Descritionharvesting and care. One of the first beshipnyh plants was the blackberry Tornfrey, a description of the variety and photos of which will be interesting to summer residents of many Russian regions, as well as to farmers engaged in industrial cultivation of crops. Today, gardeners have at their disposal several dozen varieties and hybrids completely devoid of thorns. They are fruitful, well tolerate drought and are not susceptible to disease. However, the blackberry variety Tornfrey, bred in 1966, still enjoys well-deserved love and respect.
Beard Blackberry Description Thornfrey
The lack of spines on the shoots was the main, but not the only reason for the popularity of Thornfree. The variety obtained more than half a century ago in the US state of Maryland has other advantages, first of all, high yield and excellent taste. In addition, for gardeners on the territory of the former USSR, the besshipnaya blackberry Tornfrey was one of the first such varieties.
Blackberries can have creeping or bush forms. As a rule, garden varieties today are fairly powerful shrubs with upright or lodging shoots.
So it is more convenient to care for plantings, to control the growth and harvest. According to the description and photo, Tornfrey Blackberry is a strong shrub with long, half-lodging shoots that can grow up to 4–5 meters without pruning. Fruiting plantings with proper agrotechnics have a height of up to 15–200 cm, the diameter of the shrub reaches 200 cm.
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Created as a commercial, intended for the industrial cultivation of berries, the non-bearing variety is distinguished by strong, tough shoots with clearly visible edges. At the surface of the earth the diameter of a dark green shoot reaches 30 mm, there are no thorns all over. Dense, textured leaves are divided into three or five parts, have a rich green color in spring and summer. By autumn, the foliage becomes yellow.
The flowering of the garden blackberry Tornfrey begins in the first half of June. The bisexual flowers of white or slightly pink shade have a delicate aroma, are collected in wreath inflorescences with gradually opening buds. In good weather conditions, the self-pollinating variety perfectly forms and maintains the ovary.
Garden Blackberry Thornfrey
berries Under the weight of ripening berries, hard shoots are bent so that the hands are almost at ground level. Maturation begins in August and lasts until mid-September.
Berries of an oval or broadly conical shape have:
- a mass of from 5 to 8 grams;
- sweet taste with a pleasant sourness;
- black with violet-bluish tint color, at maturity stage gaining haze;
- characteristic of blackberry garden scent.
In the photo and from the description of the blackberry Tornfrey, it is clear that the fruit in this variety is not massive, but gradual. However, this does not detract from the dignity of a very fruitful variety, since up to 30 ovaries can form on one hand, and about 120 berries ripen on the whole shoot. For the season, the bush gives up to 15 kg of berries of universal purpose, equally suitable:
- for fresh consumption;
- for making homemade fruit and berry canning;
- for drying;
- for freezing.
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According to expert estimates, the tasting qualities of the blackberry variety Tornfrey is 4.4 out of 5 possible. At the time of collection, juicy drupes contain:
- 9.3% dry matter;
- 0.9% pectin;
- 5.5% sugars;
- 0,8% organic acids.
Per 100 grams of berries account for 10 mg of ascorbic acid and up to 300 mg of substances of P-active action.
Advantages and disadvantages of the blackberry variety Tornfri
Delicious and healthy blackberries, ripening, acquire an alluring flavor, but also soften noticeably. Gardeners consider this deficiency to be the main source of the Tornfrey variety.
In order to preserve the rapidly flashing berries, the harvest begins a few days before full ripeness.
This technique allows you to preserve the transportability of berries, but at the same time their flavor turns out to be slightly weaker than possible, and in taste you feel acid, which does not detract from consumer qualities.
Excellent taste is a clear, but not the only advantage of the variety. In addition, Thornfrey bearless blackberry should be noted due to:
- high and stable yields;
- lack of thorns that interfere with the collection and care of bushes;
- resistance to common diseases, such as stem cancer, anthracnose, rust;
- universal purpose berries.
The disadvantages of the blackberry variety Tornfrey are much smaller. These include the short shelf life of ripe berries and their low transportability, as well as frost resistance at 18 ° C.
In the middle lane, shoots need to be covered, which is very difficult when tough, recalcitrant stems are made.
Planting and caring for blackberry Thornfrey
All varieties of blackberry garden can be attributed to unpretentious crops. Shrubs are excellent in resisting pest attacks and are rarely affected by disease. The weather allows the weather, many berries are tied up on the shoots. The main condition for success is the provision of light ground for planting Blackberry Tornfrey and care, consisting in watering, feeding and trimming plants.
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Fast-growing shoots of blackberry should receive enough nutrition, moisture and air, therefore, allocate a plot with a loose, well-drained soil with an acidity level of pH 5.5–6.5units. Culture loves light, on the wealth of which depends both the number of berries and their quality. Although shoots grow to 5 meters, they rarely suffer from wind. The blackberry variety Tornfrey is not afraid of drought, but with additional watering, especially after flowering, you can expect an increase in yield and an increase in the weight of the berries. At the same time, landing is fed.
Due to the proliferation of shoots, complicating care, blackberry trimming Tornfri required. This agrotechnical technique helps to rule with the bushes in the fall, when it comes time to cover the berry from frost. To tame the blackberry helps low pruning of the replacement shoots, branch and become more plastic. Another way involves the undermining of bushes and laying them on its side. Spring plants return to their place.
You can propagate a Thornfrey free blackberry with the help of green grafting or with root cuttings that appear when the roots are damaged.
Blackberry Tornfrey at their summer cottage - video