Starting with raspberries - don't know anything

[ThinkEmily]

Afternoon all,

I want to grow raspberries. Just because I like them, really.

My grandad tells me if I put canes in this year, I'll get fruit next year. I have a notion that I need to get my act together and get them in fairly soon, though I may be wrong. (Grandad is a very good gardener with amazing raspberry plants, but is not great at explaining anything to me, so I'm asking you!)

Main things I need to know, although any extra advice is appreciated too, are:

1) When should they go in, and are there any key times in the calendar to think about with looking after them? (eg do I have to feed them or something?)

2) What variety would you advise? And do you know where might be best to buy - will anywhere do?

3) Is there anything specific that I need to do to prepare the ground? I have a bed in mind and am intending to do the same with it as my others - fork out weeds, cover with cardboard, and then cover with compost.

Oh, and I suppose I should ask about how I support the plants when they inevitably (I hope) thrive!!

[veggiechicken]

Firstly, you need to know that there are summer and autumn fruiting raspberries and they grow differently. Summer fruiting ones will give you fruit next year, autumn ones would give you fruit this year (on established canes).
This may help Growing Raspberries | How To Grow | Grow Your Own

[Kristen]

1) Bare root canes, which will be cheapest, would be planted November - March. Rest of the year you'd need pot-grown plants, which will be (possibly significantly) more expensive.

You need to cut down the canes which have fruited some time after they finish cropping. Summer fruiting make new canes this year, which fruit next year, so when you cut the old canes out if will be "50%" of them - the old half. Autumn fruiting send up new shoots in the Spring and they fruit in the Autumn, so you can just cut the lot down during the winter. (Some people keep them for a second year to double-crop them)

2) Flavour is subjective. Ideally taste some varieties grown by others and decide which ones you like. There are Summer and Autumn fruiting varieties (Autumn fruiting are more like "late Summer", although they go on into late Autumn). My advice would be to have different varieties for Early / Mid / Late season to spread the harvest. You need enough canes of each variety to "make a meal". I bought 10 canes of each variety, but they do spread so if budget is tight you could get fewer and then let then spread over a number of years.

3) They are a long term crop so worth taking extra care in preparing the ground, in particular to make sure there are no pernicious weeds present as they will be a nightmare to get out of the canes once they are growing vigorously.

[roitelet]

Just remember that Raspberries can become weeds as they will send up canes a long way rom the original row. I do mean an a long way, several feet.

[The Griff]

I have a few variaties of raspberries, summer and autumn. By far the easiest to look after are the autumn ones of which I have 5 or 6 varieties including yellow ones. My main bed of raspberries is an autumn raspberry called "polka", it is a very heavy cropping type with large red berries that taste good, it is also a thornless variety so no nasty pricks when picking, I picked my last fruit off the "polka" variety just before Christmas and it started fruiting before the more popular variety called "autumn bliss".
If you hurry up you may get some autumn canes now online or from a garden centre and if planted now you will get a crop off them this year.

[cptncrackoff]

Hi, I have a bed of raspberries approx 10ft by 3ft...
I planted 5 canes of Polka, an autumn fruiting variety, basically because I didn't want to tie in New growth etc associated with summer fruiting raspberries.
My understanding is that summer varieties are supposed to produce more fruit of better flavour but although my canes are only a couple of years old there is plenty of fruit and its fantastic quality.

[Kristen]

I've never tied my Summer fruiting canes in, although I do have a wire around the perimeter of the bed to stop them flopping out sideways. I also cut their tops off at about 6' - I couldn't reach much higher than that to pick anyway! and I think it helps stop them catch the wind - so, for me, there isn't any additional effort in growing them compared to Autumn fruiting.

I get better crops of my Autumn fruiting varieties, but for me the reason of having both is just to extend the season. I have 10 varieties, about 50:50 Summer and Autumn, and the earliest start fruiting from when the Strawberries finish, and the last fruits so late into Autumn it is often overtaken by the cold weather!

[Kirk]

Do yourself a favour and get autumn fruiting raspberry's.
Autumn Bliss, Polka, Joan J.

You may even be able to plant now anf get a crop this year if you get them in and the ground is good.

They are shallow rooted and send out underground runners and the ground should not dry out.

After fruiting, leave them for a while the leaves will generate food for the plant, and then prune to ground level.

[Stan79]

If you know someone with excess runners you might be as to get some freebies!