Bad year for raspberries?

[LottieGlut]

There are over 200 allotments on my site and everyone is talking about what a bad year we've had for raspberries. It's been a really meagre year. I've only had two pickings so far. Last year I could hardly keep up with them.

How are everyone else's raspberries? We had a very dry spring and we are all wondering if thats effected our crop of raspberries.

The canes look well - nice and green but not much fruit.

[sewer rat]

There are over 200 allotments on my site and everyone is talking about what a bad year we've had for raspberries. It's been a really meagre year. I've only had two pickings so far. Last year I could hardly keep up with them.

How are everyone else's raspberries? We had a very dry spring and we are all wondering if thats effected our crop of raspberries.

The canes look well - nice and green but not much fruit.

The three gardens that I work that have rasps in all have bumper crops - this also applies to goosegogs, red and blackcurrants and strawberries, and it looks as if the apples , plums and pears are going to produce bumper crops too.

[Mac]

Hi, we went wild raspberry picking yesterday just up our road and got enough for 2 jars of jam (about 600g), loads more coming too so should get wine, vinegar and other stuff done by the end of them. Not sure if this would be affected the same as cultivated ones?

[rustylady]

There are over 200 allotments on my site and everyone is talking about what a bad year we've had for raspberries. It's been a really meagre year. I've only had two pickings so far. Last year I could hardly keep up with them.

How are everyone else's raspberries? We had a very dry spring and we are all wondering if thats effected our crop of raspberries.

The canes look well - nice and green but not much fruit.

Where is your allotment Lottieglut - if you put your location into your profile it will show up on your posts (very helpful to the rest of us when answering questions). Mine have been very good - they're just a few canes against the back fence of my garden

[organic vic]

Hi This year is the first fruit I have got from my rasps after planting bare root 3 years ago and I have had loads and still a lot waiting to ripen and each one is huge - never seen rasps that large before and taste lovely! All the wild rasps near me have huge amounts of fruit on them but they are pretty bland tasting this year!

[WrexTheDragon]

Bumper crop so far and loads more to come.

Also planted Polka this year and they are doing fine.

[Sheepish]

Doing very well here too. Last year was disasterous (I took over the garden from my late father, wasn't sure whether the raspberries were summer or autumn fuiting, guessed wrong and pruned at the wrong time) but this year it's almost a glut. (Only almost, I can eat a lot of raspberries .)

[Alison]

Bumper crop here too but these things can be very regional.

[PAULW]

Non down here in tropical Dorset I have picked a handful while last year I was getting sick of taking a couple of pounds of fruit home every day.

[dancing homer]

My canes started off OK. They produced loads of leaves, then some nice flowers. Then bang! flowers wilted, leaves turned brown and it looks like they are dead.

[rustylady]

My canes started off OK. They produced loads of leaves, then some nice flowers. Then bang! flowers wilted, leaves turned brown and it looks like they are dead.

Have you checked the roots? And are they in open ground or in pots?

[LottieGlut]

Thanks everyone. Someone else I know in Dorset was complaining about the lack of fruit on their raspberries when we talked last week. My allotment is in Surrey, and the canes are planted up against a fence which faces south. Their roots seem fine. Everything seems fine apart from the lack of fruit.

[dancing homer]

Have you checked the roots? And are they in open ground or in pots?

they are in open ground - the soil was pretty much clay, so I added a good deal of mulch when I planted them (this year)

[rustylady]

My allotment is in Surrey, and the canes are planted up against a fence which faces south. Their roots seem fine. Everything seems fine apart from the lack of fruit.

Please add Surrey to your profile, Lottie. How old are your raspberry plants?

[rustylady]

The canes look well - nice and green but not much fruit.

This could be the missing link. Summer fruiting raspberries produce fruit on sideshoots from last year's new canes - therefore if the canes are green and the raspberries are summer fruiting these are the canes that will bear next year's fruit.
If, however, they are autumn fruiting raspberries then it may be a bit early for them to produce fruit, altho mine on the lottie are now flowering (on green canes)