raspberry Vs weeds

[Root66]

I've taken over a plot, with a raspberry patch. Unfortunately they're amongst nettles and other weeds, so I need to dig them all up, take out the weak ones and remove all the rubbish. I believe it's a mix of summer and autumn canes, and now it's ok to see where they are.
I'd like to start clearing the weeds before the winter but can't move the canes until spring (right?). Will I disturb things too much and kill the canes if I get cracking now? Alternatively if I leave everything will it be easy enough to distinguish the canes from everything else

Thank you.
Pete

[nickdub]

I think you'll be fine to do it now - you wont get much fruit the first year whatever you do. Keep the roots in a tub of water after you dig them up, if you can't re-plant immediately.

[SarrissUK]

I don't think I'd bother digging them up - I'd dig down to get nettles out, but they don't grow too deep, so it shouldn't take too much to get the roots out.
Then I'd mulch heavily, in fact, I'd be inclined to get a boatload of leaves and put some kind of netting around it to keep it in place and let it rot down. That should help keep the weeds at bay for a while.

[Kirk]

I doubt that you can tell which are which (summer/autumn). I do recall getting told they are the same just when they throw up the start of a cane is why we separate them. Made sense at the time.

Depending on the number you have and the number you want I would be tempted to remove them all, remove all the weeds and add compost/manure whatever to the ground, dig it well over and then keep what you want or replace with new so that you know summer from autumn.

I tend to prefer autumn varieties for easier handling and the newer varieties fruit well now.

[Aberdeenplotter]

No problems at all with digging them up. Select the canes you want to keep, tie them into a bundle and then heel them in and lift them again when you are ready to replant. Would be better to put them in a different bed though.

Autumn varieties v Summer varieties? I would send the Autumn varieties to room 101. They are the worlds worst for spreading all over the place and especially where you don't want them.

[Root66]

Thanks Peeps