Consider the easy planting of upright, erect, or semi-erect varieties. These varieties of blackberry grow more like hedges, and will need to be supported with a T-trellis or a post of some sort. These varieties are easier to control and contain, but require vigorous pruning, shooting stiff new cane straight from the crown of the plant, rather than trailing along the ground. Many of these varieties will produce fruit in the first year of planting. Thorny erect varieties are the hardiest in cold climates. (Illini, Kiowa, Shawnee, Apache, Triple Crown, and Natchez are all popular varieties of erect and semi-erect blackberry). Trailing, upright, and hybrid varieties are all now available in thorny and thornless strains, meaning that you can make your harvest a whole lot easier on your fingers. Thornless varieties do tend to be somewhat more sensitive to colder weather, making the thorny varieties a much hardier choice for most climates. Note that thornless varieties are more vulnerable to birds and other pests. When you’ve selected your plot, dig into the earth at least a foot and till the soil of your plot thoroughly to aerate. Mix in a 2 inch (5.1 cm) layer of manure and a 2 inch (5.1 cm) layer of organic soil conditioner to fertilize. It’s best to start small because blackberries can really take over in the proper climate (long, dry summers), it’s easy to overwhelm yourself with berries accidentally. If you want to test out how blackberries will do in your area, start with a single erect variety, placed somewhere with room to expand. Plant more rows if you don’t get the kind of production you’re interested in after starting with one. If planting several rows, space the rows between 6 and 10 feet apart. Erect plants can be closer together than trailing varieties. You can plant your trellis poles before you put in your plants, or after. Trellising is discussed in the following section. Set plant (cane) into the ground about 6-8 inches (15.2-20.3 cm) and space between 3 to 6 feet apart from one another. Upright or erect plants can be closer than trailing varieties, which should be more like 6 or 7 feet (1.8 or 2.1 m) apart from one another. Add as much as a gallon of water upon planting the canes. Blackberry plants purchased from greenhouses will typically have 6 or 8 inches (15.2 or 20.3 cm) of dormant growth sticking out of the top of a ball of soil protecting the root system. They won’t always look like the prettiest plant, but will start shooting cane vigorously in the spring. Buy your blackberry starts from a greenhouse in your area a few days before you want to put them in the ground. For erect plants, plant posts about 6 feet (1.8 m) tall adjacent to each erect plant, with a cross-bar about 3 feet (0.9 m) long, placed about 3 or 4 feet (0.9 or 1.2 m) high on the post. As the canes grow up, you can train the primocane suckers (new growth) around the post to help support the weight of the canes, leaves, and berries. Erect and semi-erect blackberry varieties will mostly grow straight up, sometimes quite high. To promote growth, it’s important to use a post-system of trellising, as you would roses, or another snaking vine. You want to give the blackberry something to climb on. Typically, you won’t need to train or trellis erect plants in the first year. Blackberry posts don’t need to be elaborate. Plant along existing fences, or use old fence posts to support blackberry. Ideally, posts will be about wrist-thick, so 2 x 2 boards would work fine. When planting trailing varieties, it’s important to give them a horizontal avenue on which to cling. Plant 4–6 foot (1.2–1.8 m) high posts every 5 or 6 feet (1.5 or 1.8 m) along the row, then run two rows of fence wire between the posts, one at the top of the post and one about a foot off the ground. It’s also possible to use twine, string, or wood to connect each post to the next. Use whatever materials you have on hand to let the blackberries climb on. Ideally, trailing blackberries will spread in two rows, one higher and one lower, along each wire. With proper pruning, you can train new hardy growth along the trellis and cut back lessvigorous shoots. Keeping the plants trimmed will promote fruit growth and overall plant health, allowing water and sunlight to reach the most healthy cane.