Blackberries near Waldridge Manor. This blackb...
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If you intend to grow a vegetable garden it’s a good idea to consider adding some fruit to your planning. You’ll discover there’s nothing simpler and easier to grow than a few blackberry shrubs.

Next time you are out on a walk be on the lookout for them. They are easy to identify when you know what to look for. Their most individual feature is the thorns that extend from their branches. It is useful to remember where you have found the blackberry bushes so that you can pick the wonderful berries that they supply. The fruits usually ripen on the plants in towards the end of the summer. They blossom with sweet-scented white flowers in the spring. Blackberry bushes can be found throughout America and many other countries with a suitable climate. They yield the very best berries if situated in the full sun, however you can still find them located in shady spots as well.

Blackberry bushes can often be found near raspberry bushes in the wild. Although wild blackberry bushes produce smaller berries than the blackberry bushes you plant from a nursery, the wild berries tend to be more flavourful. It is very important to watch for poison ivy which often grows within the same areas as blackberry bushes. Poison Ivy rash is the cost that many berry pickers pay when trying to pick the berries.

The location of wild blackberry bushes were marked and remembered by the Native Americans in order that they might harvest them every year. They used the berries as food, but they also used them to dye animal skins to produce a richer, darker colour.

The first settlers used blackberries to treat many illnesses. They were especially useful for respiratory illnesses and coughing. The fruit is also used to produce a rich coloured, sweet wine by lots of people that like to produce home made wines. The overall favourite use for these sweet, delicious berries, though, is blackberry jam. They also produce a delicious pie, if you don’t mind the pips.

If you’re thinking of growing blackberries in your yard it is wisest to grow them along the edge where there isn’t a lot of people traffic. This is to prevent being scratched by the sharp, long thorns. The bushes should be cut back after they have finished fruiting. They should be trimmed back to around 18 inches above the ground. This needs to be done to stop them from producing the taller runners that are likely to have more thorns than berries on them.

If you are going to plant several bushes be sure to allow enough space so that you don’t get so scratched when picking the fruits. Regardless of how close the bushes are to each other collecting blackberries is a job that requires wearing a long sleeved shirt. Blackberry bushes also have a long life span so you might want to consider this when deciding on an area to place them.

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