Blackberry Picking!

June 23, 2016

Blackberries remind me of pick-your-own adventures from childhood.  The stained baskets and hands we left the berry farms with and the delicious desserts made with blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries are all very sweet juicy memories.  My favorite jam to this day is Blackberry Jam.

How great would it be to grow and pick your own yummy berries?  They usually fruit in May and June, the perfect time for easy to eat fruit.  Plant Blackberries in a spot that drains easily as these plants won’t grow well in a wet spot.  With Blackberries, you will see a lot of new growth in the Spring with a heavy bloom.  Flowering continues through Spring and the fruit begin to ripen in June.  When planting, add soil and fertilizer to get them started. The plants can be trimmed periodically to maintain shape.  In late Fall, plants can be trimmed aggressively to shape for next Spring’s flush.  Blackberries are red before they are ripe and they turn black when they are ready to pick.  A helpful tip:  pick ripe blackberries off the bush early in the morning, before the sun makes them so hot they practically turn to jam as they’re plucked!  Refrigerate blackberries and enjoy them just like you did when you were small.

Blackberry

 

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