Blackberries are conniving con artists. In the summer, they lure you in with lovely blossoms and beautiful berries. Then, just when you decide a few can stay, they eat your yard as an appetizer before devouring your house as the main course.
I just spent a week at a friends’ place in Salem. In thanks for eating Stephanie and Jim’s food and borrowing their Mini, I went after their blackberry bushes.
It’s strangely satisfying to tackle blackberry bushes. In my friends’ case, they had attacked the vines once this spring, but many were coming back and needed another go. The canes were growing around her grape vines and were also tangled in a large hedge. This eliminated the hacking method or borrowing a goat.
I spent a healthy amount of time tackling the shoots. Here’s a few things that worked for me. (And here’s some earlier advice we’ve had on tackling the blackberries.)
- Wear two layers of gloves. I started out with one, and it was disaster. Stephanie lent me gloves. A thin rubber glove worked well under a sturdier leather glove. If your hands are well protected, it’s easy to go after the canes aggressively.
- Wear long pants and sleeves. (I know. This should go without saying, but apparently it doesn’t since I went outside with capris on. I have the scratches to prove it.)
- A taproot weeder is infinitely useful for pulling up the tough blackberry roots.
- If you are accident prone, a pair of sunglasses or safety glasses are a good idea. I know this since I found a tiny blackberry thorn (really!) in my eye the next morning.
- Get a good hearty shovel for going after the toughest roots. Be prepared to do a lot of digging and hacking. I didn’t have one, but a hori hori would have come in handy.
- Follow the canes all the way to the roots and PULL. If you’re persistent and careful, you’ll be able to follow many roots from cane to cane. You’re going to have to do this many times, but every time you rip out the canes and roots, you weaken the plant. And, by pulling out the whole thing, you don’t risk the end of the cane hitting the ground and rooting again.
- Plug in your iPod (or listening device of your choice). Pick some really great music, an audiobook or a podcast. You’re going to be at it for awhile.
If you’d like to share more tips for tackling blackberries, we’d love to hear them. You can always leave a comment here or e-mail.
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