Exquisite property! Thank you for sharing your photographs. Do i spy an orchard between the berries and the hills? What kind of trees are they?

I have Doyle berries that grow the same as yours. Each cane is supposed to be terminated at 8 ft. Then that cane will start producing side shoots and terminated at 2 ft. All of the side shoots that are close to the ground should be cut off so you don't have to sit on the ground to harvest. Your trellis system looks good and strong. The canes that produced last year need to be cut off at ground level.

The first picture is facing our neighbor's property. The second picture shows some of our orchard. The trees are white, from the Surround spray I use on them. I have a mixture of apple, plum, peach, nectarine, cherry, apricots, and pears. The trees were planted 3 years ago, March 2005.

Larry

Uh oh. Now I'm scared. They get that big? I'm hosed.

Larry,

Aren't the canes of Triple Crown amazing. My neighbor planted a few 2 years ago. You could use them as a broom handle. Nice property BTW... :) He offered me a few but I didn't have the room for them.

I have Triple Crown on order, i need to build something once the ground thaws.

Planted only three years ago! Wow, they look so full and healthy. And what a nice selection of tasties. Sorry i hijacked your thread.

What do you use for fertilizer? I planted four
plants of triple crown last year.

Nice!! Thanks for the photos Larry.

nick

I just use 10-10-10 or 5-10-10 or whatever I have around. But, I need to take a visit to my neighbors horse pasture and collect some "organic" fertilizer there.

I like your property. I wish I had land like that.
I am planning to build some kind of trellis system for my new Triple Crown Blackberries, and like how you built yours. I was just wondering if the 2X4's on the top are really neccessary. What is their purpose? I was planning to use some heavy galvanized clothesline wire that I salvaged.Lmk please
Thanks, Garbird

Yes, the 2x4s across the top are what prevent the posts from tipping in. If you don't have them, and you pull your wire tight, or even if you leave the wire loose, and get weight from the berries on the wires, it can pull the posts in.

As an alternative, you might be able to use a "deadman" system to keep the poles straight. If you Google fence building deadman you'll find some hits explaining how the deadman works. If you have a long span, and don't want to put 2x4s all the way across the top, the deadman might be a better system, but I've never used it.

I don't know if the clothesline wire will work or not. You could try it, and if it doesn't you can always replace. Of course if it breaks when it's full of canes, which is when it will happen, it will be a tangled mess.

I use a large deadman on each end. You will have to use #9 brace wire. Anything smaller will streach and sag.

Thanks Larry,
I also use 10-10-10, I used compost and
brought the ph to around 5.9 before I planted them.
How long does it take to get berries.I am new at
this and trying to get as much info as possible.

Hi all-
My trellis looks a bit different than larry_t's, so I figured I would share it. I fully admit that I know very little, but this seemed to work for me. I was looking for something that was strong, wouldn't rot, and would obscure my view of our woods as little as possible (thus why it's painted green), especially in the winter (when there are no leaves on the vines). I think this was a bit more expensive to make it this way, but so far, I think it's worked out nicely. Basically it's painted iron pipe, and 1/16 green vinyl coated cable. (ItÂs a bit hard to see the green cable in the picture but then again, thatÂs kinda the idea) This time of year isn't the best for taking pictures... O'well. Also, there are a couple other black raspberry plants in that bed which are just there as a temporary place to store them. I have a new bed which I'll be moving them to this week. Anyway, this year, I'll make a similar trellis this year, but it will be big enough for 6 blackberries instead of 2. Thoughts? Thanks, -Glenn

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:75078}}

Jim - if you plant now, you should get berries next summer, 2009. This first year you'll get some canes and laterals. Next year you'll get berries on the laterals.

Glenn - I like your trellis. How far is the pipe setting into the ground. Is it in concrete?

Hi Larry_t

I don't remember exactly, but I think it's down about 2.5 feet... just in the dirt... no concrete. I used a cap so I could drive it in with a hand-sledge. It's quite sturdy. I would be surprised if the top swayed more than a couple inches when fully loaded up with leaves, even in the heaviest of winds.

I planted them in 2006, so last year was the first year I could get berries... but only on the lower part of the plants due to their previous year's size. This year, I'm hoping for many more now that they've grown.

I've just given them an inch or two of compost, and will give them some fertilizer soon.

Ah! I just figured out how to get the pics in-line. Here's the trellis:
{{gwi:75078}}

And here are some of my first berries.
{{gwi:75079}}

These are Chester blackberries... This year, I'll purchase 3 more of them, and then 3 Triple Crown's. I've also got a ton of wild ones in the woods. They're tasty too, but very thorny, quite seedy, and small.

As many people have said, beautiful setup you have there. For me, it's always a challenge to find a spot in my yard where the plants will get ample light. Got to take down more trees... to make room for my trees. :-)

Thanks,
-Glenn

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:75079}}