Raspberries have their place in a natural vegetable garden.
They promote pollination and will delight your taste buds…
The raspberry bush produces the year after it is planted.
Growing conditions for raspberries
Raspberries grow on all soil types.
They especially appreciate light humus-rich soils and are not particularly fond of limestone (some species, however, are adapted to calcareous soils).
Although it adapts very well to partial shade, the raspberry will be more productive in the sun and the fruits will be sweeter.
Before planting, between one (rich soil) and two (poor soil) wheelbarrows, work 10 m2 of mature compost (or one or two shovels per foot) into the soil.
Renew this contribution every autumn.
In potash-poor soils, a moderate addition (a small handful) of wood ash can be considered.
Varieties of raspberries
A distinction is made between remontant raspberries (production in the summer then autumn) and non-remontant raspberries (depending on the variety a single production period in late spring or early summer).
This or that variety is suitable for your climate, altitude and soil. Inquire with your grower.
Everbearing varieties:
Augustred (good aroma, harvest from August); September (spicy, harvest in September-October), Zeva (large fruits, harvest from September to frost), Héritage (sweet, harvest from late August to frost).
Non-remontant varieties:
The early (June harvest): Lloyd George (delicious), Malling Promise (mountain area suitable), Malling Exploit (mountain area also suitable)
Mid-early (early July harvest): Malling Amiral (very good, but does not tolerate wet soils), Meeker (sweet), Frida (tasty), Haida (very good, can be reserved for light soils)
Late (July harvest): Flavi (very good), Capitou (adapted to dry soils and limestone)
Propagation of raspberries
The raspberry is propagated by separation of runners or cuttings.
Collection of suckers
The offshoots are shoots of the year, born on the roots, and on which, for the purpose of multiplication, we will keep part of the root system.
To do this, in winter, simply evacuate the soil around one foot and trim the root with a shovel (or cut off the root with pruning shears).
cuttings
- In November, take young twigs of 1 year.
- Divide these branches into cuttings of 20 to 30 cm (with at least 2 eyes).
Planting raspberries
Plant your cuttings and suckers immediately in a line about 5 feet apart, keeping plants at least 2 feet apart on the line.
Pruning generally consists of removing weak branches (keep only 10 to 15 shoots per linear meter) and parts that have borne fruit.
The size depends on whether the raspberries are fruiting or not:
Pruning perennial raspberries
In August, remove the weak branches at the base.
In winter, prune the raspberries below the part that was fertilized in September-October.
Prune non-remontant raspberries
In winter, prune the fruit-bearing branches back to the ground.
Preserving a raspberry crop
You can fix the stakes on a wire at 1m20-1m50 (depending on the vigor of the variety) and stretched between 2 posts.
Weed by hand in spring (absolutely avoid tilling the soil with a tiller, you risk injuring the roots) and then mulch abundantly.
Remove offshoots that stick out of the row, if you want to limit the spread of raspberries in your vegetable garden.
Natural protection
cryptogamous diseases
The fungi that cause diseases in raspberries mainly occur on heavy soils.
In this case, it is recommended to treat both preventively with a horsetail decoction and with a preparation based on baking soda.
Here are the symptoms of the main cryptogamic diseases associated with raspberries:
Burn Stinger:
This disease is characterized by the appearance of reddish brown to purple spots on the twigs (especially at the buds), with the base of the twigs taking on an abnormally light color.
The affected tissue tears and the shoot dries up.
Cut and burn affected branches.
Fusarium wilt:
Leaves and tips of fruiting shoots affected by Fusarium wither yellow and wilt quickly.
Young plants die very quickly.
If your raspberries are damaged, the variety is not adapted to your soil…choose another one!
vermin
2 pests can cause serious damage to raspberries…
The raspberry worm:
it is a grey-brown beetle, oval in shape and about 5 mm in size. The flights take place in May-June and it lays its eggs on the flowers in June-July. The larvae pupate on the bark. The raspberry bush worm overwinters in the soil.
The adults gnaw on almost the entire plant, from the buds to the green fruits, including the flowers or the leaves… while the larvae enjoy the flesh of the ripe fruits…
As a preventive measure, it is important to cover the soil well. You can also sow forget-me-nots at the foot (repelling effect).
In the event of an attack, drop the beetles into a container and take them out!
the blackberry mite
The blackberry mite is a white-skinned mite (not visible to the naked eye) that overwinters in the bark and under the buds.
At the beginning of the vegetation it goes on the leaves and then on the buds and the flowers.
The fruits of affected plants retain a light color and do not ripen.
Covering the soil with leaf compost would be effective preventively.
Also spray a decoction of tansy after pruning and in early spring.
to harvest
The fruits are harvested very ripe.
Plant different varieties to enjoy delicious raspberries from June to October/November…
