One of the most delicious, fragrant and long-awaited summer berries on suburban area - it's a raspberry. How to care for this sun-loving plant so that there is a good harvest, large, tasty berries, which varieties are better to choose - these questions concern many gardeners. Let's talk about the correct watering, pruning, fertilizing shrubs, the differences between remontant raspberries and the features of care in spring, summer, and autumn.
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Perfect place for a raspberry
For raspberries, you need to choose a flat area, protected from drafts and wind, where the shadow is only in the morning, and the rest of the time the direct rays of the sun shine. The groundwater level should not lie higher than 1.5–2 m below the soil level.
The best place is considered to be planting along the southern wall of the country house, placing the beds from east to west.
It is best to place the raspberry along the southern wall of the house
Several clear signs that the place for planting the shrub was chosen incorrectly are collected in the table.
| Problem | Most likely cause |
|---|---|
| small berries | Little moisture or location on a hill |
| root rot | Excess moisture or close occurrence of groundwater |
| stem dieback | Strong bush blowing, drafts, too shaded area |
| Freezing of the kidneys | Bushes planted in lowland area |
When planting raspberries, it is important to choose the right land, optimizing the composition of the existing soil to light loamy loose soil. The root system of raspberries, which is considered a semi-shrub, is close to the surface, so only 25–30 cm of fertile humus is enough for it. At acidity below 6.5, the plant begins to bear fruit poorly.
If the place for raspberries is determined in advance, then 1-1.5 months before the date of the proposed planting of seedlings, you can prepare the soil. When digging in autumn, for every 1 m2 of soil, an average of 20 kg of rotted manure (if the soil is clay, it is better to use compost). At this stage, it is recommended to add 70 g superphosphate or potassium sulfate in the calculation of 50 g per 1 m2.
Read also: Raspberry: description of the 22 best varieties, characteristics and reviews of gardeners | (Photo & Video) Landing method
The future yield largely depends on how correctly the shrub seedlings are planted. Agronomists believe that the key to a bountiful harvest of large raspberries is the trench method of planting seedlings, in contrast to the method of planting individual bushes, which gives modest results.
Planting raspberries in specially prepared trenches is one method to increase plant productivity
How to properly plant young shrubs:
Trenches in raspberries should be located at a distance of at least 1.3–1.5 m from each other. Already from the second year of life, shrubs begin to grow actively, and the lack of space will restrain the growth and productivity of raspberries. Small row spacing will also make picking berries very difficult.
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Irrigation Features
Sufficient and timely watering is one of the key conditions for obtaining a high yield of berries. Raspberries can be watered at any time during the development of the plant: both during the period of fruiting and during the period of active growth.
Raspberries should be closed on all sides with slate sheets or build a tray from wooden boards
In order for water to remain at the roots of the shrub during irrigation, agronomists recommend building a wooden frame or tray in the raspberry tree, 10–20 cm high, or enclosing the beds with slate sheets. You can also make earthen embankments around the perimeter of the trench, then the water will not spill over the site.
Timely soil moisture contributes to the growth of shoots, which must gain strength before fruiting. Therefore, it is important to increase watering at the beginning of summer (end of May - June), before flowering, pouring at least 3 buckets of water under each bush.
Agronomists recommend moistening the raspberries in the evening, so that during the night hours the water is absorbed into the soil and reaches the roots. If watering is done in the morning or afternoon, then the moisture will simply evaporate from the surface and will not give strength to the shoots for fruiting.
A good result, according to the experience of agronomists, was shown by such a method of irrigation as sprinkling - the use of drip short- and long-range installations. This method allows you to increase the level of humidity in the raspberry. However, you need to understand that in this case, the water consumption for one irrigation will increase to 450 cubic meters of water per 1 ha on average.
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It is not necessary to dig up the soil in the root zone - you can damage the roots, which in raspberries are located very close to the surface. But loosening the row spacing with the simultaneous removal of weeds is one of the methods to increase the productivity of the plant.
Soil aeration is one of the important agricultural practices to improve crop yields.
You need to start loosening in early spring, immediately after the snow melts and stable weather is established without sharp temperature fluctuations. This procedure must be carried out after each watering. The task can be simplified by mulching the root zone with sawdust or small wood shavings, straw or hay.
The last aeration of the soil is carried out no later than mid-August. If this process is delayed, then the young shoots may not ripen and freeze in winter. At this time, you can make a small slope from the ground to the roots of the shrub, so that the moisture from the autumn rains and moisture-charging irrigation nourishes the plant itself, and not the aisle.
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top dressing
Feeding raspberries with fertilizers has a positive effect on the fruiting of the bushes. Plants with thick stems and good foliage will give the most berries.
The best fertilizer for a berry bush is organic: manure, slurry, droppings
- wood ash
- slurry
- chicken manure, diluted with water in proportions of 1 to 10
- rotted manure
If a layer of nutrient mixture was not used when laying trenches and planting raspberries, then in spring the first top dressing of the plant is carried out with urea in the form of granules. For processing 1 m2 of beds, no more than 100 g of the substance is used.
When laying the ovary, it is important to support raspberries with mineral fertilizers containing phosphorus, calcium, sulfur, potassium and magnesium. The ideal option in this case is superphosphate. It will not only increase the fruit-bearing properties of the shrub, but also strengthen the shoots, increase its immunity to diseases.
During flowering, raspberries can be fed with homemade multi-component fertilizer, which includes 200 g of superphosphate, 200 g of wood ash and 60 g of urea. This mixture is diluted in a 10-liter bucket of water and poured in parts under each bush.
Under already fruiting plants, after the first pruning, nitroammophoska is applied at the rate of 40 g per 1 m2, and in the fall (starting from 3–4 years), a mixture of 3 liters of humus with 100 g of saltpeter is poured under each bush that has yielded a crop.
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Mulching the root zone is one of the ways to achieve the optimal level of soil moisture in raspberries. Some experts recommend putting a small amount of fresh manure under each bush.
When dry, it forms a crust on the soil, which prevents the rapid evaporation of moisture. At the same time, decomposing, the organic fertilizer will nourish the raspberries for several years.
The layer of mulch should not interfere with the growth of young shoots.
If it is not possible to purchase a large amount of manure, or you do not like this method, then you can mulch the soil under the beds:
- peat
- fallen leaves or dry grass
- wood chips
- mixture of sawdust and wood ash
- old newspapers sprinkled with humus
Instead of mulch, it is allowed to cover the inter-row space and areas near the raspberries with an opaque material that will maintain the required level of humidity and temperature and prevent weeds from germinating.
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The number of flower brushes, and hence the number of future berries, is laid down when pruning a shrub. Shoots of annual raspberries are best formed using the double pruning method or the method of the breeder Alexander Sobolev.
Double pruning according to the Sobolev method allows you to increase the yield of berries by 2 times
- First pruning carried out in the second year of the seedling's life, at the end of May - June, when young shoots begin to grow. Their tops are cut at a level of 90 cm - 1 m above the ground, which is optimal for both the plant (the branches will not bend under the weight of the fruit) and the gardener (it is easy to pick berries).
- Second time shoots are shortened next spring, when the shrub is a central shortened trunk and lateral regrown shoots. It is the new growth that is cut by 10–15 cm.
This method of pruning leads to the fact that raspberries lay as many flower-bearing buds as possible, from which over time a rich harvest will be obtained.The separate cultivation of young plants and already fruiting bushes can enhance the fruiting of shrubs in raspberries and increase its period to 3 months. To do this, the strongest shoots are dug up during pruning and planted separately, cutting out weak young shoots.
Late raspberry varieties bear fruit on three-year-old shoots, so they need to be shortened in the spring by 125–145 cm from the ground. This method will allow you to achieve the formation of large berries.
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As the shrub grows, it needs additional support. Gardeners usually, in the second year of laying raspberries, enclose it with a small fence with railings at a height of 50–60 cm, to which branches are tied.
As one of the options, you can make trellises: stretch galvanized wire up to 4-5 mm thick between the posts dug in on both sides of the beds.
Young seedlings need to be tied to a trellis so that the branches do not bend under the weight of the fruit.
One year later to trellis it is advised to attach 2 more rows of wire - below and above the existing one. In this case, the bottom row should be at a height of 30 cm from the ground surface. In autumn, annual shoots bent to the ground are tied to this wire. The stems in the upper part are fixed to the trellis with a loop.
Shrub stems tied to a trellis are well blown, which reduces the risk of infection with viral diseases that reduce fruiting.
This method helps not only to reduce the load on the plant, but also to facilitate care, spread the fruiting and young shoots on different sides without the need to seat them. If the bushes are planted singly, then the peg is set right in the middle of the cluster of shoots and the garter is carried out to it.
Another way to garter - fan: for him, the shoots are divided into two parts and tied in turn to two stakes driven in on both sides of the bushes, forming a fan.
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Even if the gardener correctly applies agricultural techniques, all his efforts can fail due to pests plants or diseases. The appearance of such unfavorable factors can destroy up to 40–45% of the berry crop.
Raspberry pests
The harvest can be quite poor due to the invasion of insects on the shrub that spoil the flowering buds. The main pests are collected in the table.
Aphids infect the foliage of the plant, eating delicate tissues
| Pest | How to fight |
|---|---|
| Raspberry beetle (lays its larvae directly into flowers) | Collect the larvae by hand and destroy or shake off the bush so that the beetles fall on a pre-layed film |
| Spider mite, stem fly | Insecticides "Decis", "Iskra" |
| Kidney moth (especially dangerous for young seedlings, often affects the lower shoots) | Treatment with a 10% solution of karbofos or Bordeaux mixture |
| Stem gall midge (infection is determined by characteristic orange swellings under the bark of the lower shoots) | The shoots affected by gall midge are cut off just below the painful swellings, the trimmings are burned, spraying with Fufanon, Aktellik preparations |
| Strawberry-raspberry weevil (larvae eat buds from the inside) | Treatment with karbofos, the chemical preparation "Confidor" |
| Shoot aphid (leads to leaf curl, curvature of young shoots and drying of flowers, dangerous because it carries viral diseases) | Before flowering or after harvesting, raspberries are sprayed with Iskra-M or Aktellik |
| Nutworm (the larva feeds on the tissues of the leaves and stem) | Treated with insecticides "Alatar" and "Inta-Vir" |
| Raspberry glass (caterpillars are introduced into the roots and stems) | Cut out all damaged shoots and lower stems, burn away from the site |
In order to prevent the hatching of raspberry flies and other insects from larvae, during the formation of flower buds, spraying raspberries in the evenings with a cold infusion of tansy.
To prepare 5 liters of healing infusion, 500 g of a fresh plant and 200 dried ones are poured into 2.5 liters of water, insisted for 24 hours. Then boil for 30 minutes, filter and dilute with the same amount of water.
In order to destroy the wintering grounds of larvae and beetles, in autumn they dig up the earth between the beds to a depth of 30 cm.
Shrub diseases
Curly affects shrub leaves and reduces yield
Raspberries are quite susceptible to various fungal and viral diseases.
- blue-violet spotting (didimeloy). It is easy to recognize the disease: characteristic purple spots appear under the attachment of the petiole of the leaf. Dangerous because buds do not develop on infected bushes
- powdery mildew. A white slimy coating appears on the leaves and stems of the plant. Affects the yield of the plant, the affected berries have a mushroom smell, are very small and become gray in color.
- anthracnose. Can be identified by the appearance of purple cankers on different parts of the plant. Covers fruit clusters, which prevents the berry from ripening
- septoria. Characterized by the appearance of white spots, leads to the death of leaf plates
- curly. The leaf takes on a glassy appearance and twists along the veins.
- bacterial root canker. Spherical tumors appear at the base of the shoots, which weaken the development of the shoots.
The only way to fight diseases is with the use of chemicals.
Preparations have proven their effectiveness in the fight for health and a good harvest of raspberry bushes:
- "Hom" ("Oxy-Hom")
- "Abiga Peak"
- Bordeaux liquid 1%
- copper oxychloride
Prevention
To prevent diseases, the roots are treated with a 1% solution of copper sulfate before planting and washed in water.
In order to prevent the appearance of pests, the following preventive methods of agronomy are used:
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Proper agricultural practices used all year round are the key to a bountiful harvest in raspberries. Each season is characterized by its own set of measures aimed at increasing the yield of the plant.
spring
Spring pruning is carried out in order to remove dried, broken and underdeveloped shoots.
Do not rush to open raspberries wrapped for the winter with the first warm spring days, especially if the stems were pressed to the ground. Shrub shoots are very fragile and can break almost at the very base at low temperatures.
It is possible to finally free the plant from winter shelter when the air temperature during the day is above 10 degrees Celsius. Bound stems should be untied, but not forcibly straightened. The shoots should straighten up on their own, only after that they can be tied to the parapet, pegs or trellises.
In May, dry, underdeveloped and broken shoots under the yoke of snow are cut out, leaving 12–15 shrub trunks per 1 linear meter of the site.
Summer
Summer is the period of active fruiting of the berry
It is in the summer that the fruiting period of most raspberry varieties falls. In order to timely release the shrub from the severity of the fruit, it is recommended to pick berries every 2 days.
In the summer months, in addition to the routine procedures of watering and loosening the soil, it is recommended to remove the young shoots in the raspberry - cut or dig. Its rapid growth takes away from the shrub those forces that should be spent on the formation of the ovary.
Before flowering, as a preventive measure at the beginning of the season, you can spray the beds with a solution of copper sulfate. It is recommended to thin out the bushes, preventing the gap between the plants from overgrowing.
No need to be afraid to overly remove green shoots - it obscures strong fruit-bearing shoots, takes the necessary moisture and nutrients from the soil. Summer thinning only leads to higher yields and stronger plants.
Biennial shoots are advised to be cut in the summer, after the return of the berries, so that new shoots can grow stronger and bear fruit next season.
autumn
Autumn pruning is carried out before sheltering shrubs for the winter
Early autumn is the ideal time for pruning and thinning. At the same time, already formed shoots go into a dormant state, so watering can be reduced.
Immediately before the shelter, water-charging watering is carried out - abundant saturation of the plant with moisture until next spring. It is recommended to pour 5–6 buckets of water for every 1 m2 of soil in the raspberries.
In early October, it is recommended to remove all leaves from the shrubs, and bend the green, slightly lignified shoots to the ground. In the future, when they dry out, it will be almost impossible to do this.
In the autumn months, they change the mulch to a new one, and also dig the soil around the raspberries and in the aisles to destroy the wintering of harmful insects and their larvae. Starting in September, fertilizing with preparations containing potassium is carried out.
in winter
For the winter, the shoots are bent to the ground, then covered with spruce branches, non-woven fabric or tarpaulin
When preparing raspberries for winter, the shoots that bear fruit are completely cut out, and those that appear this year are carefully bent to the ground, secured with metal braces.
Raspberry roots are much more resistant to cold than other berry bushes. They can withstand temperatures down to -36 degrees.
Warming of shrubs should be carried out in order to delay the snow cover and prevent the plant from freezing. Cut shoots, spruce lower branches, non-woven fabric, tarpaulin are suitable as shelters.
Features of care for remontant varieties
Remontant varieties are characterized by increased productivity and a long fruiting period.
The increased fruiting period of remontant varieties almost does not impose any special requirements for caring for raspberries, but it is worth considering several features:
- can be harvested twice a year
- bending the stems to the ground for the winter is not necessary
- simple trimming process
The best varieties of raspberry remontant varieties produce fruits weighing from 5 to 15 g and are divided into:
- large-fruited (Monomakh's Hat, Golden Autumn, Polka)
- early (Indian summer)
- with rich taste (Apricot, Orange miracle)
- high-yielding (Eurasia, Atlant)
The most productive varieties
Hercules - one of the most productive varieties of summer berries
When choosing raspberry varieties, which will give an increased number of berries, many factors must be taken into account:
- fruit flavor and size
- the beginning of the fruiting period and its duration
- resistance to cold, disease, baking, shedding
- shrub form
- shoot height
The most beautiful and largest berries, powerful shoots, stability and vitality - this is how raspberry varieties recognized as the most fruitful can be characterized:
Scientists-breeders create hybrids and varieties of raspberries that have increased productivity and allow you to collect several buckets of berries from 1 plant bush. However, simple gardeners in their summer cottages can achieve an impressive harvest by paying due attention to the selection of planting material, protecting shrubs from pests, proper care and following the basic rules of agricultural technology.
Planting material is best purchased at a nursery or from trusted gardeners, but you can also select it yourself from existing bushes. In this case, it is necessary to systematically select and transplant the strongest and most fruitful shoots into a separate raspberry bush.
WHAT DOES RASPBERRY NEED DURING FLOWERING?
Raspberry: how to care for it so that there is a good harvest? In spring, summer, autumn and winter: features of watering, fertilizing, pruning shrubs and its remontant varieties
Very interesting and useful article, thanks.
Thank you for a very complete description of raspberry care, very useful information.
Many thanks. I learned a lot about growing raspberries and caring for them.
I really like the variety of alina "Hercules", the berries are very very large, tasty.
And thank you for your feedback, we are glad that our work is useful.
Thank you. Interesting article. And yes, I can't get off the site. Well, everything is interesting. ❗❗❗???
Thank you for such a compliment.
Thanks for your work?
Thanks a lot for such a helpful article! Lots of great advice without any hassle. We are just starting to grow raspberries, so the benefits of the article are very great.
Hello, I'm new to dacha business, tell me in which nurseries you can order remontant raspberries.
What region are you in? We will try to recommend a nursery