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Encanto Farms Nursery > Topics > OT: look at the size of these blackberries
 
 


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GeneDaniels

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Posted Reply with quote  #1 
Here is what I am getting off my blackberry bushes right now, about a quart of these a day:

DSC05818.JPG   

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Zone 7b (Central Arkansas) Seven trees in the ground: Hardy Chicago, Celeste(?), LSU gold, Italian Black, Southern Brown Turkey(?), Strawberry Verte, and Unk yellow.  Trees in pots: VdB, CdD, and Sicilian?
ejp3

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Posted Reply with quote  #2 
What variety?
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GeneDaniels

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Posted Reply with quote  #3 
I bought these at Lowes and now I can't remember. They are one of the "indian" themed ones developed at the University of Arkansas. They are thornless and form HUGE canes, some of them much bigger in diameter than my fat thumb.
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Zone 7b (Central Arkansas) Seven trees in the ground: Hardy Chicago, Celeste(?), LSU gold, Italian Black, Southern Brown Turkey(?), Strawberry Verte, and Unk yellow.  Trees in pots: VdB, CdD, and Sicilian?
Matt_from_Pittsburgh

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Posted Reply with quote  #4 
Anyone try Kiowa? They're huge, but I've heard mixed reviews of the flavor.
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Matt
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jenn42

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Posted Reply with quote  #5 
How sweet are they? Thats a nice size!
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Jenn
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Will hopefully have cuttings to trade next year as my yearlings mature
Gina

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Posted Reply with quote  #6 
Wow!  I might have to re-think growing blackberries... those look GREAT!
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tylerj

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Posted Reply with quote  #7 
My Navaho blackberry looks like that also. One of my favourites :)
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needaclone

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Posted Reply with quote  #8 
They look more like bunches of grapes than like blackberries!!  My mouth is watering....
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hungryjack

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Posted Reply with quote  #9 
Looks like Navaho variety,
time of the year and size of berry is correct for this variety.
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schaplin

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Posted Reply with quote  #10 
They are making me hungry!  Look great.
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fignutty

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Posted Reply with quote  #11 
Kiowa is bigger than Navaho. Neither tastes nearly as good as the western trailing blackberries like Marion. I'm growing the thornless Black Diamond and Columbia Star. Berries of those are about the size of Navaho but smaller than Kiowa. The downside of trailing types is they aren't very hardy.
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Steve in Alpine TX 7b/8a
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HarveyC

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Posted Reply with quote  #12 
A guy in Kentucky I know posted a photo of Kiowa blackberries today and they are huge.  He said the flavor is very good and that they are the largest variety he is aware of.  He said he can pick a gallon in about 10 minutes.  I may have to give it a try!
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Harvey - Correia Farms
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hungryjack

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Posted Reply with quote  #13 
For productivity - Triple Crown
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fignutty

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Posted Reply with quote  #14 
Harvey:

You might want to consider the two trailing thornless I mentioned above. They taste way better IMO and you won't need a blood transfusion after picking. Kiowa has fish hook thorns. I grew it near Fresno about 12 yrs ago. It's big but pretty tart. None of the richness of flavor of Marion types.
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Steve in Alpine TX 7b/8a
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Gina

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Posted Reply with quote  #15 
What do you all think are the two best tasting thornless blackberry varieties for warmer areas. Good taste trumps almost everything else.
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noss

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Posted Reply with quote  #16 
Gina,

I like Arapaho and Apaches thornless blackberries.  The Arapaho is a good producer.  I like a sweet blackberry that has a little tartness, without the bitter aftertaste of some of the blackberries I've tasted.  Thornless is great for these old hands.  I didn't like the thorns when I was young, but now, my skin is even more tender.

This is a good thread.

noss
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pawpawbill

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Posted Reply with quote  #17 
Triple crown has best production and best flavor for me. Kiowa is huge but lacking sweetness. Apache and Arapaho Are good all around.-
fignutty

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Posted Reply with quote  #18 
Gina and noss:

I agree totally!! You give up nearly nothing in taste to the very best I've eaten (Marion, Obsidian, Metrolious) by growing the thornless Black Diamond and Columbia Star. What they are is less hardy and need a trellis as compared to Kiowa, Navaho, Triple Crown, etc. But they taste better than any of the hardier types I've tried.
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Steve in Alpine TX 7b/8a
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GeneDaniels

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Posted Reply with quote  #19 
Quote:
Originally Posted by tylerj
My Navaho blackberry looks like that also. One of my favourites :)


I think you are right now that I think about it, they are Navaho.
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Zone 7b (Central Arkansas) Seven trees in the ground: Hardy Chicago, Celeste(?), LSU gold, Italian Black, Southern Brown Turkey(?), Strawberry Verte, and Unk yellow.  Trees in pots: VdB, CdD, and Sicilian?
Chivas

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Posted Reply with quote  #20 
Those are huge, how do they compare to the taste of the wild blackberries?
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GeneDaniels

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Posted Reply with quote  #21 
They are pretty close. But in ease of dealing with them they are a mile apart. These are thornless and semi-errect, so they are easy to pick. I would take these over wild ones any day. (and I have picked gallons and gallons of wild blackberries over my years)
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Zone 7b (Central Arkansas) Seven trees in the ground: Hardy Chicago, Celeste(?), LSU gold, Italian Black, Southern Brown Turkey(?), Strawberry Verte, and Unk yellow.  Trees in pots: VdB, CdD, and Sicilian?
fignutty

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Posted Reply with quote  #22 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chivas
Those are huge, how do they compare to the taste of the wild blackberries?


They compare well to wild blackberries in central USA but not to wild in PNW. I've had both and there's no comparison. That's why the trailing blackberries from Oregon are the best tasting IME.
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Steve in Alpine TX 7b/8a
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HarveyC

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Posted Reply with quote  #23 
Steve, I've given up growing blackberries.  The spotted wing drosophila that loves cherries so much also attacked my black berries so I got rid of them.  There are still wild blackberries around my ditches and I sometimes pick from those.  It seems that SWD prefers to attack ones in my yard. :(
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Chivas

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Posted Reply with quote  #24 
I grew up in the fraser valley and used to pick the "wild" black berries on the sides of the roads used as windbreak, they were good but my favorite are the wild blackberries in northern ontario, small but packed full of flavour, I am thinking about some black berries again so I appreciate the feedback, I love the wild ones but hate the thorns so if they taste similar that is a no brainer.
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drphil69

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Posted Reply with quote  #25 
I got the same or similar varieties.  I was shocked when the new canes came up - some of them were over an inch thick at the base!

They produce great berries, large, and thornless is a must!

Congrats on a nice harvest!
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Phil - Zone 7A - Newark, DE Newbie fig lover just trying to learn.
jenn42

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Posted Reply with quote  #26 
This has been very informative and now I know what kind to start growing! We have the little wild ones growing all over the property, but the thorns are relentless! Thanks again for starting this thread.
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Jenn
Austin, TX Zone 8b

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Will hopefully have cuttings to trade next year as my yearlings mature
rcantor

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Posted Reply with quote  #27 
Marion berries in OR are great but triple crown in OR were at least as good and much bigger and more juice.  I'm trying triple crown in MO now and I hope they taste great.  I planted them last year.  They came back without problem and are putting on fruit.  SWD have been found in St Louis but not KC yet as far as I know. 
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GRamaley

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Posted Reply with quote  #28 
I love blackberries, a form member gave me some canes in the fall and I managed to grow them for a bit but they became a victim of my vacation...I got a couple of plants this year I hope they grow well and I have some for next year..
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cis4elk

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Posted Reply with quote  #29 
Triple crown does good in the entire lower 48. You just need to lay them down and cover them with something if you are below zone 6. I use a bed sheet and a tarp with a few big rock to secure the tarp. Some years (like this past winter) I still get some damage, but not much. My parents have been able to grow TC in North Dakota from starts I gave them.
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Gina

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Posted Reply with quote  #30 
Hmmm, come fall/winter/spring, I smell some possible fig/blackberry trades.  ;)
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noss

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Posted Reply with quote  #31 
The wild blackberries I've tasted here, usually called dewberries, were ones I never like raw because they all had a bitter aftertaste that drowned out the sweetness.  I really don't like that bitterness.  When I tasted the thornless blackberries, a couple of the varieties didn't have the bitterness and they're so good!  People have said that the large ones are dewberries and the smaller ones, blackberries.  I don't know.

Could someone clarify that for me?

Thanks,

noss
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noss/a.k.a. Vivian Lafayette, LA Zone 9a Wish List: Col de Dame Blanc, Col de Dame Noir, Scott's Yellow, Tony's Brown Italian, any other fig that is good in the rain/humidity and has a real figgy flavor.
GeneDaniels

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Posted Reply with quote  #32 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gina
Hmmm, come fall/winter/spring, I smell some possible fig/blackberry trades.  ;)


I started 25-30 blackberry plants last winter, it was super easy. I gave them to family and friends at church. I would be glad to do it again this year and trade some bareroot BB starts for new fig varieties later in the year.
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Zone 7b (Central Arkansas) Seven trees in the ground: Hardy Chicago, Celeste(?), LSU gold, Italian Black, Southern Brown Turkey(?), Strawberry Verte, and Unk yellow.  Trees in pots: VdB, CdD, and Sicilian?
ohjustaguy

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Posted Reply with quote  #33 
The berries in OP are similar to my Navaho and Ouachita, both of which I got at Lowe's (Duarte was the wholesaler on the tag). 

I agree with above posters Marionberry is the best tasting berry out there. It is the only thorny thing I've kept, although Boysen/Ollalie were good too just didn't want that many thorny things around.

My wife loves Marionberry, asked me why I didn't just grow a bunch of this one instead of all these varieties :)
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GeneDaniels

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Posted Reply with quote  #34 
Sounds like I need to try growing some marionberry next year
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Zone 7b (Central Arkansas) Seven trees in the ground: Hardy Chicago, Celeste(?), LSU gold, Italian Black, Southern Brown Turkey(?), Strawberry Verte, and Unk yellow.  Trees in pots: VdB, CdD, and Sicilian?
Chapman

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Posted Reply with quote  #35 
I used to grow Brazos blackberries developed by Texas A&M that were a little tart but great for making jelly.  Noss, the dewberries are the ones that grow in bush form and grow like vines and the blackberries make the thick canes and grow more upright.  I've picked loads of wild dewberries and if you don't have a real dry year they are great.
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noss

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Posted Reply with quote  #36 
Hi Chapman,

Aha, never thought about the effects of dryness.  When we were first in Lafayette, way long ago.....  A friend and I and our kids would go along the fencelines, or ask farmers if we could go in their fields and pick.  That was when there was open land all around us and we were in the country and it was so much fun to go and pick the berries.  I remember some very large berries on trailing bushes.

These days, they spray weed killer all along the roads and I don't know where the country went, but it's gone.  I know places need to grow, but this is ridiculous.

We sure did make some good blackberry jam, though.  We would use paraffin to seal the jars, but now it isn't recommended anymore from what I read.

Every time I read the name, marionberry, it makes me think of the mayor of DC who was Marion Barry, I think his name was.

Thanks,

noss
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noss/a.k.a. Vivian Lafayette, LA Zone 9a Wish List: Col de Dame Blanc, Col de Dame Noir, Scott's Yellow, Tony's Brown Italian, any other fig that is good in the rain/humidity and has a real figgy flavor.
jdsfrance

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Posted Reply with quote  #37 
Hi,
A neighbor years ago had a thornless bb and threw her canes to my side where they rooted ... and that was the start of blackberries . The problem is they ripen in August and we
can have too much water or not enough, which leads to sour or bland bb .
I now bought  a new strain : "Jumbo" - supposed to have big fruits. To my big surprise they have started ripening two weeks ago ... Cool !
But as already written I'm more on Tayberry - they are earlier - for me that season is almost over - and once more it was a good season !
Tayberry don't stain as bb do ... on tongue teeth and shirts :( ... For me Tayberry have a superior taste - so I'm happy with them.
For now my Jumbo hasn't shown were it got the name :< . I was expecting the fruit to be really big and for now that's not the case. They are just about the same size of my other BB ... Just earlier ripening.
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Chivas

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Posted Reply with quote  #38 
My grandparents and their sisters still used parafain to seal the jars, wild blueberry, strawberry jams are the best I have veer had, too bad they stopped making them a few years back.
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