Trellis Design (Blackberries)

[SanDucerro]

I appreciate all the info. I think most of what y'all were recommending was more suited for grapes (which I plan to do sometime in the future) and the weight they produce. I will keep y'all updated on progress.

Thanks!

Not trying to be argumentative, but I do not believe your assumptions are correct. The links I have posted below took me all of 5 seconds to find via Google. Both suggest the trellis system for Blackberries cannot be the length you are proposing. BOTH sites suggest 20 feet as the maximum. Obviously there would be room for interpretation, but 80 feet is WAY outside the range of error.

Pruning and Training Thornless Blackberries

http://www.caes.uga.edu/extension/cobb/anr/Documents/BlackberriesandRaspberriesUGA.pdf

Edit - just reread your update using 3 posts over 80 feet. With that you'll still be at 40 feet between posts - which I still think is too far.

 

[M E Race]

If you cement your end posts wrap bottom of post wit tar paper , calcium cloride in cement will rot posts at ground level in a few years.

 

[schoolsout]

Not trying to be argumentative, but I do not believe your assumptions are correct. The links I have posted below took me all of 5 seconds to find via Google. Both suggest the trellis system for Blackberries cannot be the length you are proposing. BOTH sites suggest 20 feet as the maximum. Obviously there would be room for interpretation, but 80 feet is WAY outside the range of error.

Pruning and Training Thornless Blackberries

http://www.caes.uga.edu/extension/cobb/anr/Documents/BlackberriesandRaspberriesUGA.pdf

Edit - just reread your update using 3 posts over 80 feet. With that you'll still be at 40 feet between posts - which I still think is too far.

I definitely appreciate the info. If these things get really heavy, I can add more posts. That said, I simply don't see how they can become heavy enough that the span can not support them. From what I read, these simply grow canes upward and when they bear fruit, they just lean outward as gravity pulls them closer to the ground. The only way they'd become that heavy is if my gardening skills turn out 1000 times better than I expect them to be.


We have wild blackberries here, too. Some we call "dewberries" that trail along ground and other "juneberries" that grow upward and on piles/old canes not pruned away. I simply just want enough corralled in one spot so I can pick if I want...also, they will produce over a longer period of time being different strains.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

I definitely appreciate the info. If these things get really heavy, I can add more posts. That said, I simply don't see how they can become heavy enough that the span can not support them. From what I read, these simply grow canes upward and when they bear fruit, they just lean outward as gravity pulls them closer to the ground. The only way they'd become that heavy is if my gardening skills turn out 1000 times better than I expect them to be.

We have wild blackberries here, too. Some we call "dewberries" that trail along ground and other "juneberries" that grow upward and on piles/old canes not pruned away. I simply just want enough corralled in one spot so I can pick if I want...also, they will produce over a longer period of time being different strains.

Wire stretches and it is most evident in long unsupported spans. Add a little weight and your wire is touching the ground.

 

[WayneB]

We have about 1/4 acre of raspberries and I use post at each end of the row and a center post. To that I add cross members (wood) starting about 18 inches from the bottom there are two holes drilled at each end and a U-Bolt to attach the cross member board to the pipes. The bottom one is approximately 12" long and and I run cord through the holes and pull them tight. This gives the bottom of the plants some growth room, but keeps them from spreading outside the row. Then I go up about 18 and add a second cross member that is 2 feet long and repeat the installation of cords to hold the plants together. A third cross member is added to the post at about 5 feet from the ground. I have used this method for about 30 years and it is still working fine for us.

We also have blackberries that I put in about eight years ago. I prepared the area soil the same way as the raspberries then installed the post (pipes) and went along with the single wire attached to the poles and put in three wires for each row. The wires are about 18 to 24 inches apart. When the plants came in they looked so small that the instructions were to set the plants 4 feet apart and the rows 8 feet apart. I decided that was way to much spacing so I planted them two feet apart and the rows 4 feet apart! MY bad. The first year management was just okay although those little plants really took off. The second year they were nearly nine feet high and you almost needed a combat suite to go in to pick the berries. Year three I took out the middle row and moved them to one side and made sure they were 8 feet from the outside row. I also took out several plants along the row to provide more growth. This year I have cut them way back and will be putting in the cross members and installing wires to hold the plants up right. I have also added cable pull downs to provide tension to the post. Blackberries, at least the ones I have are very heavy and will pull down the support post.

We sell raspberries and just eat the blackberries!

just my two cents.

Wayne

 

[deathtoblackberries]

My screen name, enough said.