The Basics of Blackberry Gardening in Dallas, TX

Wednesday, May 18, 2016

The blackberry aka Rubus fruticosus, is a very dark colored fruit when ripe but green when just beginning to grow after the bloom has fallen from the vine.

The blackberry plant that I have managed to propagate in our back yard is one that originated from a friend’s backyard in the year 1976.

I was offered some canes or saplings that grew up from the ground in the lawn, beyond the borders of the flower bed from which the original plants developed to full maturity and with these tiny sprouts or saplings or canes, I was able to get them to root directly into my parent’s lawn and begin to grow independently.

After several years at my parent’s house, these blackberries grew wild. But later, when I married my wife of over 30 years, I began to plant new saplings or canes into an area of the front yard flowerbed and they grew moderately so I thought perhaps they needed to be planted in the back yard where there was more sunlight on the South end of the property.

I was correct. The new growth of saplings from the original blackberries from the front flower beds became very tall, over 6 feet high. I had to use long poles embedded into the earth that went straight up in the air and tied the blackberries to the poles by cotton twine.

They grew over 8 feet tall and eventually had new berries.

Growing blackberries in a garden in the City of Dallas in the open air

Planting blackberries in the open and not enclosed in some form of sun room or green house or even a boxed in enclosure of chicken wire and wood frame is a good idea. There are birds to consider. The common black grackle is a wild bird that frequently gets into our peaches and other plants that are so overwhelming by their sheer size and numbers that it seems almost impossible to grow anything with them flying around and pecking at every fruit and vegetable we grow.

Having a back yard dog might be the best natural solution

Having a dog to keep the berries from being under constant attack in some cases might work, but even a dog gets bored barking at birds every now and again.

The only thing I can see that helps is, if you want to plant a garden or several gardens in your back yard and there is an issue regarding birds as well as rodents, such as opossums, squirrels, field mice, raccoons and stray pets, aka, dogs and cats, you need to provide alternative food sources for them.

I found that by having food out for the birds as well as fresh water daily, I was able to provide a food and water source that would detract somewhat from their natural tendency to find and eat my veggies and my fruits and berries.

If you want to grow tomatoes, plums or any other thing you must consider making a good, tall wood framed enclosure.

An enclosure that uses basic hardware cloth and a staple gun and wire to tie it all together is a good idea.

You can keep most of the larger birds, stray animals and rodents out and still be able to water, weed and cultivate the soil and add nutrients to the soil to harvest the best garden edibles possible as far as having success of any kind in a back yard garden in a city such as Dallas, TX.