Can I sow blackberries now?
Not from seed now. A sowing started today is unlikely to beat the autumn cold; use this page if you are already growing blackberries, or choose something still in season.
- Best next action
- Choose another crop to sow now
When to plant
blackberries in the UK
Cultivated blackberries produce bigger, sweeter fruit than wild ones and are thornless. Train along wires or a fence. They fruit on last year's growth, so tie in new canes as they grow and cut out the fruited ones after harvest.
Can I sow blackberries now?
Not from seed now. This is outside the usual UK sowing window for blackberries.
- Status
- Too late from seed
- Best next step
- Wait
- Usual window
- Outside the usual UK sowing window
What I'd do now: This is not a good sowing moment on the UK average; use the calendar to choose a crop with an open window.
For the broader month view, see what to sow in July, or use the UK sowing calendar. For more detail, read the fruit growing guide.
When will your blackberries be ready to eat?
Put in the day you actually sowed — the harvest date moves with it. Tuned to your saved location where available.
Work out your own dates
Set the day you sowed (and planted out, if you did) — your harvest date is below.
Using the UK-average last frost · 15 April · add your postcode to tune it
Not sown yet? The standard dates for blackberries
Plant out
From around 4 Mar
6 weeks before last frost on the UK average
Transplant seedlings to their final position
Harvest
~52 weeks from sowing
Space plants 300cm apart
Get blackberries seeds
Some links are affiliate links — if you buy through them, a little goes towards the allotment shed, at no extra cost to you.
What blackberries need
Sun or partial shade. Any reasonable soil — blackberries are unfussy. Support wires or a fence to train along.
Spacing
300cm between plants
These plants need serious room. Plan for at least a square metre each.
Varieties worth growing
Loch Ness
commonThornless, upright, and well-behaved — the blackberry that doesn't try to take over your garden. Big, glossy berries from August into October, and you can pick them without looking like you've lost a fight with a cat.
Blackberry and apple crumble
Tumble blackberries and sliced apple into a dish, top with a rubble of butter, flour, sugar, and oats. Bake until the fruit bubbles through the golden crust. Serve with custard. The autumn pudding against which all others are measured.
Chester
uncommonThornless, late-fruiting, and extremely hardy. The berries are sweet with a slight tartness that makes them better for cooking than some of the super-sweet modern varieties. When everyone else's blackberries are finished, Chester is still going strong.
Blackberry gin
Fill a jar with berries, add sugar, top with gin. Shake every day for a month, strain, and wait another month. Deep purple, warmly sweet, and the best possible use of an autumn glut.
Karaka Black
uncommonEnormous, elongated, jet-black berries from New Zealand that ripen earlier than most — July onwards. The flavour is rich and sweet, and the size of the individual berries is genuinely startling. Does have thorns, but the fruit is worth the scratches.
Blackberry compote
Simmer the big berries briefly with a little sugar and a squeeze of lemon until they just start to burst. Spoon warm over vanilla ice cream or Greek yoghurt. Keep it simple when the berries are this good.
Good companions
- Tansy
- Garlic
Keep apart from
- Raspberries
When to sow blackberries
Based on UK average frost date. Enter your postcode for exact dates, or find your city.
Where to buy blackberries seeds
Some links are affiliate links — if you buy through them, a little goes towards the allotment shed, at no extra cost to you.
Get your exact dates
Enter your postcode for personalised planting dates for blackberries.