How to grow raspberries

Home-grown raspberries are the most popular crops. They are not demanding at all and produce a very rich harvest. If you are thinking about planting raspberries in your garden, you should know several important things before you do so. The following lines shall explain the issues directly related to the raspberry growing process.

Cultivated variety and requirements on soil

First and foremost. Try choosing a specific cultivated variety. Raspberries may be divided into the following two basic groups.

• perennial raspberries,
• annual raspberries.

Blackberries are further divided into upright cultivars and prostrate or climbing varieties. As for the habitat, you should choose a patch of land protected from harsh wind but with enough sunlight. In order to provide high-quality fruits the shrub must reach fully ripened state. Raspberries are often found living under trees and bushes. Try to avoid these spots as different plants compete with each other for habitat. Choose a place next to a fence or a completely separate location. In terms of soil selection, make sure you provide enough humus and water – especially during the ripening stage.

Raspberries: Photo Pixabay

Planting raspberries

Raspberries should be planted around the month of October. Make sure the land is meticulously prepared before planting. Plough the soil deep and fertilize it well. When planting, use a spade to dig a hole big enough for the roots to spread out. The whole dimensions should be around 30 x 30 x 30 cm. Plant raspberries approximately 4 centimetres lower than in the original pots you brought from the store. Be careful not to damage elongated buds. Use suitable fertilizer such as NPK. It is also advisable to use high-quality compost each fourth year to fertilize the soil properly.

Pests and diseases

The most common pest you need to avoid is the raspberry beetle (Lasioptera rubi also known as raspberry gall midge), which damages shrubs from May to September. These bugs create visible corridors in the tissue of shoots and they then dry out and you may forget about raspberry cakes or hot raspberries. Luckily, you can kill larvae of this bug by spraying it with suitable sprays available on the market. But if your raspberry is attacked by the raspberry mosaic virus and yellow dots appear on the leaves, you must dig it out completely. This virus is literally devastating. Plants, including the roots, must be burned.

Raspberry: Photo Pixabay