Has anyone grown or know of anyone else who has purchased these plants? They come from Texas, and at $15 each, are pretty expensive, but are promoted as producing 20 to 30 gallons of fruit per plant. The articles say they don't sucker, and have to be tipped(?) Any ideas on them? I hate to spend the money and have them not produce as promised. thanks, Jan

-- Jan Bullock (Janice12@aol.com), March 03, 2000

Answers

Jan,

This isn't an answer to your question....just a comment. Blackberries grow like WEEDS up here and are hard to get rid of! As a matter of fact, our yearling lambs are "enjoying" getting tangled up in a patch of them in our lower pasture this year. A new hobby, I guess! Can't wack the canes down fast enough and I don't want to use roundup or crossbow!

It amazes me continually how different all our geographies and climates are, based on reading here.

I hope you find a good source. I would pay somebody to take mine away! We keep thinking about goats....Good luck to you.

-- sheepish (rborgo@gte.net), March 04, 2000.

Sheepish: I do have some blackberry plants, just about 6, that were given to me by a former co-worker, who felt just as you do, that they were invading her yard, she lived in the city, and she just could not get rid of them. Here, they haven't spread at all much, haven't gotten really huge or suckered much either YET. Last year was the first year they even blossomed and then hail stripped them to the stems. I ordered the Doyle berry plant, and hope it will do better. I am also thinking of getting a goat or two, but have to convince the hubby first! We haven't got too many helpers that can come feed for us if we go away for a day or two, so I have to really think about getting any more animals, plus have to have proper fencing/pens, etc. Sure is tempting though! Jan

-- Jan Bullock (Janice12@aol.com), March 04, 2000.

A friend of mine gave me some starts off her thornless boysenberrys, thay are great,have them trained on wire on the side of the house. My son can pick them with out getting thorns, and after a good talk[and hot wire]nothing is eating them to the ground any more.they are very drought tolerant to. the only thing with them is thay cant take strong afternoon sun [cooks them on the vine] but mine get shade in afternoon.

-- kathy h (saddlebronc@msn.com), March 04, 2000.

A friend of mine gave me some starts off her thornless boysenberrys, thay are great,have them trained on wire on the side of the house. My son can pick them with out getting thorns, and after a good talking to to the goats [and hot wire]nothing is eating them to the ground any more.they are very drought tolerant to. the only thing with them is thay cant take strong afternoon sun [cooks them on the vine] but mine get shade in afternoon.

-- kathy h (saddlebronc@msn.com), March 04, 2000.

I was hoping someone who had tried them would answer too. I read the article on those blackberries and thought it was worth a try. The farm seems to have been doing this for years and has a thriving business, so I ordered two plants. I guees we can try them and tell everyone else how they do.

-- Rod Perrino (redjouster@aol.com), March 05, 2000.

Jan, where in Texas and do you have an address. I am north of Houston and would be interested to have more info. Thanks, Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), March 05, 2000.

Vickie: The address for Severtson Farms, the people who have the Doyle Blackberry Farm, is 4000 Hwy 78 North, Wylie Tx 75098. They can be reached on the web at www.fruitsandberries.com. The plants cost 15.00 each, plus 3.00 shipping. They offer a video, for 8 dollars, which shows the plants at different stages, shows how they tie them up to wires, (basically just like you do a grapevine). When the vines get about 10 feet long, you cut about 4 inches or so off the tip, to stop the growth, and force the vine to form lateral branches. Keep tying each vine up to a pole, or along fences, etc. If you live in a cold area, you have to lay them down along the ground, then tip and train the end of the branch and the laterals up the fence, mulching them well. That was about all there was to the video, so don't waste your money on it if you order. They just also promoted fertilizing well, watering with a drip system (in Texas, at least, where the temp is pretty hot in summer). Good luck. I'm anxious to give them a try, although it sounds as if it will be 3 to 5 years before they are fully mature, with berries the second year. Jan

-- Jan Bullock (Janice12@aol.com), March 05, 2000.

Jan, thank you so much for the information. We had a wondeful bunch of thornless blackberries, that we fed ourselves, and everyone who wanted to pick, and then I was told to burn the canes at about 3 years and they will come back, (I had neglected pruning and was getting a huge mess) Well I burned them and they didn't come back! How stupid am I? So now I have one lone plant and have wanted to get more...Thanks again, Vicki McGaugh

-- Vicki McGaugh (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), March 06, 2000.

We have had very old fashioned (read: thorns that would make a jaguar jealous) blackberries that we have picked for years. Each plant produces a new cane each year and it is the 2nd year canes that produce. You should cut those canes out after they become dormant - they are dead, but still a deterrent to picking. We get lots of thumb-sized blackberries (want the wine recipe?) each year, several gallons on a 20'x20' patch. I am intrigued by 20 to 30 gallons per plant. When you have them established, I would like to trade you for some of the piglets I have taught to fly, or maybe some of my 200 lb chickens. Good luck! Brad

-- Brad (homefixer@mix-net.net), March 06, 2000.

Brad: Yeah,the 20-30 gallon bit is probably a bit much, but you can see on their video that the plants when mature at the 3 to 5 year point, really do produce loads of berries in clumps like grapes. That is of course, with perfect fertilization, soil and weather conditions, etc., and who has those? But, even if the yeild is 1/3 to 1/2 of what they show, it will be quite a bit. And, of course, I would love to have flying piglets! When my plants get established, I will trade you cuttings for them. The 200 pound chickens I would have problems with, as anything larger than I am that has a beak, would be a little intimidating! Tried to get my hubby to go along with raising ostriches, and he wasn't crazy about having something running around the place that could reportedly kill an adult lion! I would, however, love to have the wine recipe, if you want to post in for all of us! Have a great day, Jan

-- Jan Bullock (Janice12@aol.com), March 07, 2000.

Jan, I hate to tell you this, but Texas NEVER has ideal growing conditions for anything other than ticks, snakes, fire ants, bull nettles, and cactus, depending on which part of Texas you are in. My former in-laws used to raise blackberries commercially and they used the varieties Brazos and Darrow. They will produce berries half as large as my thumb (I'm not a small woman) and also produce in clusters. I don't know how large the yeild was/plant, but it was heavy. Several gallons each plant. They cost about $3 or $4/ plant last time I looked.

-- Green (ratdogs10@yahoo.com), March 07, 2000.

Jan, They are sold out, you have to order now to be able to even get the batches for Fall of 2000! Who all did you tell???? Ha..Vicki McGaugh again!

-- Vicki McGaugh (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), March 07, 2000.

Yep. I heard they were taking reservations now for the plants to be shipped in the fall. I ordered on line, then got a call the next day from a woman who told me they weren't shipping any this spring, then got a confirmation email telling me they would be shipped this spring, then got a letter through the snail mail saying they are only taking orders for fall. Guess we will see if they come spring or fall. In any case, I plan to try to start some from the tips you cut off, as they used to propagate through cuttings, and now are using a tissue culture method. Have to read up on how to start the cuttings, etc. Couldn't sell them, because they are supposedly the only licensed distributer of the Doyles, but guess I could trade the plants off. (That is if I have any left after Brad trades me those miraculous flying piggies!). Jan

-- Jan B (Janice12@aol.com), March 07, 2000.

OK, here are the basics for Blackberry Wine:

2+ gallons of fresh blackberries 5 crushed campden tablets 10 lb cane sugar 3 tsp acid blend 3 tsp pectic enzyme 6 tsp yeast nutrient 1 pkg yeast (I use Lalvin 1118)

Dissolve sugar in lukewarm water - about 3 gallons. Squoosh the berries in a nylon bag (I have used old {washed!} panty hose - the idea is to keep the seeds and heavy pulp out) and add to the must. Add other ingredients, except yeast. Add water to 5 gallons. 24 hours later, add yeast dissolved in a cup of the must. You should get a specific gravity of about 1.090. A titration to 5.5 PPT is good, but if that throws you forget it! Also forget the specific gravity if you must! The primary fermenter can be any 6 gallon+ container, food grade recommended (avoid aluminum). The secondary is best a 5 gallon carboy. When specific gravity reaches @ 1.030, transfer to secondary. When s.g. stabilizes (about an s.g. of .990 to .995) it's time to bottle. Bottle as is (dry) or add stabilizer (yeast killer) and sweeten before bottling. If you make wine, this will make sense. If you don't, but would like to learn how, let me know and I'll give you some more info. Good Luck!

Brad

-- Brad (homefixer@mix-net.net), March 08, 2000.

Just a comment. I notice that the add says "up to" 20 gallons per plant. Hope this helps. Eagle.

-- eagle (eagle@alpha1.net), March 09, 2000.

Thanks for the wine recipe, Brad. I'm sure that these plants won't produce anywhere near the proposed 20-30 gallons per plant, especially since my raspberries have been the pitts here. Am fertilizing them and watering more this year to see if that helps. if the blackberries even do a gallong per plant, it would be better than what I have now (thorns and nothing!) Will keep you posted. They also are supposed to grow about a foot or more a month, similar to the Austrees we got a couple years ago. TRUE, they do grow pretty fast, but no where near what the ads say. :)Jan

-- Jan B (Janice12@aol.com), March 10, 2000.

;yes i have planted the doyle berry so far they are growing slowly i hope to have some next spring nothing else to report except this is my 2 nd try at it as the last plant died on me i am in s cal and i grow some other berries that have been in our family for 40 years keep in touch k

-- range rider (karenhenks@aol.com), July 06, 2001.