Dallas Fruit and Vegetable Grower

Blackberries in Full Bloom in Dallas

Our blackberry bushes have been in full bloom for the last three weeks, with some of the earlier blooming varieties already forming small berries and the later varieties blooming in strength.  As previously posted, we have Navaho, Arapaho, and Ouachita.  All are thornless and were developed at the University of Arkansas.

The plants on the south side that get a fair amount of shade have done much better than the plants on the north side of the property that get significantly more sun.

Here is a photo of one of the bushes on the south side.  You can see that it is loaded with blooms.

Here is another photograph of the bed of blackberries on the south side of our front yard.  There are two rows of blackberry bushes interplanted with pear trees.  At both ends of the bed, we have a couple of elderberry bushes.  This photograph was taken shortly after a morning rain, so the plants are heavy with dew.   Blackberry bushes in the landscape have a very arching characteristic.   They have somewhat of a wilder look to them, so you would want to plant them in a side bed as opposed to a planting bed in front of the house.

 

 

Here is another photograph of the same bed taken in 2010, two years ago, from the opposite direction.  The bed has really filled out during that period of time.

 

 

American Robin and Blackberries

©iStockphoto.com

Growing up in Missouri, I remember the American Robin being one of the most prevalent birds in suburban neighborhood.  When I moved to Texas, I rarely would see a robin.   In our prior Dallas neighborhood, we would occasionally see a couple of robins when walking the neighborhood.  Only one year did we actually have a pair of robins in our own yard.

Similarly, in our new neighborhood, I occasionally see a pair of robins hopping around a neighbor's yard searching for worms, but it has not been a common sight.   That changed this year as our blackberries started to ripen this summer.   Once the berries ripened, we had four robins take up residence in our front yard, and they appear to be enjoying our blackberries immensely.  

Consequently, our blackberry harvest has been noticeably smaller this year.  Although we still have harvested a lot of blackberries, it has not been as big as last year.  In reality, the decreased harvest may have something to do with how dry and hot it has been.  Despite my additional watering, the berries just don't seem to be filling out as much as last year.  However, I also think that the robins may be getting to a lot of the ripe fruit.

Last year, the mockingbirds were giving me a hard time with the blueberries but did not touch the blackberries.  This year, in contrast, we had a nice harvest of blueberries, but the robins have been putting a dent in the blackberries.

We won't let it bother us because we enjoy having the robins in the yard.  We just won't have very much blackberry cobbler and preserves.

Blackberries, raspberries and blueberries

Our berries are coming into production.  As you can see from the photograph above, our blueberries are ripening now.  We have Tifblue,  Woodard, and Brightwell growing.  These bushes were planted three years ago from 5 gallon containers.  They are still very small bushes but should eventually grow to 6 to 8 feet in height.  I cannot wait for that day because they have been growing very slowly.  Nevertheless, each year we get more blueberries than in the past.   Our harvest has been better this year despite the recent hailstorms and the efforts of the Mockingbirds.

We have had fresh raspberries for the last two weeks.  These bushes were planted from 1 gallon containers and are still verry small in large part because I transplanted them this Spring to our alley.  We have Autumn Bliss and Heritage which are reputed to be self-supporting.  I put them in the alley because they cannot grow near our blackberries and can cause disease in each other.  Because the blackberries take up so much of our beds in the front, the alley was the only place left for the raspberries.  We have about fifteen or so bushes growing behind our side fence in the alley.  They get part sun, and I have a drip line providing them with water.  Remarkably, the birds and squirrels have not really been going after the raspberries as much as the blueberries.

Our blackberries have been ripening for some time, and are just now starting to turn black.  However, even though they are turning black, they are still not ready for harvest.  You want the black ones to turn from shiny to dull black.  Not an easy standard, so I often rely on the taste test for harvesting purposes.  We have approximately 50 Arapaho, Navajo, and Ouachita thornless blackberries that should provide a substantial harvest this year.  The photograph above shows two of the bushes with immature, red berries.

 

 

Ripening Fruit Update

 

Our pome and stone fruit continue to get bigger.  In the first week of May, you can see in the photograph above that our apples are already looking fairly mature.

The photograph above is of our asian pears that are also doing well.

 

Our three types of thornless blackberries -- Navajo, Arapaho, and Oauchita -- are loaded with immature berries.  In the photograph above, you can see how the flowers turn into the berries.

The fruit on our blueberry bushes also continues to mature.  I hope plenty ripen before the birds get them all.

 

Finally, I have included a photo of some medlar blossoms that have been pollinated and are fruiting.

Picking blackberries

One of the things what we struggled with this year is knowing when our blackberries were at their optimum for picking.

If you are thinking about planting blackberries, my best advice is to plant the Ouachita variety because you can tell when its berries are ripe because they swell to enormous size that are differentiated from the smaller, unripe berries.

If you are picking other types of berries, it is a bit more challenging.

Obviously, if the berry is red, it's not ripe!

Kim Pierce of the Dallas Morning News wrote a piece on June 4, 2010 that I thought was helpful and gave a few more hints.  Here is an excerpt:

"If you're picking blackberries, Cowdrey says, they're ripe when they lose their shine. The color turns dull, and they fall off in your hand. 'If you have to tug at it,' he says, 'it's not really ripe.'"

www.dallasnews.com/s/dws/nwsltr/recipeoftheday/stories/060410dnlivrecipeofthedayblack.6dcf759d.html

I think the "tug" advice is dead on.

As to telling when a blackberry is "dull", it takes a lot of practice to tell when a blackberry has lost its shine and is dull.  But, once you know what you are looking for, it can be a pretty good indicator.

The taste test is also helpful.  In other words, taste a nearby berry to see if the others are also ripe.  However, one caveat, this is not foolproof because the berries ripen at different times.  Consequently, the one you taste may be ripe, but others nearby may still need a few more days to reach perfection.

Not to worry, Kim Pierce's article notes that you can always add a bit of sugar to your berries to add sweetness.

Growing blackberries in Dallas

Our blackberries are pretty well done producing for the year.

They were ripe starting around May 24th and continued producing until approximately June 21st.  I am still getting a blackberry here and there by July 4th, but only sporadically.

If you want fruit in your Dallas yard and you want it easy, go with thornless blackberries.  These have been great for us and prolific producers in only their second year.

These really seem to be hardy plants with few needs. They are erect growing and do not need trellises or staking.

I planted three varieties to extend the season and had berries over a four week ripening period.  We planted Navaho, Arapaho, and Ouachita.  All are thornless and were developed at the University of Arkansas, so they are perfect for Dallas' hot weather.  Needless to say, thornless is the way to go because -- no thorns.  Also, these plants don't seem to sucker and can be kept in check.  In their second year, the plants generated massive, one inch thick canes.  These will grow to seven feet tall, but I am pruning them at about three or four feet to encourage side branching and to keep it tidy.  These new canes should produce next year's fruit.  Now that the plants are done fruiting, I will probably prune the smaller canes from last year that produced fruit this year -- as I understand it, they will no longer produce fruit.

If you are only going to plant one type of blackberry, I would plant the Ouachita.  It has huge berries that make it easier to determine when they are ripe.  (I planted the Navahos this year, so I cannot report yet whether they will be superior to Ouachita; however, I cannot speak highly enough about the Ouachitas).

Here is some information on these three types of blackberries from the University of Arkansas:

Arapaho:  Earliest of these 3 varieties to ripen with a reported four week ripening period -- approximately the last week in May in Dallas.  Fruit size at 5 grams with flavor rate as "good, higher than most thorny varieties," percent sugar averages 9.6 %; moderate yields, usually lower than Apache and Navaho.

Ouachita:  Starts ripening about a week to a week and a half after Arapaho -- so about the first or second week of June.  Reported five week ripening period, but I would expect less. Fruit size at 6 to 6.5 grams with flavor rate as "very good", percent sugar averages 10-11%; consistently high yields in research trials - "comparable to exceeding Apache and Navaho and consistently exceeds Arapaho."

Navajo:  It is reported to ripen two weeks after Arapaho -- approximately the second week of June; however, my experience this year was that it ripened at the same time as Arapaho.  It is reported to have a ripening period of five to six weeks, but we'll see.  Fruit size at 5 grams with flavor rate as "excellent" and "consistently rated the highest of the Arkansas varieties"; percent sugar averages 11.4%.  Moderate yields in research trials - "comparable to exceeding Apache and Navaho and consistently exceeds Arapaho."

You can obtain five gallon containers of these plants from Bob Wells Nursery in Lindale, Texas.  Alternatively, next spring, you might be able to find some of these varieties at North Haven Gardens, Lowe's, and Home Depot.  Do not buy a variety that you have not researched.  You need to stick with the University of Arkansas thornless, erect varieties, or your yard will be overtaken by native blackberries with thorns!!!!

Here are a couple of photos of our blackberry bushes in the yard.  We have two beds planted each with two rows of blackberry bushes.  In the one bed, there are pear trees planted within the blackberries.  In the other bed, we have apple trees planted within the blackberries.

In the following two pictures, we have a row of strawberries in front followed by a row of Nanking cherry bushes.  Behind those are two rows of blackberry bushes.  The first row are the Navaho bushes that I planted this year and still have small bamboo poles for support.  The back row are the Ouachitas and Arapahos that I planted in 2009.

On the other side of the yard is the bed containing the blackberries and pear trees:

List of fruits and varieties

Here is a list of the fruit that we have planted in 2009 and 2010:

Apple                            Gala

                                      Fuji

                                      Granny Smith              

                                      Braeburn      

                                      Anna            

                                      Cox's Orange Pippen  

                                      Goldrush      

                                      Spigold       

                                      Wynooche   

                                      William's Pride

                                     

Pears                             Orient          

                                      Moonglow    

                                      Monterrey    

                                      Warren         

                                      Magness      

                                      Kieffer         

                                      Pineapple    

                                      Seckle

                                     

Peaches                         Springold     

                                      Sentinel       

                                      Ranger         

                                      Red Haven   

                                      Jefferson     

                                      Saturn          

                                      Reliance       

                                     

Plums                            Santa Rosa  

                                      Bruce           

                                      Allred           

                                      Morris          

                                      AU Rosa      

                                      Shiro           

                                      Toka

                                     

Cherry                            Bing            

                                      Black Tartarian            

                                      Compact Stella

                                     

Apricot                           Blenheim      

                                      Moorpark

                                     

Asian Pear                     Hosui           

                                      Shinko

                                     

Jujube                            Li  

                                      Lang

                                     

Fig                                 Brown Turkey              

                                      Celestial       

                                      Texas Everbearing       

                                      LSU Purple  

                                      Black Mission        

    

Blueberry                       Tifblue         

                                      Woodard     

                                      Brightwell

                                     

Elderberry                      John's         

                                      Adam's

                                     

Blackberry                      Arapaho thornless       

                                      Ouachita thornless       

                                      Navajo thornless

                                     

Raspberry                      Autumn Bliss

                                      Heritage

                                     

Grape                             Himrod white seedless 

                                      Mars blue seedless     

                                      Saturn seedless          

                                      Ruby seedless            

                                      Chardonney

                                     

Strawberry                     Ozark Beauty              

                                      Quinault       

                                      Ogallala       

                                      Tristar          

                                      Eversweet    

                                      Seascape    

                                      Allstar          

                                      Itasca          

                                      Jewel           

                                      Lateglow      

                                      Earliglow      

                                      Profumata di tortona   

                                      Mignonette alpine        

                                      Rugen alpine

                                      Yellow alpine

                                     

Cornellian Cherry           Elegant        

                                      Pioneer

                                     

Che                                Seedless Che

                                     

Nanking Cherry              White Nanking Cherry

 

Medlar                            Dutch medlar              

                                      Royal medlar

                                     

Pomegranite                  Eversweet

                                     

Persimmon                    Fuyu            

                                      Tani Nashi

                                     

Paw paw                        Mango         

                                      Pennsylvania Golden   

                                      NC1

                                     

Kiwi                               Ananasnaja  

                                      Dumbarten Oaks         

                                      Jumbo Hardy              

                                      Ken's Red    

                                      Saanichton   

                                      Exbury         

                                      Hayward      

                                      Kolomitka

                                     

Pineapple Guava           Pineapple Guava

                                     

Luma Apiculata              Luma Apiculata

                                     

Honeyberry                    Kamchatka   

                                      Blue velvet   

                                      Blue pacific

                                     

Juneberry                       Northline serviceberry

                                     

Jostaberry                      Jostaberry

                                     

Gooseberry                    Poorman

                                     

Shipova                         Shipova

                                     

Hybrids                          Pluot combination of Splash, Emerald Drop, Flavor Grenade, and Geo Pride           

                                      Tri Lite peach plum      

                                      Cot-N-Candy Aprium    

                                      Flavor Supreme Pluot  

                                      Spice Zee Nectaplum

                                     

Wolfberry                       Wolfberry

                                     

Huckleberry                    Evergreen huckleberry

                                     

Mulberry                        2 existing Mulberry trees -- type unknown   

                                         Noir De Spain mulberry