Brian: There is no reason why the Apache blackberry should not do well in coastal South Carolina. I don't think I would be concerned about inadequate winter chilling hours, since this blackberry is grown as far south as Florida. Hot, humid summers is just what blackberries like, so long as the soil they are planted in is not allowed to dry out completely. I know that you have had an unusual dry period in SC this season, and in these conditions you would want to water the plants deeply about once a week, especially if your soil is light and sandy. But you can help this situation by mulching the plants with whatever organic mulch you can find, to help hold moisture in the soil and feed the plants. I use stable manure that consists of about 70% wood chips and 30% horse apples, but chips or sawdust from lumber mills, compost, or even grass clippings would be fine. I grow the trailing thornless Triple Crown and Doyle here, and we are picking their big berries right now, with the season extending to about the last week of August. Apache sounds as good or better than what I am growing, although it is hard to beat Doyle for total production. We just made our first batch of blackberry jelly tonight with a mix of these two varieties, and it is pretty good stuff. You can't buy anything of this flavor and quality. If you like blackberries, put your Apaches in this fall. Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

Yes, they are plainly visible to the eye, the size of a small grain of rice with movement. I have found it easier to do the bath or chilling rather than dissection, but all those methods will work. See the recent swd/grape forum thread for more tips. Visibly damaged fruit can take 2 to 13 days from infestation, so very tiny larvae can be inside good-looking fruit and would not show in a chilling test or be very hard to see in a dissection test. At least with blackberries, there is a good contrast ratio (off-white larva against black background) for viewing.

From U of F: Weed Control It is extremely difficult to gain control of weed problems in a blackberry planting. Methods to control weeds in blackberry plants include mulching, cultivation, herbicides, and mowing. The yield results of a mulching trial conducted at the UF NFREC��"Monticello were discussed above. The plastic mulch treatment was the most effective in controlling weeds, followed by pine bark. Mushroom compost and bare soil treatments were equally prone to weed problems. Cultivation, whether it be by hoeing or disking, should be very shallow and no more than 2 inches in depth. Blackberry roots are very shallow and easily injured by deeper cultivation. Contact your county Extension agent concerning specific herbicides that can be applied to control weeds in blackberry plants. It is beneficial to mow grass in between blackberry rows to enhance air circulation and minimize the seeding of in-row strips. Here is a link that might be useful: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hs104

I'd like to know what others growing blackberries have done when hit with a blackberry fungal disease. Today I compared the infection I saw on canes of my boysenberry and one of my two marionberries with online photos of purple blotch, and to my eyes this disease appears to be the problem. I've read that one cause of blotch is frequent rains, and that's definitely been an issue since November here in Southern California. My other marionberry and a Siskiyou blackberry aren't showing evidence of blotchy canes....at least not yet. It's March, and advice elsewhere online suggests that I immediately cut my blotchy vines down from their trellises and trash them. I even get the sense that it might be wise to dump all my vines even if they're not blotchy, as it's just a matter of time before they too show symptoms and infect the primocanes that are starting to spout now. I read somewhere else though that I can wait to cut the fruiting canes down after picking berries from them, which would be late May to early July when they ripen. What should I do? Also, I've never used inorganic fungicides in my garden. Are there any good organic sprays to prevent/treat blackberry diseases, or should I just get used to the idea of using non-organic treatments?