Blackberry Winter

Winter is the time to clean up beds of perennial plants. We took a nice morning in late February to start cleaning up our blackberry beds. What we did was cut out all the dead canes that produced fruit last year. Next we have to get the primocanes into shape bit that is work for another day

Eugene cuts old growth as close to the ground as he can

The berry patch

Carrying the dead canes away. We never leave the debris behind as that can lead to pest and disease problems as well as clutter which can badly impede work efforts

The final resting place for the dead canes. The burn pit where they will be lit on fire and all the potential pest and disease problems will go up in smoke