Blackberries have been ripening for the past couple of weeks and will continue for several more based on the large number of green berries. I got the plants at the January 2005 Urban Harvest fruit tree sale (a don’t miss event). Kiowa is the only variety they carry at the sale now and I can see why. Quality is outstanding; large and very sweet berries. I have been surprised that they produce and ripen over such an extended period. My previous experience has been with their wild cousins, dewberries. I have picked dewberries since I was a small child and we still try to have a family berry picking expedition followed by my favorite of all desserts, dewberry cobbler. The long picking period of the Kiowas has pluses and minuses. It is nice to have a few berries with our cereal each morning, but I don’t accumulate enough at one time for a cobbler.
After they finish producing I will need to cut off the old canes (a rather messy job as these berries have impressive thorns). The new canes that come out will produce next year’s berries. The new canes will need to be headed back some to keep the plants under spatial control.