Some of my Triple Crown blackberries get sunburned as they ripen. I have frost cloth and I was wondering if it would hurt to put it over the berries temporarily, during peak ripening season? It might be 3-4 weeks. It wouldn’t go all the way to the ground. It would be across the top and down a few inches, staying about 5’ above the ground. Has anyone else tried this, or used frost cloth for shade cloth?
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Linda,
I think it would only intensify the heat accumulation underneath that cloth as heat builds but can’t escape. You would need to cover them with something that completely reflects sunlight and does not capture heat within the canopy to shade them.
Dennis
Kent, wa
I have used frost blanket as shade cloth. My buddy, who’s used a lot of it to protect various vegetables, thinks the heat doesn’t build up under the fabric. And maybe it’s not so much the heat as the intense sun.
My blackberries get scorched by the heat also. I’ve tried shade cloth over them and it didn’t seem to help much. It should. I probably didn’t get it right.
Heavier frost cloth might be more effective than the light stuff. Try it and see what happens. My berries are half burnt and half the size they ought to be. The only big berries are underneath the canopy of leaves.
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I remember seeing your Blackberries in pots.Are some also in the ground?
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I have a few blackberry plants in ground outdoors. The sun ruins most of the berries. They need 50-70% shade cloth here.
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I’ve used frost cloth that way. Laying it directly over a plant and hanging it above with a few inches above. Both ways trapped heat and burned the leaves or fruit. Maybe if you have good air flow and more room then it wouldn’t be a problem. I’m in the central valley CA and the berries would routinely burn. What’s working pretty good is growing them over a cattle panel and pulling the clusters inside to hide them
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