Place I bought last summer has 100 yd. x 10 yd. of berry canes- some red raspberries, lots of blackberries, judging by stems and the few I found. But it's been let go for years, and suckers have gone 'way up in the trees- like, they're 30' long. I've been pruning them down, clearing the long stuff and burning it.
Has anybody else ever had a patch like this? Will it revert to setting fruit, again?

Do not know about the Raspberries but for the blackberries were it me I would cut every thing down to about 4' tall and 2-3 canes spaced every 3-4'and try to establish a straight row. Cut the laterals (branches) to 18" leaving only 6-10 laterals per cane and see what happens this growing season. During the growing season be judicious cutting the suckers leaving 2-3 canes every 3-4', these will be next years cane.

If they produce this year next winter I would string a 14 gage wire at about 40" and tie next years cane to the wire.
Compost and mulch the rows to build the soil up and keep grass and weeds at bay.

Sounds like you could easily make two rows maybe three. Ideally you would want 8' between rows. Keep the space between rows mowed. If they take off you will have more berries than your family will want to deal with.

Good luck and enjoy.

arky

Thanks, arky. That's about what I'm trying, hope it works.
Never saw such a tangle, but I moved here to MO at least partly for blackberry cobbler.

Check the Extension Service and/or Stark Brothers web site and search Blackberries and you will find all you need to know
Stark Brothers have great videos on just about everything to do with plants.

I would probably brush hog and add a little fertilize now with 10-20-10 or similar. After they green and start growing, add about 3# per 100' row straight nitrogen fertilizer, and again late summer.

Blackberries fruit on 1 year old canes. After fruiting, you can cut them and leave your new growth for next year. miles

Thank you, gentlemen. There are many new-looking canes, so I'm going to give them a chance. Need to clean up the mess anyway, as I don't like snakes or meth-americans, and don't want too much cover for either critter.

Yes, you should always prune canes after fruiting to help prevent thrips and disease.

Not sure what part of MO your in but here in my neck of the woods in SW MO seems all you need to do to get blackberries is break the ground with a disc. Your guaranteed to get at least ragweed and probably berries as well.

I'm right down in the SW Corner, and if these don't do well I'll get some that will.