Thinning autumn raspberries

[planetologist]

I also grow autumn ones for two crops a year. I do that with all of them, so can't say whether it affects the autumn harvest negatively, but I never need to thin the first year canes nor do I top the second year canes, so I somewhat suspect that the "competition" from the summer fruiting ones make the new ones come up in the "right" density. Then I only prune once directly after the summer fruiting finishes. When I didn't get around to that last year the autumn fruits were less abundant than usual, so I suspect that that does make a significant difference relative to letting the second year ones die naturally, though with only one measurement I can't guarantee that the autumn reduction was a significant result.

[cptncrackoff]

Well, I sent a photo of my polka Autumn raspberries to an 'expert' and he replied that I should reduce the amount of canes by half.. Seems brutal but I'm going with that!

[Ruined]

Hi...I'm planting a new raspberry bed this autumn. How have you contained yours? I don't want mine to spread.

[nellie-m]

Oh, raspberries. Don't start me on raspberries. There were autumn rasps in the veggie patch when we bought this place ten years ago. Every year, for ten years, I have asked everyone around and have given them away left and right, dug up each and every remaining one and planted them at the back of the field where I invited them to go berserk.

The newly planted ones all magically disappear.

The ones in the veggie patch are back each spring, and I swear I've heard them laugh.

[BUFFS]

I think the way it works is like this. If you prune autumn fruited canes down to the ground in the autumn, you will get one crop on the new growth the following year.

If you don't prune them to the ground but just take off the tops, then you will get an earlier crop on new growth on last years canes and a later crop on new growth this year.

However, you need to make sure you cut down the two year growth after its fruited and the crop of fruit on the first year growth isn't as big, and the crop on the second year growth isn't as nice as the crop on the first year growth and you have to support the canes over the winter otherwise they will be rocked by the wind and might be blown out.

All in all IMO it easier to grow autumn fruited raspberries for one crop on the new years growth and freeze excess to use when there isn't any fruit. I find raspberries are one of the most successful fruits to freeze.

See here Buy raspberry Polka - primocane (mainly autumn fruiting) raspberry 'Polka (PBR)'.

The reason we get unfruited stems is that our summer can be a month or more behind those further south, so even some canes @ 6ft tall will not fruit, so they are topped at 5/6ft, tied to wires to hold them in place during winter storms and the following year these canes will put out loads of side shoots and so much more fruit, which finishes just as the normally lopped stems start producing, giving th long picking season.....whats no to like?...