raspberries

[shaz]

I am thinkning of trying to grow raspberries, note the word trying!!

Havent tried it before but would welcome advice and suggestions.
which type of plant as I looked and theres loads.
Care & maintenance etc

I am going to get an earthbox there not cheap but it will be ideal as the ground is an absoutle nightmare where I want to keep it

Anyway all advice on growing raspberries would be welcome

shaz

[Capsid]

I always recommend the autumn bliss variety, it fruits for a long time from late summer through autumn. It needs very little attention apart form cutting down in February and a bit of feeding.

Why is your ground a nightmare? Raspberries will grow in very poor conditions.

[Bazza]

Agree with Capsid. Autumn Bliss is a good choice for a number of reasons. 1) Fruits on first year canes. 2) Doesn't grow too high so you shouldn't have to stake or otherwise support them. 3) Crops quite late and birds tend to leave them alone. 4) Minimum maintenance as per Capsids advice above.

[WelshGirl]

I would recommend Autumn Bliss as well. If you want an earlier fruiting variety, I grew Glen Clova in a pot last year and had good results, and I'm trying some Glen Ample this year.

[shaz]

Thanks for the advice it ireally is appreciated.

The ground is full of stones.grit etc. I have tried several times to give it a good turnover so i have put 2 compost bins there. The only place I can put the rasberries is in front of the shed in the sun which has slabs there

shaz

[tamsin]

I just ordered Joan J after spending ages going through the different varieties trying to pick. Picked it over autumn bliss as it doesn't have thorns and it's going in a garden border and we've enough prickly things to prune!

[rana]

Before planting your canes make sure the ground is completely free of perennial weeds as it is difficult to weed around the shallow roots of established raspberry plants. Preparing the ground well now will save a lot of time in the future.

[flossie]

It was my first year of growing raspberries last year. I bought Joan J from QVC as they were promoted as being ideal for container growing. The QVC gardener recommended planting 2 or 3 canes in a 12" pot in John Innes number 2 or 3 compost. I didn't have any so used standard multi purpose in old tubs.
We had lots of lovely fruit and I'm really pleased I bought them.
Don't spend all that money on an earthbox. The raspberries really don't need it. Any old pot or tub will be fine or as raspberries are short rooted you could always think about making a raised bed area for them.
This year QVC were selling Polka as a variety suitable for containers and they will fruit this year if you decide to pot the plants. Both Joan J and Polka need to cut back to about 4 to 6 inches each February
I potted mine in 14 inch tubs and they will need to be seperated and repotted next year as they are going beserk at the moment.
Hope this helps.