By Megan Cecil-Gobble and Patrick Cecil | Contributing Writers
Taking a walk through our bountiful neighborhood and through unique semi-rural alleyways, you will find naturalized plants bearing edible fruits or herbs. But some, like the Himalayan Blackberry (Rubus armeniacus), are both sustenance and nuisance. How can they be tamed to make room for both walking paths and berry picking?
We, Patrick and Megan, have been growing berries ever since we relocated to Portland in 1995. In our first year, we planted marionberries, raspberries, and gooseberries. We also tamed a Hima- layan blackberry that had rooted in our backyard. With these yummy plants, we learned the “cycles” of the berry plants.
Blackberries are a biannual berry producer. The first year, a primocane grows, reaching 10 to 20 feet long by the end of the summer / early fall. It has no branches growing from it, although it can bifurcate (split). The second year, floricanes grow from the primocane leaf junctions. These grow about one to three feet long, and end with fl owers and fi nally berries (after the local bees visit) from mid July to September. During the second winter, the cane dies. If it reaches the ground before dying, it can grow another plant at the terminus and spreads into big patches.
To clear blackberries from your yard or alley, you can hire a herd of goats (look online). Or you can cut out the new primo- canes to reduce the number of canes the following year. Patrick has been doing this in our alley for many years now, and the patches are small enough for cars and people to pass through. You may have to take time to remove older dead growth, but eventually you will see light through the bramble patch. Concordia alleys are part of our public access, and helping to keep them open is a public service. We walkers thank you.
If you want to tame berries, string up the primocanes against a fence or wall as they grow. By the middle of autumn you will have 10-20 feet of cane at shoulder to above-head height. These will retain their leaves through the winter. Cut out the dying second year primocanes to keep the patch from spreading out. When spring comes, you will have a profusion of flowers at waist and head height, perfect for picking in the late summer.
If you have a choice, plant thornless blackberries. We have several Triple- Crowns trained in our small backyard, and pick quarts of berries each week from Mid-July through August. They are phenomenal and like Curad bandages, ouch-less.
Megan and Patrick Cecil-Gobble have lived in Portland for 30 years. They continue to hike, bike, and survive happily with grandkids nearby to keep them on their toes.