There is a big stand of wild black raspberries in a clearing behind our new home. Only a very few have fruit and it is tiny.
What would be the best way to get them to bear next year? I'm assuming I should cut back the canes at the end of the year. Is there anything else that would help?
Also, is there any way to encourage larger fruit or is the smallness because they are wild.
BTW, these really are black raspberries, which leave the core on the plant when picked, not blackberries which come away with the core.
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I have some of those but we call them black caps. Mine are in my yard near a climbing rose so they get summer water that they wouldn't otherwise and there are many berries and they are bigger than the would normally be.
After living here for a couple of years one of these just came up. As it is near some of my roses it gets some water. The berries are always small and have no flavor.
The tiny ones are tasty, too. Just takes more of them.
I'm going to guess nutrition is the best thing you can do for next year's crop, and I'm not an expert in that area. New canes (first year growth) will not bloom. Second year growth and beyond is where fruit happens. Which does not mean you should not cut them back occaisionally, as they get tangled and too heavy to support themselves. I suppose you could extend the useful size by training them to an arbor or trellis. Around here, we have a disease (rust) that kills off the old plants after several years, so they tend to limit themselves.
Genetics and nutrition are both factors, assuming you are getting full pollination. Selective breeding takes years, and I haven't researched what kind of soil the things like, but I have noticed they like direct sunlight at least part of the day, and this year's extra rain has made mine go nuts.
My simple-minded method for several years has been to pick the best looking berries and throw some in likely-looking places to start new plants, while mowing off anything scraggly or in the way. When picking, I grab a tupperware bowl and start at one end of the woods and work my way through. On the way back, I alternate between eating and scattering. Eat one, throw one, eat one, throw one...
Most years, I have gotten a couple handfuls or maybe a hatful, but this year my labors are starting to pay off. I've had to break out a bigger bowl for gathering, I've frozen 4 quarts and have several more in the 'fridge and still picking and eating. Need rain, they're starting to taper off...
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