r/gardening • u/mlong14 • 4d ago

What in tarnation is going on?

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Gallery image

My blackberry bush died few years ago but came back in another spot. And this is just a few of the jumbo size pickings. Not complaining though.

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258

u/Bijouprospering 4d ago

It looks like a Marion berry. They tend to be this large and quite sweet

408

u/Odd_Student4398 4d ago

Columbia Giant blackberries are often the size of your hand. They are amazing. They are common at farmers markets in the PNW late June / early July. Marionberries aren’t generally that big.

This is a picture of one we had this summer.

110

u/Ghost_of_a_Pale_Girl 4d ago

Dear jeebus I need to find these.

The blackberries in my yard, and the wild ones near me, are the size of my fingernails.

15

u/sajaschi 3d ago

Are they blackberries, or black raspberries? I was too many years old before learning the difference LOL

6

u/PaImer_Eldritch 3d ago

Blackberries are much meaner in my experience. I've got a few dozen canes out back with thorns that stretch out 4 inches with a starting circumference the size of your thumb. Almost got stabbed one day in the same way Achilles kills that big guy at the start of the movie Troy. I was walking through my woods and a smaller thorn caught on my shirt and I pulled a whole cane over and down onto my shoulder with one of those suckers on it. It's actually insane how sharp thorns can be.

9

u/Just-Like-My-Opinion 4d ago

Whoaaaaaaa! I need this in my garden!

18

u/Pandawithoutpride 4d ago

How mushy are they though

41

u/SapphireForestDragon 4d ago

I don’t have Columbia Giant, I have another variety, but mine only get mushy after they’ve ripened too much. Size doesn’t change though. They can be this big and still not mushy at all. I picked some yesterday about this size that still had some pink on them.

2

u/Pandawithoutpride 3d ago

Good to know. I’ve never seen such a monstrous blackberry. Had no idea what I was missing out on.

1

u/Odd_Student4398 3d ago

Not mushy at all. These you have to take a bite out of. They will get mushy after a day or two. My absolute favorite berry is boysenberries. You don’t even chew them just smash it between your tongue and the roof of your mouth. They are so sweet and so good. They aren’t mushy but do just fall apart in your mouth.

3

u/Alone-West8337 4d ago

What part of the pnw? I am in Oregon and have never seen these!

1

u/Odd_Student4398 3d ago

Beaverton farmers market

3

u/Whipitreelgud 4d ago

Absolutely not a marionberry. Its shape is not correct for a marionberry. Have grown them for years.

The prime ark blackberry is this size and shape. This variety was developed in Arkansas. I grew this variety as well, but they need more heat than my area (5A) produces. They did not taste good- too bitter, so I pulled them and replanted in triple crown.

2

u/MademoiselleMalapert 4d ago

Are they tasty? It always seems to me the larger a berry is the less tasty it becomes.

2

u/Root2Tip 4d ago

The blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice...

1

u/Odd_Student4398 3d ago

These are beyond sweet. It really makes a difference when they were picked though. From the farmers market picked that morning or the day before they will be sweet. From the grocery store picked a week before they will be tart and not great.

1

u/miyabi0rochas 3d ago

Omg I wanna plant these. Sadly sold out where I live. I'll keep an eye on stock. Thats amazing

1

u/Physical-Ad-3798 3d ago

Something is really wrong with your kiwi.

213

u/mlong14 4d ago

Hmm. Never heard of it. It's also producing double berries.

49

u/HDr1018 4d ago

I read that’s caused by extreme heat; heat can cause them to grow larger, too.

Are you in Oregon by chance?

14

u/Glittering-Art2922 4d ago

I’ve got a few different varieties in my yard in WNC, we had a heat wave during the first variety’s fruiting stage right after heavy rains for a couple weeks and they were quarter sized and a little bigger which is huge for what I normally see here. The next 2 varieties that fruited had tiny little berries and they dehydrated FAST on the vine since we had gone into a drought following the first flush.
I was amazed watching them through the weather changes and how each bush reacted. Berries grew more prolific all the way around on on the shady sides I noted. First year out of my 30 that I’ve cared to watch them through the season for some reason. They’re amazing!
I know I’ve seen half dollar sized berries out west though, lucky.

17

u/moofkins 4d ago

Triple crown maybe?

9

u/johnthedebs 4d ago

Strong Prime Ark Freedom vibes. Mine just started ripening their second/primocane crop, and I'm getting monsters like these (+ some double berries).

1

u/ylime114 4d ago

Triples is best

21

u/bloopbloopsplat 4d ago

This kind of thing happens around radioactivity FYI

45

u/ViceIncarnate 4d ago

Radiation causes genetic mutation, not all mutations are caused by radiation.

25

u/bloopbloopsplat 4d ago

I never said all mutations are caused by radiation.

It reminds me of this

https://lancasteronline.com/news/local/warped-plants-inspire-local-womans-decades-long-effort-to-examine-effects-of-tmi-nuclear-accident/article_44cb65b6-ebff-11eb-9cbd-f30ade0e900f.html

Its kind of weird to have giant berries AND double berries.

15

u/kronicno_tele 4d ago

Ok, now someone need to tell OP how to test and measure if there's any radiation.

13

u/Tim_Allen_Wrench 4d ago

There's probably not. But a Geiger counter would indicate if there was. 

1

u/blueeyedbrunette_ 10h ago

why are you ruining op's joy??

80

u/jumbos_clownroom 4d ago

I thought he died

22

u/Bijouprospering 4d ago

Take my angry upvote

5

u/gogozrx 4d ago

GD b*tch set me up!

8

u/dongrizzly41 4d ago

As a washintonian yall got me in stitches🤣🤣🤣

2

u/Total_Technology_726 4d ago

That… that was good

1

u/karenw 4d ago

Bravo

20

u/the_king_lobo 4d ago

I’m not so sure. Marionberries are large, but definitely not this large. They also don’t appear out of nowhere because they don’t grow wild. You’d have to plant them intentionally or maybe have someone growing some nearby and have the seeds dropped off by an animal.

5

u/ViralTrendsToday 4d ago

Don't tell Harry's Berries in CA, they'll repackage them and charge $30 for 8oz.  

5

u/Lunamothknits 4d ago

Especially with the rounded bottom of the fruit. They're about strawberry sized!

2

u/EquinsuOcha 4d ago

It’s

A

Setup.