Preparing blackberries for winter

A blackberry is a shrub or vine with a rapidly growing aerial part. It is grown commercially in the United States. In Russia, it has become widespread only in private subsidiary plots and in summer cottages. There are more than 300 varieties of this crop. They are divided into two subspecies: bush blackberries and climbing varieties.

Shrub plants can be grown without trellis, and climbing blackberries need support for good development. Caring for bush blackberries and liana plants in summer is different, but preparation for winter is no different.

Fertilizing blackberries

Blackberry spends a lot of nutrients for the formation of fruits. In order to get a good harvest next year, you need to feed the plant in the autumn. You can use complex mineral fertilizers for berry crops without nitrogen.

If you are a supporter of organic farming, use for feeding:

• wood ash;
• rotted cow dung or compost;
• crushed bark of pine or any other coniferous tree.

Fertilize your blackberries with California worm compost. Once under the bush, they will continue to process the compost into humus, and the blackberries will receive even more nutrients.

The increased content of potassium and phosphorus will help the plant to form a large number of fruits for the next season.

Bush formation

When preparing a blackberry bush for winter, the shoots from which the crop was harvested are removed. Only young growth is left.

A developed blackberry bush must be properly formed. The central shoot of the plant is cut to a height of 2 m, the branches of the second order are shortened to 80 cm, the shoots of the third order are cut, leaving only 30 cm of branches.

All shoots are wrapped with agrofibre and laid on the ground. The branches of the plant are pinned to the ground and mulched. Before mulching, you need to carry out moisture-charging watering.

Autumn water-charging irrigation

Blackberries love moisture very much, so they need regular watering. In order for the bush to form a large number of fruits next year, water-charging watering is carried out. For each plant, 10 liters of water are consumed.

Mulching a plant

As mulch, you can use coniferous spruce branches, peat or leaves of fruit trees. It is better not to use blackberry foliage for mulching, as a blackberry mite can start in it. Fallen blackberry leaves must be removed from under the bush, they are used for mulching other crops.