- They grow, bloom, and fruit in the shade, but really grow in the sun or partial sun.
- They produce large, good berries - according to our birds and squirrels.
- They spread on their own by tipping and shoots, even growing under mulch to pop out and produce another cane where a hole is found
The Logos, the Creating Word, engineered Blackberries and its cousins in the larger rose family to spread through runners and tip rooting. Hold a piece of cane on the soil and it will produce roots and a new cane.
I was thinking about the Gabe Brown principle - "Leave a living root in the ground as long as possible." The Wild Garden has a lot of mulch, but not many plants so far. I tried some Elderberry there, but I learned afterwards that they do better as dormant starts, not when tender and growing in the spring.
First Dig
Blackberries are unstoppable, so I dug out a strong cane. "What's this?" The cane had many runners coming from the main plant. Once I dug it out, I pulled another long runner that traveled under a lot of mulch to find a new place to start.
Second Dig
I found the sunniest spot in the semi-shade of the Wild Garden, a place where the soaker hose would travel to the thirsty Butterfly Bushes. I put a divot in the ground (something I learned when golfing...once).
Next I placed the runners in the same position they occupied before, shoveled some soil and mulch on them, and weighed this three-part garden down with small branches and logs.
Rain should fall today, and I will build up the plant with more rainwater. I did not have a chance to use much of the stored rainwater when the new front rolled in.
 |
| Birds and berries go together in the garden. |
