How to take care of a rasberry patch
I have been offered a raspberry patch to take care of. They are everbearing raspberries (I know that much). But I do not have the faintest idea how to take care of them. Like should I prone them know or in the fall. How much water do they like? And all the other things that you need to do to get a good crop. They have been fertilized with organic fertilizer and manure. PLEASE can I get some tips how to care of this patch?
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opabinia51
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 4659
- Joined: Thu Oct 21, 2004 5:58 pm
- Location: Victoria, BC
Raspberries are really simple to take care of, though they do require a little work in the fall.
So, after the plants are done fruiting for you (and everbearing will provide fruit well into the fall):
Prune backthe woody canes from the past years growth and push the new emergning canes up into a wire fence system.
Yes, Place a post on either side of your row of plants and run a couple of lines of wire from one post to the other, the posts should be about 6-8 feet tall with wire on both sides.
Tuck the new canes in between the wire. The wire will support the canes as they grow and make harvesting a lot easier.
Also, in the fall place any fallen leaves under the plants after running over the leaves with the lawnmower. Then place manure over the leaves and leave until the spring.
That's about it. Enjoy your berries!
One bit of advice: Plant some non everbearing plants as well because the everbearing varieties will only give you a few berries at a time but, will bear fruit as late as November. The non everbearing will give you a tonne of berries over the period of a about a month.
This way you will get the best of both worlds.
So, after the plants are done fruiting for you (and everbearing will provide fruit well into the fall):
Prune backthe woody canes from the past years growth and push the new emergning canes up into a wire fence system.
Yes, Place a post on either side of your row of plants and run a couple of lines of wire from one post to the other, the posts should be about 6-8 feet tall with wire on both sides.
Tuck the new canes in between the wire. The wire will support the canes as they grow and make harvesting a lot easier.
Also, in the fall place any fallen leaves under the plants after running over the leaves with the lawnmower. Then place manure over the leaves and leave until the spring.
That's about it. Enjoy your berries!
One bit of advice: Plant some non everbearing plants as well because the everbearing varieties will only give you a few berries at a time but, will bear fruit as late as November. The non everbearing will give you a tonne of berries over the period of a about a month.
This way you will get the best of both worlds.