Cane fruits: need to wipe out the wild ones nearby?

A few years ago I called one of the big suppliers of berry plants (might have been Nourse, I think it was Indiana Berry) intending to order some blackberry and raspberry plants, and was told that unless I exterminated all wild canes (much of my acreage is covered with wild blackberries) within some considerable radius of where I intended to plant, diseases, viral and bacterial, would cripple and eventually kill anything I planted. "You'll just be disappointed, and we don't want to sell you the plants if you're not willing and able to do that," said the woman I talked with, and so i thanked her and ordered nothing.

Then I sprayed a lot of Roundup and dug out a lot of blackberry roots -- they can sure go a long way -- though not within anywhere near as big a radius as suggested, then bought a few plants elsewhere, and sure enough few of them lasted a year. Some probably succumbed to wet soil -- raised beds might have helped there -- but none did well. Meanwhile the wild blackberries, with their small seedy fruit that is insipid if the rain is heavy and bitter if it's sparse, continued to thrive like the weeds they are. Mowing an area regularly wipes out a lot of them, but some seem predisposed to sprawl and remain mostly under the mower blades. Attempts in the next two years always failed: sickly plants that eventually died.

I have not seen any information on line or in the books I've looked at that supports the "wipe out all wild brambles within 100 yards" (or whatever that radius is) rule. I know that my zone 8b climate here in North Florida is a bit warm for raspberries, but surely blackberries should have no trouble with the heat. So despite a lack of confirmation on line, am I in fact in the middle of a giant pool of disease that is sure to wipe out any raspberries or blackberries I plant?

Someone a bit north of me was growing organic raspberries and selling them to health food stores nearby a few years ago, but I have not seen them since then. Cooperative Extension people were useless last I talked with them. Any ideas?

Cross Bow kills black berries as well as woody brush. In an ugly area I mix roundup for the grass with Cross Bow for the brush. Add some liquid dishwasher soap to the mix to help it stick to the leaves and stalks. After the stuf is good and dead cut it off and clean it up Then just dont let it grow back. Regular short mowing and maintenance spraying will keep it at bay. There is a product called Cornerstone that is a generic form of roundup works as well and is a lot cheaper.

Yes some of your berries could have died from wet feet. I once posted Raspberries don't do well in wet situations and some one challanged me on this. This is Raspberry country Whatcom County in NW Washington grows more acres and produces more tons than the entire rest of the country combined. Even in sandy soil they are planted on top of a raised row. Two benifits to this the first dry feet the second faster soil warming in the spring.

Thats the story and I am sticking to it. Those of you who disagree with the chemical treatment above need not reply. Report at once to said berry location with machettes. And yes my berries are in sand and a raised row. Ernie

This message was edited Jan 6, 2007 10:34 AM

Ernie,

I got a kick out of your last paragraph. I think your subtle wit defused some ruffled feathers!

Indy lol just trying to silence the naysayers before they get started. Seems some folks lurk in the weeds and try to argue with those trying to help.Ernie.