Today in the orchard
Blackberries in bloom, June 10, 2025
The blackberries are now in bloom. Last year we had an excellent crop, and this year looks as though it might be just as good. Years ago I researched “hardy” blackberry cultivars. It was impossible to find any in the nursery trade. I tried a few and was always disappointed. I’d wind up with thorny, poorly-producing blackberry ground-cover. The worst.
In the late 1990’s, a friend and mentor from Fort Kent, ME, Garfield King, discovered a patch at an old farm site in southern Aroostook County and began to cultivate them. We sold these plants through Fedco for many years which we called “Fort Kent King.” We established a small patch here at Super Chilly Farm. The berries were large, and the quality was good. The porcupines were big fans of the Fort Kent King and sought them out amongst all the blackberries on the farm every summer. Sadly our planting was never super happy and died back over the years.
The local population of blackberries, however, has established itself around the farm, and the berries are quite acceptable. They are not nearly as large-fruited as the commercial cultivars (or Fort Kent King for that matter), but they are vigorous, hardy and productive. We thin out some of the canes during the winter. Otherwise they become so dense (and intense) we can’t get to them. They produce good berries and, on a year like last year, we can pick an almost endless crop. They are thorny as all get-out, but what’s a few thorns, now and then when the rewards are so delicious?
