Raspberries are easy to grow

Raspberries are easy to grow and are a must for every garden!

You can buy raspberry canes at Unwins – Raspberry Glen Ample Canes and Glen
Ample Canes are summer fruiting and Raspberry Joan J Canes is Autumn fruiting.

Raspberries could well be the easiest fruit to grow. The canes are vigorous
and will grown in most soils. They prefer sunshine though to get the fruit ripe
but can be grown against a south facing wall. They prefer a moist soil but are
happy enough in a dryer one if they’re watered during the growing season. They
like to be a neutral soil but will grow in a slightly acidic one better than
other plants. They can also cope well with a little shade as they naturally
grow in wooded areas.

They spread by throwing up shoots and producing new canes outside of where
you want them though. You can cut these off if you want tidy rows or leave them
to grow a little and then dig the new canes up and move them to a new area.
If you have a wild corner of the garden you can let them get on with it, but
be warned, an untidy raspberry patch is harder to pick fruit in.

Canes need cutting down in the autumn after fruiting has finished. This can
be late in the season and it’s not unusual for raspberry plants to still be
fruiting towards December although the lack of sunshine makes for a less delicious
berry.

Traditionally they are grown on a supported wire system with two posts holding
three wires at the bottom, middle and the top. The canes are then tied to this
to keep them neat and make it easier to pick the berries. Autumn fruiting berries
only need the bottom two wires. For a smaller garden don’t bother with this
row method. Plant them together around a sturdy stake or tree post.

A few weeks before planting dig in some well rotted manure of compost but reserve
some for mulching. They will benefit from a thick mulch as this will help retain
water in the soil.

Plant to the level they were grown at. Look for the dirt mark on the stem.
Spread the roots out carefully and fill in with soil. Make sure they’re planted
firmly.

Pruning time depends on the season they fruit. Prune the summer fruiting canes
during the autumn and clip them back as close to the ground as you can. You
should remove any canes in excess of 8 per plant. Leave the strongest canes.
Cut back any excessive growth in the winter so that they are not more than 15cm
taller than the top wire.

Prune autumn varieties when you clip back the tops of the summer fruiting ones.
Cut them again to ground level. Tie in canes as they grow to keep the rows neat.

Ensure they have fertilizer and water and they will reward you with a good
crop. You should learn how to make jam as this is a great way to preserve raspberries.
Pick regularly though else the fruit gets squishy and messy to pick.