Check your soil PH. Blackberry plants like acidic soil. If they're not getting any nutrients due to alkali soil it could be causing your plant roots to sit in nutrients and not be able to absorb them.

Hi all, Here is a picture I snapped a moment ago while out taking different photos to show you all.... This is a picture of one of the plants with june bug leaf damage...this is actually a leaf with what I would call - average leaf damage....extreme leaf damage is basically a tiny spiderweb of a leaf left remaining...which I also have on some of the plants. The june bugs arrived right as the berries where ripening - so there was no way to spray any chemicals - so my only alternative was to hang the june bug catchers - and catch june bugs I did!! I must say, they did help tremendously...I think I had 5 hanging around the perimeter of the plants. Thanks! jo1991

A picture of the lower cane where it emerges from the ground would be more definitive at this stage of growth. Raspberry cane usually has small prickles, thornless blackberry will be smooth, thorny blackberry will have thorns.

Very interesting! -herbalbetty, what is oatstraw? Im guessing its not a combonation of oats and straw... -Annie, now thats a list! Do you use only one of these at a time or do you mix them up? Whats your favorite concoction? And (im not sure id do it or not, just curious) does it have to be a spicific kind of pine needles? I want to try lavender and bergamont sometime. I tried Lemon Balm tea and didnt like it. It was like I was sucking on a citronella misquito candle. Ps. I read something interesting about the history of Calendula officinalis in my herb book. It got its name from the Romans because this plant could be found blooming every month of the calendar year around Rome (Calendar=Calendula). And a long time ago Calendula was used to flavor and color butter and cheeses. Im not really a 'self medicating by herbs' kind of person, but I enjoy reading about them in my herb book. Its called The Complete Book of Herbs- by Lesley Bremness. It has a photo and description of the plant and its history. It also gives culinary, medical, and cosmetic uses as well as info on how to cultivate, harvest, preserve, and use the herbs. CMK