Ed, this year is the first time I have been here in years to be able to have any of them. They are endemic here - one could easily pick a small basket a day for weeks, I suspect (if you can beat out the bears).
We'd planted some blackberry canes but found out that the need to prune, the need to anti-bird net, and the ongoing battle with rust made them not worth the effort. Our everbearing raspberries have produced well over the years and don't require the extra effort needed by blackberries.
I forgot to mention that when we made blackberry jam it seemed the seeds grew to twice their original size. We know that they didn't but it seemed that way.
I'm willing to say that if we had access to management free blackberries I would be singing a different tune.
Our strawberries are day neutral, and we grow them in towers using a non-recirculating liquid nutrient system. We pick them without kneeling, and we get berries all summer long.
I will say that all the ones you buy in the stores seem to be seedless. The seeds in the wild versions are definitely an odd reminder of the times when that is all there were.
Comments are welcome (and necessary, for good conversation). If you could take the time to be kind and not practice profanity, it would be appreciated. Thanks for posting!
We certainly had a bumper crop of blackberries this year.
ReplyDeleteEd, this year is the first time I have been here in years to be able to have any of them. They are endemic here - one could easily pick a small basket a day for weeks, I suspect (if you can beat out the bears).
DeleteSame here except for the bear part. We just had to beat out the birds. It's been over a half dozen years or more since I picked more than a handful.
DeleteEd, the blackberries seem to increase here every years so I am not sure if the quantity has increased of the fruit or the number of vines.
DeleteWe'd planted some blackberry canes but found out that the need to prune, the need to anti-bird net, and the ongoing battle with rust made them not worth the effort.
ReplyDeleteOur everbearing raspberries have produced well over the years and don't require the extra effort needed by blackberries.
John, we are fortunate in that this grow wild on the property with (literally) no management whatsoever. You are right, that sounds like a hassle.
DeleteI forgot to mention that when we made blackberry jam it seemed the seeds grew to twice their original size. We know that they didn't but it seemed that way.
DeleteI'm willing to say that if we had access to management free blackberries I would be singing a different tune.
Our strawberries are day neutral, and we grow them in towers using a non-recirculating liquid nutrient system.
We pick them without kneeling, and we get berries all summer long.
That sounds pretty amazing John!
DeleteI will say that all the ones you buy in the stores seem to be seedless. The seeds in the wild versions are definitely an odd reminder of the times when that is all there were.