How to Stake Blackberries
- 1). Drive in a metal T-post about 6 inches from each plant so that posts also stand 4 feet apart in the row.
- 2). Run one strand of wire tightly between all posts in the row--attaching to each post--at a height of about 4 1/2 feet above the ground.
- 3). Spread fruiting branches out along the wire. Twine these branches around the wire and attach them loosely with plastic plant ties.
- 4). Tie later new canes, as they emerge, to the post, establishing the center of the berry hill. Continue to prune and train canes to the wire support and post as plants get established.
- 5). Cut back and remove all floricanes--fruit-producing or second-year canes--after harvest, when they die back.
- 6). Thin the remaining canes early in the following spring, leaving just 5 to 7 of the sturdiest canes per hill. Cut side branches of the canes back to 12 buds and then tie canes to the post or wire.
- 7). Pinch off the growing tips of new canes when they reach the wire, to encourage side branches, or laterals, that will bear fruit the following year.
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