Pruning blackberries isn't fun, but Kem Ormond promises it's worth it. Photo / Phil Thomsen
Kem Ormond is a features writer for The Country. She’s also a keen gardener. This week, she’s tackling the worst job in the garden.
OPINION
If you haven’t already, now is the time to be thinking about pruning your cane fruit, one of the least enjoyed jobs in the vegetable garden.
If you don’t have any berries in your garden, they are something you should consider, especially if you have limited room for fruit trees.
Some to select from are raspberries, thornless blackberries, boysenberries, blueberries, currants and brambles.
There are also cape gooseberries and gooseberries that you may well enjoy.
I have to say raspberries are by far my favourite, and while I have friends who grow enough to freeze, I love to graze while working in the garden.
Finding those ripe little gems is my reward for the weeding that needs to be done!
And what I like even more is that you can get two fruitings from most varieties.
But beware of birds who think we grow them for them alone; you may need to throw the odd bit of bird netting over your berries when in full production.
They like to have moist, cool conditions, rich, well-fed soil and good drainage.
These canes are vigorous, and when planting new canes, space them out about 40cm along the row.
They will grow to about 1m to 1.5m, depending on the variety.
Now, you can get yourself into a mess if you don’t keep these canes under control!
You need to thin out the naturally occurring suckers that pop up around the root base.
When fruiting is finished, remove each cane at the base and allow the young suckers to replace them.
Space them out about one every 12cm.
To clarify, the old canes will be dark and need to be removed, whereas the new ones will be light golden in colour.
I try to have some order with my berries, so I support them with bamboo placed horizontally to act as support, or you could use wire.
Because most varieties fruit late spring and late summer, after the spring crop, remove the fruited canes, as this will allow new canes to develop for the summer crop.
Blueberries prefer acidic soil, so keep lime far away.
If you need to increase your soil acidity, apply some sulphur.
They like to be kept moist, so mulching around the plants is a good idea.
The berries are produced on one-year-old wood, so when pruning, remove old wood while maintaining the shape and size of the bush.
Currants have a few different habits compared to their berry counterparts.
They do like moist, fertile soil, but they also need a whack of winter to initiate the flower buds that are going to produce that gorgeous fruit.
Shallow-rooted, they like a good dollop of mulch on top to keep those roots cool and damp.
Classed as more of a small shrub than a cane fruit, black currants fruit on one-year-old wood, so thin out any fruited wood to let the new boys on the block through, ready for the following season.
The red currant differs from its brother as its fruit is produced from longer-lived spurs, and all that is needed to a good tidy up of any old wood to let new growth flourish.
I have to say, red currant jelly is superb!
Blackberries and boysenberries are a couple of the forms of brambles, whereas a loganberry is a cross between a bramble and a raspberry; a little confusing, I know, so just go on taste!
Naturally thorny, it is so good that thornless varieties are now available.
While they prefer cool conditions, they are pretty hardy and adaptable in most places.
If you think about where wild blackberries pop up, they certainly are tough!
You do need to keep your plants watered when the fruit is ripening, as it will help with better fruiting.
These canes grow quite long, so plant about 2m apart.
They are usually heavy croppers, so they would appreciate their stems being supported.
Berries are produced on one-year-old wood, so after fruiting, cut canes down to ground level, and remove any excess suckers as well.
As much as we dislike pruning, it is necessary if we want some of those beautiful fruit jewels.