Blackberry - a culture that is unpretentious in growing, it is distinguished by an unusual taste and yield of berries. In the course of many years of selection work, the mass of shrub varieties that have high frost resistance and resistance to fungal infections was bred, which makes it possible to cultivate plants even in harsh climatic conditions. What varieties are best suited for cultivation in the Moscow Region, as well as about planting and crop care technology - read below.

Varieties and types of blackberries for growing in the Moscow region

On the territory of Russia, they are mainly engaged in the cultivation of such types of blackberries:

1. Bluish blackberry, or mildew, is a shrub with long branches creeping along the ground. Fruits are characterized by the presence of a bluish plaque, in honor of which this species was named.
2. Bushy blackberry, or kumanika - is a bush that grows up to 2 m in height, which, like raspberries, bears fruit on 2-year-old shoots.

Varieties of blackberries are distinguished by fruiting dates:

• the earliest, which bring a crop in early June;
• medium ripeness, the berries of which ripen in early July;
• late ripening varieties that bear fruit in mid-August.

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For cultivation in the suburbs, frost-resistant varieties are best suited:

1. Darrow is an erect shrub reaching 2 m in height. The branches are powerful, with large, sharp spikes. Berries reach a mass of 10 g, their taste is sour, with a sweet aftertaste. From one bush you can collect up to 10 kg of fruit per season.
2. Polar - is a bush that grows up to 2.5 m. Its main difference from other varieties is the absence of thorns on the shoots. The berry reaches a mass of up to 12 g. The yield is up to 8 kg per shrub during the fruiting period.
3. Gazda is a shrub with small thorns, reaching a height of 2.5 m. It is immune to diseases provoked by spores of the fungus. Berries of medium size, having a mass of up to 7 g. The peculiarity of the variety is the good transportability of the fruits.

Cultivation technology in the region

The cultivation technology of blackberry shrubs in the suburbs should be carried out strictly in compliance with the time of planting in open ground. A place for landing and landing pits is prepared in advance, and trellis is immediately installed on the site. How to properly fulfill these conditions is described below.

Optimal dates when to plant in spring

It is best to plant bushes in the spring, so that before the winter the plant has time to grow stronger and gain nutrients. Landing is carried out after snow melts, approximately in the middle of April. The minimum air temperature for this procedure should be in the range +12 ... + 15 ° С.

Preparation of trellis, plot and landing pit

First you need to select and prepare a site for planting shrubs.

Territories are best suited:

• well lit;
• having light, loose soil;
• with low occurrence of groundwater (1.5 m);
• without drafts.

The preparation of the landing site is carried out approximately 6 months before this procedure is carried out directly. The site is cleaned of vegetation and garbage is removed. The soil is dug up to a depth of 40 cm with fertilizers that are applied in such quantities per 1 m²: 5 kg of humus, 300 g of wood ash, 50 g of superphosphate. If the selected area is heavy soil, it is dug up with this composition per 1 m²: 5 kg of coarse sand, 5 kg of peat, 50 g of superphosphate. Read also what the blackberry on the plot gets along with and what is incompatible with.

For planting shrubs, soil with a neutral pH is chosen. If the soil does not meet this standard, then it is calcified with dolomite flour, which will require 500 g per 1 m² for acidic soil and 400 g per 1 m² for slightly acidic.

Preparation of trellises and planting pits is carried out in parallel. Pits are cooked approximately 7-14 days before planting. Dig a hole with a depth of 50 cm and a width of 40 cm. The upper fertile layer is mixed with 10 kg of humus, 200 g of wood ash and 30 g of superphosphate. This substrate is laid back into the hole to about the middle and watered with 5 l of water. Important! In order for the fruits of blackberry to sing faster and have a sweeter taste, they need plenty of light, so when choosing a place for planting seedlings, preference is given to southern and southeastern territories that do not have a lack of lighting. Trellis is installed along the entire perimeter. To do this, pegs are driven in with a distance of 2 m from each other, which should go into the soil about 40 cm and rise above it by 2 m. These bars are interconnected using a wire that is pulled at a distance of 1 m and 1.7 m from the ground - in the future, plant branches will be tied to it.

Technologies and layouts

Seating patterns can be several: standard, where the interval between plants is 50 cm and between rows of 1.5 m, and circular, in which a bush is planted in the center, and 4-5 crops are planted at a distance of 1.5 m from it observing a gap of 50-60 cm between them.

Planting a seedling in the ground:

1. In the prepared pit, loosen the soil and form it in the form of a hill.
2. Introduce the seedling in the middle of the hole, carefully spreading the roots on the ground.
3. To the top level of the pit, fill it with earth and compact it tightly.
4. Water the soil in an amount of 10 l and mulch with peat or sawdust.

Care Features

Plant care is an integral part of its development. The productivity and immunity to diseases and the level of frost resistance will depend on the timeliness and correctness of the procedures for caring for the shrub.

Irrigation

Blackberry is watered about once every 3 weeks. The liquid is introduced into the near-stem circle, so that it does not fall on the leaves and stems - this is necessary to avoid the formation of mold on the lower tier of the branches. For irrigation use the settled water for 2 days, it should also be warm, approximately + 27 ° С. On a young shrub, 5–10 l of liquid is required, on an adult - 10–20 l.

Soil cultivation and mulching

Mulching of the soil is carried out in order to preserve moisture, to prevent the propagation of weeds, to fertilize the shrub. Nutrients are laid by loosening 3-4 cm deep into the soil. The procedure can be performed once a month. As mulch use peat, sawdust.

Important! Soil loosening should be carried out after irrigation and rain. Using a chopper, they gently loosen the soil up to 4 cm deep. This procedure will help to avoid the formation of a crust on the surface of the earth and provide air access to the rhizome.

Fertilizer application

Fertilizers that are laid in the landing pit will be enough for 2 years.

After this period, blackberries begin to be fed 3 times a season:

1. At the end of May, the following composition is introduced: 2 kg of manure and 10 liters of water. The solution in this quantity is used to fertilize one shrub.
2. In the middle of summer, feeding is carried out, consisting of 30 g of superphosphate and 30 g of urea per 10 liters of water. The solution is used for one plant.
3. The last fertilizer is applied at the end of August, under digging, for 1 m² - 50 g of superphosphate.

Seasonal pruning

Blackberry pruning is mainly carried out in order to increase productivity, as well as the prevention of diseases and pests. The procedure should be carried out twice a year - in spring and autumn.

In the autumn period, you need to get rid of:

• branches that have been bred, i.e., 2-year-old shoots;
• thinned shoots that are pale in color;
• shoots that have been invaded by insects or have been affected by a fungus.

With the advent of spring, you need to inspect the plant again and remove the frozen branches. They are usually fragile, have a black color and a rough surface.

Garter, bush formation

Forming pruning begins from the first year of shrub growth. The branch is cut 25 cm from the ground. After the rooting is complete, the process of active shoot formation takes place, which sometimes can even reach 1.5 m in height. In the second year, you need to trim the upper part of the branches by 15–20 cm, as well as shorten the young shoots sprouted from the root at a level of 25 cm from the ground.

Did you know? In the myths of ancient Greece, the fruits of the blackberry symbolize drops of frozen blood of the titans that were wounded during the battle. In the third year, you should completely get rid of the 2-year-old shoots, which have already proclaimed. Garter shrubs are carried out depending on its type. For erect varieties, a fan garter is chosen, and for creeping ones, a wave and rope one.

Fan Garter:

Wave Garter:

Garter rope:

Shelter for the winter

Shelter for the winter is an important element of shrub care. The blackberry must be bent to the soil and fixed with a horn or staples. On top of the plant cover burlap or spruce branches. If the branches of an erect shrub do not bend well to the soil, then it is simply covered with cardboard, polystyrene foam, slate and other covering materials.

When to open in the spring

Shelter is removed after the last frost has passed, so you should focus on the local weather forecast. With the onset of a stable thaw, you can remove the shelter for the daytime, so that the plants can be well ventilated, and you need to cover it again at night. Read when to remove winter shelter from a blackberry.

Breeding

There are such ways to propagate blackberry bushes:

• seeds;
• division of a bush;
• layering;
• cuttings.

The seed method of reproduction is quite laborious, but if you do everything according to the rules, you can get excellent shoots. In the season you need to collect the best fruits of your favorite blackberry variety. They are squeezed and rubbed on a piece of paper, which will help to easily separate the bones. The resulting seed material is slightly dried and placed in pots with a substrate of soil and coconut fiber. Seeding depth should be 4–5 mm. Contain crops at a temperature of + 20 ° C. When the first 3 leaves appear on the hatching sprouts, they are transplanted into more spacious conditions.

The process of reproduction by dividing the bush is carried out in the spring. The plant is dug up and neatly divided into parts, they can turn out up to 6 pcs. The division is carried out in such a way that on each bush there are 3 branches and at least one bud per rhizome. Having previously prepared parts of the bush for planting, by soaking the rhizomes in the solution of the Kornevin preparation (15 g per 1 liter of water), they are planted in holes for further growth on the site.

Reproduction by layering is carried out in the spring. You need to choose a powerful escape, which is dug into the ground. During the summer it is spudded and watered. By autumn, the cuttings will be ready for transplantation, it must be carefully cut off with a garden tool and dug for transplantation to a permanent place of growth.

Cuttings for propagation are cut off in the autumn. Take annual shoots 15–20 cm long. The upper cut should be at an acute angle above the kidney, the lower cut should be straight. Cuttings for the winter period are placed in a humid environment, for this, the content in the sand, which is periodically irrigated from the spray gun, is excellent. In spring, cuttings are stuck into the soil at a distance of 15 cm from each other. By the fall, the cuttings will form a fairly strong root system and will be ready for transplanting to a permanent place of growth.

Diseases, pests: control and prevention

Fungal diseases are most dangerous for blackberry bushes. Often the plant undergoes diseases such as white spotting (septoria), anthracnose, purple spotting (didimella).

The development of purple spotting is facilitated by humid conditions. The disease begins with the formation of purple spots at the base of the shoots, so it is so difficult to recognize in the very origin. Soon, the affected areas begin to acquire a dark brown color, dry out and cracks appear at the site of damage. Leaf blades are covered with brown spots that have a yellow outline. Due to the effects of the disease, the leaves begin to dry and fall, the branches wither, and the yield is reduced.

Fighting Purple Spotting:

1. Shrub irrigation with 1% copper solution - 100 g per 10 liters of water.
2. Spraying with Trichodermin - 100 ml per 10 l of water.

Anthracnose appears due to excessive soil moisture. The manifestation of a fungal infection is observed in late spring. Violet spots appear on the leaf plates, which do not have a clear shape. Damage size - up to 4 mm. The same spots appear at the base of the branches. After time, these spots become gray and provoke peeling of the cortex.

Anthracnose control:

1. Treatment with Fundazol - 2 g per 10 l of water.
2. Irrigation with Bordeaux liquid - 100 g per 10 liters of water.

Septoria is a fungal infection, manifested by white spots with a brown border, located on the leaves. On the branches there are also spots of a light brown shade that encircle the buds or the bases of the leaves. Due to the effects of the disease, a slowdown in the growth and development of the plant begins.

Fighting Septoria:

1. Treatment with a solution of copper sulfate - 100 g per 10 liters of water.
2. Irrigation with Karbofos - 5 ml per 10 l of water.

Did you know? According to ancient Russian legend, a blackberry bush planted near a house became a protector from troubles and misfortunes.

Most often, plants are invaded by blackberry and spider mites.

The blackberry tick is a small insect that has an elongated shape, like a worm. Pests overwinter in culture buds; with the advent of spring, they move to flowers, and afterwards to berries. The tick feeds on the juice of fruits, which subsequently cannot ripen. If you do not deal with harmful insects, you can lose up to 50% of the crop.

Fight against a blackberry tick:

1. Irrigation with a soap-ash solution made from 100 g of soap, 200 g of wood ash and 10 l of warm water.
2. Irrigation with Karbofos - 5 ml per 10 l of water.

The spider mite has microscopic dimensions up to 0.3 mm. Insects winter in fallen leaves and plant debris, and with the advent of spring they lay their offspring on the back of the leaves. Emerging new individuals feed on the sap of the plant, leading to the formation of small holes on the leafy part of the culture. You can notice the presence of a pest on a plant by the presence of small cobwebs on branches and leaf blades.

Spider mite control:

1. Irrigation with a soap solution made from 300 g of dust soap and 10 l of warm water.
2. Spraying with the drug "Fufanon" - 5 ml per 10 l of water.

Prevention of the appearance of diseases and insect infestations:

1. Loosening the trunk circle.
2. Harvesting weed grass and fallen plant debris, with their further burning.
3. Planting resistant varieties.
4. Timely sanitary pruning.
5. Threefold irrigation with a 1% solution of Bordeaux fluid - 100 g per 10 l of water, which is carried out for the first time with the advent of spring, and subsequent ones with an interval of 10-14 days.

To grow blackberries in the suburbs, you need to choose varieties with good immunity to fungal diseases and having high frost resistance. If you observe the planting technology and properly care for the crop, you can annually get an excellent crop, even in harsh climatic conditions.