I don't know about the dream, but Kiowa was giving me nightmares this year. Two 60 ft rows were yielding 1.5-2 gallons a day for most of 6 weeks - thankfully, I could pick those in about 10 minutes.
Drought conditions toward the end of the season, I was not distraught over diminishing fruit size, or the fact that a lot of the very last berries just dried up.
\W had friends coming to pick blueberries, and I wpuld tell them, "You can have all the blueberries you can pick, but you have to take a gallon of blackberries with you when you go.

Thanks,

gary

This year my Prime Ark45 wintered killed to the ground, so that would be equivalent to cutting them to the ground. There are more primocanes present than last year but I can't say that they are noticeably more productive than the previous year. You are only getting fruit from the very top of the canes, so the amount is light. Prime Ark45 is a useful and good-tasting blackberry. I have been getting fruit for about 2 weeks and should have it to frost (mid-to-late October). I had fruit into early November last year. The early summer crop is usually much larger though and of better quality than the Fall crop.

For me the primocane yield is less than the summer yield by a fair amount, maybe half. Couple that with a 3 month ripening window equals few berries per day. I am a grazer and going by eating a couple berries a day suits me just fine. Don't expect to pick a gallon of berries at a time in the fall like you do in the summer unless you have a lot of plants.

-Due to late planting, this year’s small canes will fruit about May 21st 2015, and then cut back to the ground.

-The new primocanes that grow next spring 2015 will fruit on the top from about August-October then trim only the top that just fruited.

-About May 21st 2016 we will get our largest amount of berries from the section remaining from 2015 then cut this section to the ground.

-The new 2016 primocanes tops will ripen about August-October then trim the top that just fruited.

If anyone sees errors please post the corrections. Thanks, Bill

The early summer crop on Prime Ark45 generally has better fruit quality than the Fall crop. We have had a few hot periods but also some unusually cool weather during July and consistent rain all summer.

Prime Ark primocanes are hardy to about 0F but their established roots will take at least -5F or better. This is from my experience last winter.

It might be the photo but I would be curious about the distance between you Prime Arks? I had trouble planting many of my plant too close to each other. A fully grown Prime Ark will be 7ft tall and 5-6ft in diameter. They will fill in to form a hedge if you let them but the denser the growth the less they will fruit due to the lack on sunlight. Thick growth also restricts air flow, promoting the growth of fungus...especially in humid climates. Just my 2 cents.

You noted that your fall crop for 5 Prime Ark 45's amounts to 1/2 pint per day. I am interested in the Prime Ark freedom. I have very little space. At that rate, It wouldn't work for me. However, I would be growing only the primocane crop, and then cutting them down for winter. Any idea how that would impact the fall yield? Thanks.

My Prime Ark 45's floricane crop didn't winter over this year, so I essentially had a primocane crop only this year. Mine started fruiting around Sept. 1st and have continued to fruit until now. Like most crops, your yield will diminish as the Fall season wanes. I had more fruit on the floricane crop last year than on the Fall crop this year but it is nice to have fresh blackberries until frost.

Thanks.

Thanks for your update. The Fall crop is the time period I would like to be able to pick a few fresh berries each day. Hope my Freedom's do as well as yours.

If you are in a lower hardiness zone (less than 6), then I would suggest checking your frost free days before planting Prime Arks. I get about 180 frost free days in my area. My Prime Arks start ripening around September 1st, which means that I have somewhere between 45-60 days of fruiting available before frost ends the crop. You'll need to do the math for your area to determine if you have enough frost free days available to get a crop. I suppose that if you try to cover them, you could extend the season some, but this variety is not that easy to cover due to their height.