Plan B for Blackberries

After milking chores were done Saturday morning, Tricia and I had a good cup of coffee on the front porch.  There was a thunderstorm blowing in from west to east and we watched while the rain fell against the newly plowed field.  It was peaceful and relaxing to watch the much-needed rain and wind blow through.  We sat and watched it until the rain started getting us all wet.  Then we went inside.

In the photo you can see the field on the other side of the road.  That outside levee was our wild dewberry patch.  They would come up every year and we'd go out to the ditch with buckets and pick them.  We would come back and make Dewberry Jelly.  We've posted about it HERE.  With the field being plowed up, we waved farewell to our wild dewberry patch.  Well, it wasn't really "OURS," was it?

But we weren't giving up without a fight.  I called Russ and it just so happens that his Horticulture Club at LSU was having a plant sale.  Wouldn't you know it?  In addition to vegetables, herbs, and trees on sale, they were selling berries - blackberries, in particular.  The specific variety he selected for us to try was the Arapaho Thornless Blackberry.  These were developed by the University of Arkansas.  If they produce, even though I'm an LSU Tiger, you may hear me "Call the hogs!"

Russ purchased two for us to try.  The directions said to dig a hole twice as big as the root ball, place it in the hole, backfilling with compost and watering to remove air pockets.

Benjamin and our nephew, Mike, helped plant them and then mulched with hay. The cows provided moral support.

We watered them in good and now we'll just watch them grow.  They are planted right by the muscadine vine trellis.  The Arapaho thornless blackberry can be grown on a trellis, but don't have to be.  I read where they produce berries on second year canes.  If that means what I think it means, we won't have blackberries until next year.  That's okay as we still have a good inventory of blackberry jelly in the pantry.

The other interesting thing I read about them is that cuttings can be taken off of them and rooted very easily.  We may need to do exactly that to get enough blackberries to make jelly.  We'll see how things go.  After thinking about it, it looks like we have a good blueberry crop coming along this year.  Perhaps we can make some Blueberry Jelly this year instead of Blackberry Jelly?