How to Grow Chickasaw Blackberries

One of the earliest ripening blackberries, Chickasaw produces a huge harvest of very large, sweet fruit that stores better than most other blackberry varieties. Fruit starts ripening in early summer, and the harvest lasts for up to five weeks. Chickasaw is an upright-growing blackberry, needing no support and reaching a height of 4 to 6 feet. The berries develop on second year canes, so you will not have berries the first year. You can grow Chickasaw blackberries in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 5 to 9.

Organic compost
Garden shears
Water
All-purpose fertilizer

Instructions

- 1
  Plant in full sunlight. Blackberries require 10 hours of sun per day for best fruit production.
- 2
  Work soil as deeply as possible with organic compost. Soil should be light and well drained.
- 3
  Plant your Chickasaw blackberry bush in the spring. Cut back the canes to 12 inches tall.
- 4
  Water frequently enough that soil remains moist, but not soggy. Fertilize in the spring and summer with a balanced all-purpose fertilizer.
- 5
  Pinch off the tips of the growing canes when they reach 36 inches high. Remove any side sprouts or suckers that develop outside the planting area.
- 6
  Harvest blackberries when the fruit is an even, deep purple-black color.
- 7
  Remove all canes that bore fruit after harvesting. This pruning will encourage the development of new canes and a bushier plant.
- 8
  Remove all weeds, fallen fruit or leaves and pruning scraps to reduce the risk of fungal infection.

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