On 22/04/2014 2:16 PM, Terry Coombs wrote:
Fran Farmer wrote:
On 22/04/2014 12:43 PM, Terry Coombs wrote:
songbird wrote:
they do have thornless blackberry canes...


songbird

Yeah , "they" do , but I'm "me" , not "they" . These are native
to this area , and in a year with sufficient rainfall they're good
producers . Besides , have you ever tried to kill a largish patch of
them ? Ain't gonna happen , especially since they're all over up
here and the birds and other small animals spread the seeds ...

I was laughing as I read your description of controlling blackberries
as I'm sure David H-S was if he read what you wrote.

In my country it's compulsory for land holders to not only control,
but also to kill infestations of blackberries. That applies to a
single bush or to hillsides or valleys of them. It's a declared
noxious weed which in past decades took over many acres of farmland
and made it unviable.

I have a small illegal patch and every time we spray it some, in the
very centre of the clump, evades the herbicide. I'm just glad the
weeds inspector hasn't noticed it or he'd be back each year and
threatening to impose fines for ineffective control.

They're not really a problem here except in some clearings our land is
heavily wooded for the most part and in particular the power line easements
. They come thru with a bushhog every few years and knock them and the small
trees down . I've tilled a lot under for the garden , still had a few shoots
this spring from when I broke that ground last year ... I've cleared a lot
of small trees in order to encourage the berry patch to migrate downhill a
bit to regain the plants I've tilled under .

That's interesting about being treed and not having big infestations
because where the foresters grow radiata pines here, the blackberry
infestation is amazing.

The one really wonderful thing about backberries (other than the
berries) is how wonderful the soil is under the canopy once a big old
long lived clump is finally killed off. All those years of dropped
leaves and bird poop creates wonderful soil.