Hardy thornless blackberries
On our previous
homestead, I dove right into planting perennials as soon as we
purchased the property. This time, I'm trying to be a little more
thoughtful and talk to locals about what grows well on their nearby
patches of earth.
I'd assumed thornless
blackberries wouldn't be on the table. After all, the ones we grew in
Virginia tended to freeze back to the ground every other year, meaning
that they rarely bore fruit. Moving north, I doubted we'd manage
to keep this heat-loving bramble content.
I'm glad to say I was
wrong. Rose Nell and Jayne don't know what type of berry they were
given a year ago, but they report the bushes are big and the fruits
delicious. "Just plant them somewhere the blackberries can spread," my
mothers-in-law warn.
Done! Here's hoping for
big, juicy fruits in summer 2019!
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About us: Anna Hess and Mark Hamilton spent over a decade living self-sufficiently in the mountains of Virginia before moving north to start over from scratch in the foothills of Ohio. They've experimented with permaculture, no-till gardening, trailersteading, home-based microbusinesses and much more, writing about their adventures in both blogs and books.
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The Prime-Ark Freedom will bear in their first year on primocanes and the second year on the floricanes. They are thornless and hardy to zone 5. They maybe worth considering as well. We are trying them this year to extend the harvest since they will fruit twice a year after the first year.
I hope you guys are well. I enjoy reading your story!
Jayne --- I didn't think anyone but me would be able to see her, but that's why I chose that shot!
Brian --- You just resolved a conundrum! I was informed that these bore prolifically the first year, but I couldn't recall any primocane-bearing blackberries on the market. Sounds like you might have just identified which variety this is.....