Fruit cages and what to grow

[Paul_TT]

Am new to allotments but learning as much as I can . I have on my allotment a collapsing 3m x 4m wooden fruit cage that needs replacing
Sorry but several questions in one

1 There are some raspberry canes in already - some good but some snap so wo;; be removing them . What is the right time to plant new canes
2 Can I mix raspberry with say gooseberry bushes or other fruit?
3 Can I put ground level strawberries in there as well
4 Lastly would you recommend I buy the timber and make a new cage or would u recommend an off the shelf aluminium cage . If the latter any recommendations as to manufacturer of cage

Many thanks for any help

P

[veggiechicken]

I'd recommend you build a fruit cage in another place on the plot and start afresh. Don't plant new raspberries with old ones, in case they're diseased. Prune the old canes out - you may be surprised at how well they grow this year.

I keep gooseberry bushes away from everything else - nasty spiny things that attack you when you don't expect it.
You can plant strawberries in there but make sure you're not going to walk on them and give them plenty of light.

Can't help with cages as I only have cherry trees in an old polytunnel frame covered in debris netting.

[nickdub]

A lot of things to bear in mind, one is that some fruit like say raspberries or gooseberries are quite long-lived (20+ years) and don't need moving whereas a 3-year-old strawberry plant will certainly need replacing, so they are best regarded in terms of being movable. Another point is how much direct sunlight works for a given fruit - again as an example gooseberries will grow well in partial shade. Finally, on the fruit side, some soft fruit is a lot less popular with the birds than other types - loganberries for example can be grown in a lot of places and the birds some years will take none or very few of them.

On the cage repairs I'd say use what is cheapest - in the ideal world someone might be getting rid of an old aluminium greenhouse without glass or a set of poly-tunnel hoops - places like free cycle and even eBay are good sources of free or cheap stuff - as are your local skips :-)

[Mark_Riga]

3m x 4m is a really good size. I would give it a good inspection to see if it is reparable. If the bottom few inches of posts are going rotten then short lengths hammered in next to them and screwed/bolted together may suffice, same elsewhere in frame.