Planning for Perennial Crops - Brambles

Tips for Growing Fruiting Plants Like Raspberries and Blackberries

Aug 23, 2009

As with any perennial, careful selection and preparation is critical to the long-term success of plants that will be in the same site for years at a time

Berries that grow on thorny brambles include blackberries, raspberries, loganberries and wineberries. There are some thornless blackberries, as well as some nearly-thornless raspberries. You can tell the difference between raspberries and blackberries when harvesting them because the white core comes off with the blackberries, but remains on the plant with raspberries.

Selecting Plants

Choose either healthy tissue culture plants or one-year dormant plants with plenty of roots. Check with your local extension office for which disease- and pest-resistant cultivars grow best in your area. Thornless blackberries are only marginally hardy in the Northeast and should be planted in a protected area.

Brambles are self-fertile, so one variety of any berry is sufficient. Brambles live approximately 15 years, but production peaks in the third year and slowly declines from there, so many growers choose to replant after 10 years.

Selecting and Preparing the Site

Brambles need full sun, well-drained, fertile soil, and good air circulation. A previously cultivated site is best, but only if crops susceptible to Verticillium wilt have never been grown there previously. This would include strawberries, tomatoes, potatoes, peppers or eggplants.

If the site has never been cultivated, plant a cover crop the year before and then turn it under in the fall. Brambles are heavy feeders, especially black raspberries, so this gives the cover crop time to decompose and enrich the soil.

Select a site a bit higher than nearby land to improve drainage while reducing the danger of winter damage and late spring frosts. Raspberries are particularly susceptible to root rot from having 'wet feet', so you'd do best to plant them in a bed raised to at least 10 inches in height.

Get perennial weeds under control before planting. Keep red and black berries separated if you can, or they'll cross-pollinate.

When to Plant

Plant rooted canes early in spring, and tissue culture plants after all danger of frost has passed. Brambles can also be planted in the fall, but will need good mulching to prevent heaving.

Spacing

Plant raspberries 2 to 3 feet apart in rows 7 to 8 feet apart. Black raspberries should be planted in hills 3 to 4 feet apart. Blackberries and hybrids need 3 to 6 feet between plants in rows 8 to 10 feet apart.

Growing Guidelines

Brambles have shallow roots that need lots of moisture without getting soggy. A thick organic mulch will help to retain moisture and discourage weeds. Drip irrigation offers steady moisture to keep the root zone moist without wetting the foliage, which is highly susceptible to diseases. Otherwise, water early in the day to minimize the likelihood of disease.

Don't fertilize for several weeks after planting. Use no more than 5 pounds of a 10-10-10 formula or compost per 10 feet of row in the first year. Thereafter, add 10 pounds per 10 feet of row in late winter or early spring every year. Avoid using fertilizers that contain chlorides.

Training bramble plants to a trellis makes harvesting much easier and more productive. Different kinds of brambles require different trellising techniques, so research this issue before planting to determine which technique is best for the type of crop you'll be growing.

Pruning

Different types of brambles require specific pruning treatments. Generally, let the canes grow through the season and fruit the next year, then cut them to ground level after harvesting. In early spring, top the remaining canes to a reachable height and thin. Diseased or winter-damaged wood should be removed. Be ruthless; good air circulation is critical.

Problem Prevention

According to Growing Fruits & Vegetables Organically, published by Rodale Press in 1994 by Rodale Garden editors Jean M. A. Nick and Fern Marshall Bradley, if powdery mildew or cane diseases were a problem last year, you should spray lime-sulfur just as the buds start turning green the next spring. Pick up and destroy dropped fruits and add beneficial nematodes to the soil. Spraying with compost tea as the fruits begin to form can help prevent gray mold. Spray with sulfur if gray mold does appear, and re-spray after rains.

Orange pustules on the canes indicate rust disease; these plants should be dug up and destroyed immediately before the disease spreads. Cane dieback can be caused by cane borers or by disease. In either case, cut the cane off at the base and destroy it. Pruning them reduces disease problems and makes room for the next season's shoots.

Harvesting

The ripe fruits are soft and come free from the plant easily. Unripe fruits will not ripen after being picked. These fruits crush easily, so don't pack them more than 3 or 4 deep into a shallow container. They're highly perishable and must be either eaten or preserved within 2 to 3 days. Keep them refrigerated just above the freezing point until then.

Fall and Winter Care

Pull mulch away from the canes when the leaves start to drop. After the weather gets cold and the mice have made their winter nests elsewhere, rake it back and add fresh mulch on top.

The copyright of the article Planning for Perennial Crops - Brambles in Orchards/Fruit Gardening is owned by Chaz Iannazzo. Permission to republish Planning for Perennial Crops - Brambles in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.