Some of the best memories of my early childhood were walking up the sandy dirt road my family lived during the height of blackberry season, alternating between picking and eating, returning home with purple-stained fingers. Wild blackberries grew alongside the ditch in abundance, and there were few neighbors to share the plenty with. I’ve picked many wild blackberries since we moved from the dirt road, but have never found any of that quantity or quality since. Like most folks living the suburb life, if I want fresh blackberries, I have to grow them myself.

Fortunately, blackberries, and in our part of Georgia, raspberries, are easily attainable fruits for the home gardener to produce. As with planting anything, start with a soil test and amend as recommended. Plant in late February to early March. Kiowa and Triple Crown are both good varieties for home production, though there are several good options. Make sure to amend with plenty of organic matter if planting raspberries.

There are two types of blackberries and raspberries. Trailing varieties need trellising, while erect varieties have strong upright branches that don’t need extra support, though they might benefit from some light, impermanent trellising for the first year or two. Trellising takes extra resources and extra space, so for home gardens, erect varieties are the way to go. As a bonus, there are several thornless varieties, taking the bite out of harvesting.

Blackberry pruning requires attention. Blackberries produce first year canes, called primocanes, and the following year those canes grow floricanes, which flower and produce fruit. It is important to prune out the canes that produced the previous summer. They will die back after producing, so they are easily distinguishable from the new primocanes.

Raspberries are even easier to prune. Heritage is the best choice for raspberries in our area and produce fruit on the first year’s growth. Prune these by cutting off at the ground every winter.  This type of pruning doesn’t work for trailing raspberries, but again, Heritage is the best pick for our area.

There are a few diseases that affect blackberries and raspberries, but many of these can be prevented through good pruning practices and controlling weeds. If disease is evident, prune it out!

If you want to produce backyard fruit in Georgia, brambles are an easy and productive option. For more information on fertilization and varieties, read the UGA Extension publication, “Home Garden Raspberries and Blackberries.”

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