Wanna try growing an unusual and super healthy food in your home vegetable garden? Why not give blackberries a try?
Blackberry bushes are a wild native-growing plant found in temperate areas of the North American continent growing from the east coast to the west coast.
Sturdy planting stock is now available for purchase online or at your local garden center, with an assortment of hybrid and briarless varieties to choose from.
Early Native Americans recognized the medicinal value of the leaves and bark as well as the nutritional value of the berries when added to their diet.
If you want to try growing blackberries yourself, it’s not all that difficult.
Choose an area of plentiful sunshine to ensure production of plentiful plump berries. The plants are not overly demanding of soil conditions.
As long as the site is reasonably well drained, your blackberry plants should thrive with just the addition of a generous serving of organic compost stirred into the planting soil.
And, whether you choose to grow your own or purchase your already-picked fresh or frozen blackberries at the market, the nutrient values and the health benefits of this “super-food” are astonishingly high.
For starters, blackberries are high in antioxidants, which protect the body from the harmful effect of free radicals which are believed to be responsible for a whole host of diseases and ailments up to and including cancer.
Blackberries help boost the immune system. In addition, an abundance of flavonols in blackberries makes them a heart healthy food.
The magnesium content of blackberries also aids in heart health.
And the magnesium and calcium aid in building strong bones.
The high dietary fiber content aid the body in digestion and make blackberries a great addition to the diet for those trying to cut calories and lose weight.
Blackberries are high in manganese, as well as Vitamins C and K.
Making blackberries a part of your diet also aids in maintaining healthy eyes and skin.
