Whether prepared as jam, cake or compote - blackberries are a delicious treat that anyone can plant in the garden. For a bounty harvest, however, you need to take proper care of the berries.
Blackberries are little stars among the summer berries. Not only do they taste really delicious, they are also real vitamin bombs. For example, they have the highest provitamin A content of all berries. But blackberries also contain a lot of vitamin C. Their mineral content is also very high. The blackberry is also a medicinal plant. For example, the fruits have a diuretic effect. The leaves, on the other hand, can help with diarrhea.
The great thing: anyone can grow blackberries. Even if you don't have a garden. It thrives in almost any location and therefore also on the balcony or terrace. So nobody has to do without the delicious little fruits. Of course, you can't just let the bramble grow without taking care of it. You have to do a lot of maintenance to ensure that the blackberry bush thrives and bears lots of fruit.
If you don't take care of the bramble bush at all, it certainly won't die. But it quickly becomes unsightly, because the plant grows profusely. It just doesn't look pretty when the old rods mix with the new.
How to properly care for blackberries
Cut:
Blackberries always bloom on the biennial canes. This means that if new young shoots form, then you will get fruit next year. After that, the shoots die off. So in the fall, always cut off the tendrils that were fruit-bearing that year. You can also cut off the young shoots. Only leave a maximum of 10 shoots. You will get enough fruit from the side shoots that form.
It is best to always guide the individual rods along a trellis or a fence. This not only makes harvesting easier, but also cutting. In principle, a trellis with individual cross braces, between which there is a distance of about 30 cm, is ideal.
Casting:
Blackberries need water regularly. Not only when they are freshly planted, but also later. Only if the plants get enough water,they will also bear much fruit. So always keep the soil slightly moist, but make sure that there is no waterlogging.
Little tip:
Apply bark mulch around the plant. This keeps the soil from drying out. So it doesn't matter if you forget to water. It also prevents weeds from forming.
Fertilize:
If you replant the blackberries, mix some manure or compost under the excavated soil. Then it is sufficient if you supply the blackberries with berry fertilizer once a year (preferably in spring). But you can also apply horn shavings or compost.
Hiberation:
Actually, the blackberries don't need any protection in winter. However, if a long and very cold winter is imminent, it is best to protect them with a garden fleece.
If you have planted the blackberries in tubs, it is important that you bring them indoors and overwinter them in a dry and cool room. Always wrap the tubs and plants in garden fleece.