raspberries and bark chips

[SelkirkAlex]

have my new raspberry bed up and planted, autumn fruiting raspberries.

I had planned to cover the bed with two inches or so of bark chips, to reduce weeds,
then my paranoia set in, will the bark layer interfere with or prevent the new shoots coming up?


pretty sure it is a groundless fear but would appreciate hearing from anyone with experience, plase

[nickdub]

no problem with the bark on raspberries - may want to give them some extra feed though to help it breakdown.

[mothhawk]

My Joan J keep trying to grow up through the paving slabs, so I don't think a bit of bark will stop them. I put my grass clippings round the rasps all through the summer and that eventually forms a fairly thick tight mat, but they still come up through it in the spring.

[Mr Bones]

My rasps do fine under a couple of inches of wood chips. It keeps the moisture in too.

[MarkPelican]

The only thing I've found with raspberries (Polka) is to make sure you put compost & bark chips down before they start showing new shoots. I found one year that the compost burned the new growth and it stopped some of the new shoots coming through.

[muck lover]

I have mulched my raspberries with grass clippings, seaweed, leafmould and most lately shredding/woodchips. This is over the last few years and funnily the level of soil surface hasn’t risen appreciably. I also have a new raspberry bed and it got seaweed and leafmould last year. The second bed was on new ground and it’s got some ground elder so the mulching will have to go on for foreseeable future to get the better of that.
Mulch with anything and everything I would say. It feeds and reduces weeds. What’s not to like?!