Well, I finally had time to do a bit of research on the blackberry challenge. The goal was to develop a control strategy to keep the blackberries in the wild areas off of the property. To do the research, I did several searches on topics around blackberries and dug through the list of websites that I will list at the end of this. How do you deal with this thorny issue? Leave a comment. The short answer I came up with is a 3 part strategy: 1) Remove the plants and the roots. 2) Cut the plants as soon as they pop up. 3) Create a barrier to prevent further invasion. So in detail: Step 1) During the blackberry's dormancy period, cut back all of the canes from where you want to remove the blackberries. Dig up as many of the roots as you can find. You will not get all the roots, so Step 2 is critical. I did this in November as part of the fall work to get the area ready for next spring. Step) Cut any regrowth to the ground as soon as it pops up. There are several methods for doing this. This depletes the energy in the remaining roots and they eventually die. Weekly mowing and clipping works. Goats and hogs are good at keeping the blackberries cut back if you are in a place that you can use them. If you are tilling the area, till as soon as you see growth. This too depletes the energy from the roots. 3) Long term, create a barrier to keep the blackberries from coming back. There are several barriers that have some success, but no matter which you choose, the blackberries will have to be monitored. Blackberry roots can be as deep as 2 feet and spread easily 2 to 3 feet and sometimes farther. A graze strip is a very effective method of control. A firm, thick barrier that covers the ground for about 3 feet helps. A vertical barrier is somewhat effective as well. This should be almost 2 feet deep to be most effective. Blackberries can be a tough challenge, but there are ways of tackling them. This information came from: Oregon State University permies.com

The live events schedule can be found in the Calendar section. Just click on Calendar in the menu. Then click on the link to join the live event. For the month of December, we have Garden Chat on Fridays and The Year Builder Framework Workshop on Saturdays. All events start at 2pm Eastern Time.