Raspberry care

What could be better than ripe and fragrant raspberries. With the onset of summer, these berries fill the garden plots. Perhaps each of us loves to enjoy raspberry jam, which is almost amber in color, but growing raspberries is not so easy. She needs special care and protection from diseases and pests. Today we will tell you about how you need to care for raspberries so that they give a bountiful harvest, and you enjoy these ripe berries right from the garden.

Raspberry care: general rules

raspberry care

Raspberries belong to the pink family. Usually this is a fairly tall bush that cannot be confused with any other. Raspberries often develop many shoots due to their powerful root system. Over time, it fills the entire surrounding space around the bush.

Therefore, do not be surprised that in the spring many young shoots will grow in your garden. And remember that they often grow from one root. In the first year of life, the stems are very juicy and watery, so be careful. They can be easily broken.

Over the years, the stems begin to woody. And already from them new shoots begin to grow. Raspberries usually bear fruit in the second year after planting. The berries are conical in shape, usually red or pink in color. However, some varieties of raspberries have black or yellow fruits.

Raspberry is not considered a whimsical enough plant, so it does not require special care. However, it should still be fed, pruned, and protected from diseases and pests. Work with the plant is carried out in spring, summer and autumn.

Raspberries, planting and care - spring work

raspberry care

In early spring, raspberry care needs to be very careful. You will need to carefully examine the bushes and tie them up if necessary, trim, process and fertilize the soil. Everything in order.

After the snow melts, you can already start cultivating the soil. You will need to remove winter shelters first, as well as get rid of last year's foliage.

This is necessary in order not to create a favorable environment for the reproduction of pathogens of many diseases and pests, which could easily overwinter in the foliage.

After that, you need to examine the bushes. This is necessary in order to determine in time which shoots are frozen and which are too old. You will need to cut old dried branches to the very root.

But the frozen shoots are cut to a living bud. Over time, these shoots will be able to gain strength and produce crops. After that, you will need to tie up the bushes. So that the sun hits all the branches. This means that they will grow better in this position and develop.

It is best to dig in a peg at the edges of each row and tie a wire to them. After that, the raspberry shoots will rely on this structure. Then it will be easier for raspberries to bloom and bear fruit.

When new young shoots appear, and the green mass of adult bushes becomes more voluminous, you should tighten the wire, since the support will be less reliable. Pruning raspberries should also be done in the spring. To stimulate its growth, as well as get rid of dead branches.

Do not allow the bushes to thicken, as in this case moisture and nutrients will not be supplied to all plants, which means that the raspberries will be weak.

Leave branches with a height of no more than 2 meters from the soil surface, as usually this height is enough for the normal development of plants.

It is necessary to thin out the bushes so that the fruits do not become smaller. It is important to note that you need to trim the bushes after you tie them to the trellis.So, firstly, it will be more convenient for you to inspect the upper branches, and secondly, the buds are better visible this way.

Remember that the height of the bushes is different for different varieties. After you have taken care of the top of the plants, you should treat the soil. The root system of raspberries is shallow, so in early spring it is better not to dig up the ground, but only to mulch.

To do this, you need to sprinkle some fine mulch on the beds, sprinkling the plants. Humus, straw, compost are used as this material. However, you still have to loosen the soil. You need to dig not with a shovel, but with a hoe, penetrating into the ground by no more than 10 cm.

After that, it is best to water the raspberries generously. This will help the mulch retain moisture, as well as enrich the soil with nutrients and trace elements.

Raspberries are usually not fed in the spring. However, gardeners still recommend applying nitrogen liquid fertilizers, namely ammonium nitrate or urea. It is best to do this before watering, so the fertilizer will penetrate into the deeper layers of the earth.

After that, you need to mulch the soil. It is recommended to feed the main fertilizers no more than once a year. Moreover, this applies only to young bush.

Raspberries are fed only for the first three years, and then adult bushes develop independently. Only occasionally do gardeners feed the plants with complex fertilizers. For raspberries, it is best to use ammonium nitrate, superphosphate, and potassium salt.

From organic matter, gardeners prefer manure, various ready-made mixtures purchased in specialized agricultural stores. In the spring, you will also need to think about preventive measures.

The fact is that raspberries are susceptible to the influence of various diseases and pests. Therefore, you need to pay close attention to this. Raspberry beetles, ticks, aphids, strawberries and other pests often settle on raspberries.

If we talk about diseases, then raspberries are susceptible to infections with mosaics, rust, bacterial cancer and some other diseases. In order to get rid of insects, raspberries are often sprayed with Bordeaux liquid.

It is important to note that it is safe, so you can safely buy it in the store. It is often prepared independently by mixing lime and copper sulfate. You need to use the solution on the day you prepared it.

Raspberries are sprayed with this mixture more than once per season. This is usually done in the spring, before bud break. Then in the summer, before the plant blooms and after that, and also in the fall before wintering.

In order for raspberries to be more stable, they must be protected from damage, fertilize the soil in time. And also remove the affected parts of the plant.

It is believed that raspberries can live on one site for no more than seven years, in the future they will need to be replanted, since the land will already be depleted, and also due to crowding, various diseases will develop more often.

Raspberries: care and cultivation - summer and autumn works

In summer, caring for raspberries is as follows: the beds are often watered, weeded, and also loosened the soil. The bushes are regularly examined for pests and signs of the development of any diseases. In the summer, you will need to remove dried and yellowed leaves from the plants.

Watering raspberries is recommended during flowering and fruit ovary, but only in dry summer conditions. Also, gardeners recommend watering raspberries in the fall before wintering. This is necessary in order for the raspberry to gain strength and safely survive the hibernation period.

It is also important to say that it is in the fall that growth buds are formed, therefore, how you water this plant before winter depends on how it will develop next summer.

In autumn, they usually spray raspberries, water them abundantly, cut off the bushes, feed and prepare the plants for wintering.

It is important to feed it in the fall, since raspberries often spend all their strength during the growing season.This means that in the fall, raspberries are the most weakened and they really need nutrients and useful trace elements.

In autumn, both organic and mineral fertilizers are applied. Often gardeners like to feed raspberries with manure, but this should be done no more than once every few years. Spring mulch will need to be removed or dug up.

In the fall, raspberries are also cut and the fruiting shoots are removed. It is undesirable to tie all the shoots in a bunch in a standing position before wintering. Because of this, flower buds can overwinter.

Therefore, remember that raspberry bushes need to be bent to the ground as much as possible and tied to some kind of support so that they do not unbend. If yellowed leaves remain on the raspberries, they must be removed.

Make sure that the raspberries are completely covered with snow during the winter. If there are severe frosts in winter, and there is little snow, then the branches may freeze. In order to avoid this, you will need to add snow in time.

But do not allow the appearance of a snow crust over the plant, as in winter raspberries need to breathe, and crust prevents this process.

If you follow all of our recommendations, then your raspberries will have a great winter. And in the spring it will again delight you with green leaves and beautiful flowers.

Raspberry care must be correct, remember that this must be done in spring, summer, autumn, and, partially, in winter.