Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Dividing Blackberries and Strawberries

Last fall (2009) I had a bunch of blackberries that were spreading into areas that I did not want them. I have a lot of fiends who have commented on how they might want some so I pulled them out of the ground where they had rooted and put them in trash bags with moist peat moss to over winter the rooted divisions. I checked on them a couple of times over the winter and added water to them when they were dry. Even though they were kept in my dark garage and they were dormant they still needed to stay moist to remain viable this spring. I took them out the other day and set them in a puddle on a rainy day while I rounded up pots to pot them up.
Blackberries send out new arching branches that root when they touch the ground. They are one of the easiest plants to divide and plant elsewhere or give away to friends.

Moistening the roots in a puddle on a rainy Spring day in March.

Our compost area is simply an area on an old concrete barn slab that we have divided into two areas using concrete blocks. We alternate new and aged compost so that we always have an area that is ready to be used and one area that is ready to accept new yard, kitchen, and garden waste. This compost is not quite as broken down as I would like to pot up plants, but blackberries are so tough, I felt comfortable potting them directly into this compost as a soil medium.

Great worms in our compost.

Blackberries potted up and ready to give away or move to a new location after a month of growing.

These strawberries are growing into my aisles and need to be divided. They also can be easily dug up and either directly planted into new areas or potted up to give away.

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