Gardeners are gambling people. A passion for innovation and experimentation drives them to organize annual marathons in search of a rare interesting and productive variety. Sometimes for the sake of the cherished seedling, huge distances are overcome and large funds are spent. The market for planting materials is a tasty morsel for businessmen. That's why in order to increase sales, sometimes not too honest marketing techniques are used, or even outright fraud. This article describes one of these varieties of blackberries called Giant.
Description of the Giant blackberry, one of the most productive varieties of Russia and Ukraine
Some time ago, a variety called Giant appeared on the seedling market with amazing long finger-thick fruits. According to Yandex Market, in Russia it is offered by the online store of the Becker company, registered in Smolensk.... You can also find a novelty in Ukraine - in the online store House and Garden of the firm Tviy Dim i Sad Plus registered in Lviv. Of course, the identical website design raises suspicions that the Ukrainian company is a clone of the Russian one. Or vice versa. But this is not so important. The main thing: the Giant blackberry variety is not sold anywhere else.
The characteristics of the variety indicated in the description on the sellers' websites are simply stunning: yield - 30 kg per bush, weight of one berry - 23 grams, ripening - already in July, frost resistance - up to -30⁰С. No other information about the Giant is given. Nothing is known about the type of growth of the shoots (erect or creeping), or about their studdedness, and the origin of the variety is a secret behind seven seals.
On horticultural forums, you can find the following complaints:
Don't order anything from Becker. Every year I "get" for 20-30 thousand rubles, as I am chasing exotic, but these have surpassed all. Instead of goji, they sent the barberry of Thunberg, instead of the blackberry Giant - Agavam.
Gorky's question arises: “Was there a boy? Maybe the boy wasn't there? "
There really was a "boy". But his name was Black Butte (in Russian transcription - Black Butte). This can be seen if you look at the photo before the description of the Giant. This very picture is replicated in English-language online stores on the pages of the Black Bute variety.
What is such a manipulation for? It's simple: to intrigue hunters for novelties and rarities... Brand change is an old marketing ploy to stimulate demand for a slow-moving product. And if you also talk about the fantastic 30 kilograms per bush ...
However, Black Butte blackberry is worthy of the attention of Russian gardeners without any fog.
Blackberry Black Butte: characteristics of the variety
This is certainly an interesting variety, like almost all other cultivated blackberries, originally from the United States. It was bred at the University of Oregon under the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) program. The main characteristics of the Black Butte variety are collected in the table:
Morphology | Black Bute refers to dewdrops - creeping blackberries. Does not give root growth. The bush is compact enough, formed into 4-6 shoots. Shoots are medium-sized, from 1.5 to 3 meters in length, studded. The thorns are small, black. |
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Fruiting | Fruiting from the second year of life. An early ripe variety, in the middle lane gives off the first fruits at the end of June. Fruiting is extended (5-7 weeks). The fruits are black, very large, elongated, the length can be up to 5 cm. The average weight is 10 grams, some specimens are up to 20 grams. The taste is pleasant, dessert, sweet with a slight sourness. |
Sustainability | Average frost resistance: up to -18⁰С. |
Yield | Low (up to 3.5 kg per bush). The low yield is due to the inadequacy of the fruit: each brush bears only 4-6 berries. |
Purpose of fruits | Universal. |
Transportability and keeping quality | The variety is suitable for container assembly and transportation. Stores well compared to other varieties. |
Thus, the main advantage of the Black Butte variety is its giant, amazingly beautiful, transportable berries. But the plant pays for such a miracle with low yield. It is not very suitable for growing for sale or winter harvesting... But the early maturity of the variety allows you to feast on fresh tasty berries already in the middle of summer, and this is undoubtedly a big plus.
In addition to Black Bute, there are several other varieties of large-fruited blackberries. For example, Karaka Black and Natchez. Natchez is a typical "American", but Karaka Black is a New Zealand variety.
Nuances of agricultural technology of low-yielding blackberries
If the variety is genetically incapable of producing a large number of ovaries, but you want to increase the yield, there are two ways out: compacted planting and intensive farming... The essence of the first method is to cultivate more plants on a smaller area. The second is the stimulation of fruiting by dressing and pruning.
Intensification
Black Butte blackberries, like all others, for example, Doyle, bear fruit on the shoots of the second year. You also need to take into account that, being a creeping variety, it concentrates the fruiting zone in the middle of the shoot. Based on this, a pruning scheme is being developed.
- Early spring overwintered last year's branches are shortened to a height of 1.5 meters from the ground... The damaged and frozen ones are removed.
- In May they examine them again, choose the 4 strongest and cut out the weak ones... Do not be afraid to leave fewer shoots on the plant. The plant will direct its energies to shaping the crop for the rest.
- Pinching is carried out in the middle of summer, preparing young shoots of the year for fruiting next year. Pinching consists in trimming their tops to stimulate lateral branching. For creeping blackberries, the pruning rate is up to half the length of the shoot.
- Growing lateral shoots are shortened to 40 cm.
- In autumn cut out all the vines that bear fruit.
When planning feeding, you need to remember that excess nitrogen will stimulate the growth of green mass, but by no means fruiting. Therefore, the nitrogen to the Black Butte blackberry must be given strictly in dosage.
After the spring frost has passed, a bucket of mature compost, 100 grams of superphosphate and 30 grams of potassium fertilizers are introduced into the soil under each bush.
At the beginning of summer carry out foliar feeding of blackberries with a solution of boric acid. To do this, 10 grams of the drug is dissolved in 10 liters of water. Spray on the underside of the leaf on a calm, cloudy day, without rain. Additionally, it is good to feed the blackberries with an ash solution under the root.
Mineral fertilizers do not enrich, but deplete the soil. It is necessary to weigh the pros and cons three times before deciding whether the plant needs mineral fertilizing.
Seal
Black Butte is good because it is compact in itself. Therefore, it will survive a compacted landing without any problems. For this blackberry, a distance of 0.8 meters between plants and 2 meters between rows will be enough. But at the same time, the vines must be guided vertically.
For this variety, you can apply fan formation on both sides. This is done like this:
- Even when planting seedlings supports are installed on both sides of the row... A wire is stretched between them in three tiers: at a height of 40, 100 and 150 cm. It is better that the rows are directed from east to west.
- Further shoots are distributed on two sides... On the south side, a fan is tied up with fruiting second-year shoots. They will receive enough light and warmth so that the fruits have time to set and ripen well.
- Fledglings are sent to the north side... There will be enough light and sun for them to ripen and prepare for winter.
- In the fall, after cutting off the fruiting branches, annual vines are removed from the garter and placed on the south side, bending over the lower tier of the wire.
It is very important to send the Black Bute for the winter correctly. This is not a very winter-hardy variety, so it needs shelter.
Agrofibre is rightfully considered one of the best materials for insulating heat-loving plants. But you can do with natural remedies.
A great option is spruce branches... The smell of pine needles repels pests, and resins have disinfecting properties. Chopped spruce branches are placed in two layers on a blackberry. After the snow falls, it will be good to throw it on the structure additionally.
Good frost protection - corn leaves and stems... If you lay them in a thick enough layer, no additional cover is required. The main thing is to make sure that the tops are healthy, without rot.
But with straw you need to be careful. This material can be chosen by rodents in winter, which will spoil the blackberry shoots with pleasure.
Foliage harvested under deciduous fruit trees is not suitable for sheltering the blackberry. Pest larvae can hibernate in it.
Black Butte is an interesting variety. Some of him disadvantages are more than covered by the pleasure of picking truly giant berries, surprising with their beauty and taste.