early blackberry

[campanula]

I have a 'Helen' blackberry which, not to put too fine a point on it, is complete rubbish. The berries are a nightmare to prise off the canes, squashing under my fingers as well as growing in enormous clusters. Its growth habit is also a bit of a 'mare. Am most teed off, wasting several years on this one (especially since raspberries are terrible on our plot - long story but it is 9 years since I last had decent summer raspberries) Any suggestions for an early blackberry (because I like to get the nightmare of jamming over and done with) - late July/August would be good?

[campanula]

[artichoke]

Do you have to grow them? OK, I am lucky to have rough hedging alongside one of my plots full of first class wild blackberries both early and late....but if I didn't, I would go hunting all around. They are quite a difficult crop to keep under control, according to friends who inherited some and eventually grubbed them out.

[Pescador]

Quite agree with Artichoke. I grubbed mine out one year after taking on the plot. Their yield was poor and nearly flavourless.
A couple of trips down to my favourite fields/riverbanks in July/early August and thats normally enough for the freezer for the year. Flavour can vary a little year on year but generally is robust

[strawberry1]

we have two lock ness blackberries and they are fantastic. We start picking large luscious fruits in july and much more in august. I cut the fruiting stems off in winter and tie the new stems in an up and down wave formation on wires, although the new stems do seem to be strong enough to support themselves, however they are long and it keeps the masses of fruit off the ground and clean. They are thorn free and very easy going. One of the best items in our allotment

[LesH]

 I at the moment grow three blackberries,
One, Krakar, crops usually during the first two weeks of July for about three weeks, makes about fifteen feet of growth, a mass of thorns, fruit close to thumb size.
Two, Black Butte, crops usually  a week later than Krakar, again crops for about three weeks. makes about eight feet of growth, very few weak thorns, fruit close to thumb size.
Three, Rubens, a load of rubbish,crops at begining of September and on into the frosts, short thornless growth about four feet, straight up, fruit the size of your thumb nail.

[claybasket]

Two yrs ago I got a cutting of a thornless blackberry  I think its name was Apache or some other tribes name, it gave me big fat berry's as large as strawberry's and sweet I hope to get more next yr but the cutting was easy to grow and I did the same with a tayberry at the same time got a couple of pounds from it made raspberry jam and put the tayberrys in lovely .