Tips to Growing Blackberries in the Backyard

We LOVE our backyard blackberry bushes and I’ve been asked recently “How Do you Grow Blackberries?”

Here are some of the tips that got me started…keeping in mind that I’m not a pro but 3 years and we’re getting buckets full each week!

Go Thornless. The wild blackberries on our property have SUPER SHARP thorns but you can buy thornless blackberries online or from nurseries. Having harvested from both – chose the thornless! You can start from seed but that takes forever.

We grabbed our thornless bush one year late summer when the nursery was marking down all the post-blooming plants! (See more about saving on plants here). The thornless varieties are easy for kids to harvest.

Pick the Right location. These babies can get BIG and they spread throughout the growing seasoning. So chose a location that has mostly full sun and allows room for it to grow. Well drained soil is also important so the ground doesn’t get too wet. Finally, they do best having something to grow against- we used a fence but you could also buy a sturdy trellis. This keeps the berries from sitting on the ground.

Some shade is important- especially if you live in a place where the summer is very hot (hello…North Carolina!) The afternoon shade keeps the berries from drying out.

According to NC State Extension- plant blackberry plants 3-4 feet apart. If you get a trailing type you may need to plant the farther apart.

Maintaining the plants. The plants need a lot of water while they are blooming and during harvest time. Mulch is a good way to help keep moisture in the ground. Early spring fertilizer is also important (ask for recommendations at your local nursery for your area).

I’m not a pro at pruning (yet..I’m still learning). But here is a video I found pretty helpful! The one tip I learned to be SUPER important is to prune at 45 degree angles using SHARP shears.

These stalks are the ones that will give berries next year! Don’t mistake them for weeds!

Harvesting. We have two blackberry plants and get at least a pint a day for weeks during June! The berries are ripe and at perfect picking time when they are fully black but dull. If they are shiny black they are great too- and they will last longer in the fridge, but they aren’t the sweetest.

We generally harvest for three or four weeks each year. You shouldn’t have to pull at all to get a ripe berry off the plant, it will fall off very easy when you touch it. If you have to tug on the berry, it’s not ripe enough yet.

You want to harvest daily- because the birds and bugs LOVE ripe blackberries just as much as people do.