What Kind of Soil Do Blackberries Like?

Well-draining

• Standing water from poorly drained soils can quickly be fatal for blackberries, so drainage is a significant issue to consider when choosing a site for your berry patch. Being subjected to waterlogged soils for even a few days can begin to kill blackberries from a lack of soil oxygen and the onset of disease. Improve drainage on otherwise ideal planting locations by building raised beds, tilling deeply, installing drain tiles and adding more organic matter.

Fertile

• Blackberries do well in well-drained, fertile loam with moderate water retention but not so well in either heavy clay or sandy soils. However, you can greatly improve the suitability of sandy ground by adding organic matter. Add well-rotted manure, compost, grass clippings, shredded leaves or straw the summer or fall before you plant, and cultivate deeply so it will decompose. Freely worked soil should be at least 2 or 3 feet deep, to allow unrestricted root development.

PH Neutral & Disease-free

• Soil pH affects soil chemistry, including how well plants take up nutrients from the soil, and it also influences the health of soil microbes and your plants' susceptibility to disease. Blackberries thrive when the soil pH is neutral or slightly acidic, or between 5.5 and 7, so test your soil's pH. Modify soils that are too acidic--with a pH below 5.5--by adding lime to the soil. Modify alkaline soils--above pH 7--by adding sulfur. Avoid planting blackberries in soil where other caneberries, strawberries, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant or potatoes have been grown in the past three years, to prevent exposure to verticillium wilt and other diseases and pests shared by these crops.

Moist

• Soggy ground is fatal to blackberries, but moist soil is essential for healthy plant and fruit development. This is rarely an issue in areas where summer rains are steady, but elsewhere you need an adequate irrigation system. Drip irrigation is much better than overhead irrigation because it conserves water, prevents the spread of disease via wet foliage and discourages weeds.

Mulched & Weed-free

• Control weeds to prevent competition for water and nutrients. Thick 3- or 4-inch layers of organic mulch--wood bark, straw, shredded leaves--can help discourage weeds while also conserving soil moisture. Mulch also helps protect the delicate surface roots of blackberry plants that form just below the soil surface. Because of these tender roots, cultivate no deeper than 1 or 2 inches to control weeds or remove unwanted canes.