variety. Can’t believe this video just popped up just in time. I ordered netting so thanks for hyperlinks.
Glad I could be timely 🙂
That’s funny cuz stuff like that has been happening to me a LOT lately. Whats that saying…”Everything in due time.”🌱
sounds awesome I am growing blackberries myself mine are grown in containers
Great video! My Blackberries here in Calabash are doing great and keep multipyling! Be careful with some composts and manures. Some are contaminated with Grazon and that will kill your garden.
Good information. Thanks.
You’re welcome!
Instead of chopping and dropping the pruned canes, can you root them and make more plants?
Wonderful video! Thank you so much! I would love to see more content on these, even some shorts about how you prune it throughout the year and at the end of the year. Most pruning videos focus on the fluoricane bearing, which is understandable but unhelpful.
I have Prime Ark Freedom and Travelers in a setup directly copied from you. I will update my spring chore list!
FYI, I have discovered that blackberries really don't like containers. I had one plant in a 30 gallon grow bag and it was unhappy. I transferred it to the bed and it immediately took off!
Seriously, thank you for posting this!
I explain how I summer prune the Prime Ark Freedom's at the end of the video. That is how I do it year-round. I just top them at around 4 feet and keep them shaped as a bush. You can do that with the primocane-fruiting types, because they fruit on that initial growth. Then, you just remove the canes when they're done fruiting. With the trailing and semi-erect types where you have to trellis them, they require a lot more pruning and maintenance. I can't produce a video on those, because I don't grow those types. They require more effort than I'm willing to give. Prime Ark Freedom's are so easy to maintain.
Wow great video, thank you good sir
I appreciate it! Thanks for watching!
Thanks so much for all the info. My fav channel!
You're welcome! I appreciate it!
I have wild blackberries that grow under a tree in my yard takes a couple of weeks more before harvest but the indirect sunlight seems to be what they like.
Two bushes, two different spots -- one full sun (ehh, not so much berries); one on north side is putting out flushes like never before. Planted same time, same year.
I think north afternoon shade is better here in 9b inferno 🥵. Clear out dead canes only
My dream will be coming reality. I've always want it a berry trees. Do you have a video of how to start (seeds or purchase a plant). Timings and all the details (Texas). Thanks a bunch. Enjoy the fruits 😊
I haven’t tried seeds but seedlings and cuttings do well. I’m near Houston and my Blackberries handled the heat last summer, but I’m making some changes to shade them this summer. The plants I put in last fall did extremely well as it was past the extreme heat. The plants I put in last spring had issues from heat stress. All survived to this spring, but the ones that went thru the summer did not produce heavily this spring. Hence the decision to add shade cloth! (Thank you Millennial Gardner for that advice!😊)
And it's blackberry season here in western Arkansas.
Great video!
Thank you!
Good job on this vidio! Very informative and useful information. Thanks
Thank you!
You’re welcome!
Thanks for the video! Honestly it's been hard to find good videos on how to grow blackberries. I live in Central FL zone 9b/10a (sort of on the border). I have 3 thornless Arapaho blackberry plants, so they grow on their 2nd year canes. I have them in large grow bags (I rent) and had an issue with them not producing and struggling with some disease, but I started pruning the canes to be about 4-5ft to stimulate more lateral growth, and supposedly the plant can have a hard time supporting really tall canes and fruiting when it doesn't have all the nutrients of being planted in ground. So I pruned them to be about 4-5 feet (way more manageable), they almost immediately shot lateral growth and started fruiting lol. Same with my boysenberries!
This is the first time mine are actually growing berries, they had to be cut back to soil level twice due to disease, but one day they just came back stronger, gave them more sun and better conditions, so 2 years later I actually get a few berries lol, almost done ripening!
Thank you 😊👵🏻👩🌾❣️
You’re welcome!
I have Natchez and ...oh, my goodness I can't think of the other thornless for my zone 9b. Anyway, this is my 3rd year with them and I have berries on the Natchez this year. I'm so excited!!! Now I remember the other Ouachita! yep, that's the one. Lol!
I planted three blackberry bushes in 2022 not knowing the first thing about growing them (one was a birthday gift, and I decided it needed two friends, big box store offerings). Currently in a raised bed with inappropriately placed bee balm. I’m excited to know how to rehab the bed now (thanks!) and I want to set them up for success next year. Do you have off-season pruning tips/videos for these bushes?
I have a question. Are the Navajo blackberries very sweet and not have the bitter blackberry taste? I am 71 and grew up eating Dewberries which are blackberries with that are much sweeter than your regular bitter tasting blackberries. They were very puffy very sweet and I can’t remember whether they had thorns or not is the same type of blackberry as a Dewberry? I am in North Carolina in the Piedmont. We purchase from a local grower that sells Navajo and they are very sweet. Did you plant from plants or from seeds and where can we get the seeds or plants from? I did not look in your description. Very good video thank you for putting this out. I do follow you because you are in my growing zone and have great content.
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In the past I had a variety that grew canes 10-12 feet and got crazy out of control. I removed those a number of years ago. Last year I planted 3 of the Baby Cakes Blackberry Bushes. They stay smaller and compact. They were very tiny plants but this year they have leafed out so well amd have numerous flowers
I went with Anne (yellow) raspberries. The birds mostly ignore them. I might add some blackberries if my strawberries are a huge bust again this year.