Growing Raspberries

Author: Garden

Site selection and planting.

Raspberries are self-pollinating, therefore they can grow and fit in individually sown varieties. However, the yield is usually greater in those areas where 2-3 different varieties of raspberry grow. Raspberries can be planted in between rows of fresh garden as well as they can breed nicely in the shade under trees. It is important that raspberries grow in one place, so that they are easier to maintain.

Raspberries are planted in a row approximately 40-60 cm away from each other. When grown in several rows, raspberries must maintain a distance of about 150 cm on between the. In less fertile land raspberries are planted more densely, whereas in richer soil – less frequently. Before planting of raspberry seedlings, small holes of 30 cm in width and depth must be dug in the soil. Seedlings are planted 5-6 cm deeper than they used to grow in the past. Each plant is set with 2-3 kg of manure or compost, which is then mixed with the earth excavated from the pit. After planting the soil is compressed and watered with 5-6 liters of water. After the water has been absorbed, the soil can be mulched.
Stems of planted raspberries must be truncated 20-30 cm in height. If the stems are truncated just a little or not truncated at all, even though raspberries are consistent during the first year already, they produce little new sprouts in the future.
Raspberry gardens must not be overgrown with weeds. In autumn, the soil should be re-scooped, digging 5-8 cm in depth near the plants, and 12-15 cm where raspberries grow further. While re-scooping the ground, we remove unnecessary offspring of the raspberry at the same time. In the spring we mellow the ground with the spud stripping off raspberries from unnecessary rootstock weeds. By the time of berry gathering the ground should remain being mellowed and stripped off weeds daily for 2-3 times. You must weed again after the post-harvest again. At the end of August the ground should not be mellowed anymore in order to prepare raspberries for the winter.

Raspberries tend to grow especially well when they are fertilized every year with 4 kg of organic fertilizer, 40 g of ammonium nitrate, 60 g of superphosphate and 30 g of potassium salt per 1 square meter. Organic fertilizer, phosphorus, potassium and one-third of nitrogen fertilizer are poured into the soil in the autumn once the soil is re-scooped, and the rest of the fertilizer is poured in the spring. Raspberries acquire most of the moisture during months of May, June and July. In times of drought raspberries should be watered with 50-60 liters per 1 square meter.
After the harvest of crops stems and weaker offspring are cut off, leaving 10-12 sprouts apart from each other in 15-18 cm.
The easiest way to grow raspberries is in lines of 30-50 cm in width. Such kind of lines should contain 15-20 pieces of well-developed stems in one meter. In spring, just before the beginning of vegetation, raspberry scapes are cut, leaving them 160 cm in height.
While growing raspberries in rows, it is advisable to install trellis. For that matter, every 4 meters columns up to 150 cm are embedded. To those columns crossbars of 30-50 cm in length are fixed (fixed according to the length of the rows). Crossbar ends have wire stretched and attached to them. Lush raspberries should have 2 rows of wires attached to them in height of 70 cm and 150 cm. For more shabby raspberries you can use wires attached only 120 cm in height.
Obsolete gardens of raspberry are renewed by removing old shrubs with roots and fertilizing the area with organic manure. If you continue to renew raspberry gardens every 5-6 years, they can last as long as 12-15 years of growth in the same place