Melissa wrote, "............I've also been hearing good things about laying
the canes down and mulching them................."
Years ago I mulched blackberries and found it handy to put a tarp over
the weighted down canes and put the mulch atop the tarp. The tarp trapped
more ground heat than mulch alone and I didn't have to remove mulch that
clung to the canes.
If you opt for the tarp, just be sure that you remove it early enough in
the Spring because, if left on too long, you could have a build-up of mildew
and/or rotting canes.
Jim Fruth
Brambleberry Fruit Farm
4002 Davis Street
Pequot Lakes, MN 56472
1-218-831-7018 (My Cell)