November News Letter
Our first frost of the autumn brings to an end of all the tender summer crops. My beans and squashes were still slowly producing crops. So I am pleased that they carried on till November.
Winter is a time for planning preparation and renewal in the hope that the hard work will bring rewards next year. I have been undertaking some of these tasks clearing beds, adding manure and compost, some tasks will be deferred until I have spare ground as I have winter crops and green manure growing, also emerging pea and bean seedlings for an early crop next year.
I have been planning to renew my raspberry bed as the plants are not very productive. To do this involves some preparation on my part. I have new plants on order, some early, midseason and late varieties. I will be planting them in a bed free of bindweed and couch grass and hope that this will reward me with better crops in the future.
I will also be collecting leaves to make leafmould to make some seed compost and improve my soil in one to two years time. As stated this time of year many things are about planning, preparation, renewal and hope for the future. Find the tasks on your plot with this in mind at this time of year and come up trumps in the future.
This months newsletter is about growing raspberries.
Raspberries are either summer fruiting or autumn fruiting. Summer fruiting raspberries fruit on last year’s wood and are sometimes referred to as floricanes. Autumn fruiting raspberries fruit on the current season’s growth and are sometimes referred to as primocanes. This means that their care and pruning is different. There are varieties that fruit early season, mid-season and late-season, so you can be eating them for a long time in the summer to the autumn.
Planting:
You can grow raspberries in pots or in the ground. This article is about growing in the ground.
Raspberries can be propagated from suckers and if not managed will spread, beware!
You can buy plants in pots which you can plant outside the normal planting season of November to March. Nurseries often sale them bare rooted. When you get the bare rooted plants they will be thirsty so place the roots in some water for half an hour. If you cannot plant them straight away then you can heel the plants into the ground as a temporary measure. Just get a spade and open a slit in the ground. Place the roots into the ground and use your heel to push the soil around the roots. There is no need to separate the plants if you do this.
Raspberries are not so happy on shallow sandy soil. They like a slightly acidic soil pH 6.5 to 6.7 is optimal. (pH 7 is neutral and less than 7 is acidic. pH 6 is 10 times as acidic as pH 7 and pH 5 is 100 times as acidic as pH 7, it a logarithmic scale!).
They like a fertile soil that is well drained and moisture retentive. So if you do not have a soggy patch of ground, then its lots of organic matter to develop these conditions. You want to plant in a soil free of perennial weeds, and like most plants you want the ground weed free or you will regret it later as it can be awkward to weed between the plants. You can help keep it weed free by weeding and adding a thick mulch each spring.
They like to be in a sunny spot and not too windy, but will produce a smaller crop in light shade if that is the only spot that you have to grow them.
Plant your rows in a North South orientation
Prepare the ground with a generous amount of compost or rotted manure plus a general fertilizer.
Space the plants 45–60cm (18in–2ft) apart, and space the rows 1.8m (6ft) apart. Do not plant the plants too deeply (use the soil mark on the stems as a guide i.e. about 5 cm (2 inches) deep. For each row dig out a trench about 9 inches wide and 3 inches deep. You can the spreas the roots out before covering with soil. Then add an additional thick mulch of organic material like compost etc.
Summer fruiting Raspberries can grow quite tall and need to be tied into some form of frame or using string to tie the plants in between stout wooden posts (five and a half feet above the ground and two and a half feet below the ground) which have wire strung tightly between them at two foot (60cm) intervals. There are other similar arrangements available, basically they need support. Tie the canes to the wire with string.
Autumn fruiting raspberries need support as well but they tend to be shorter plants. There are several methods of doing this. A method suitable for summer and autumn fruiting varieties is to have tall posts with a piece of wood nailed at right angles to the post (like a cross); then string wire or string between the cross arms. The plants grow between the string and are held loosely in place in their cage. Repeat the crossbar at different levels and wire these up as well
Cut the stems down to 25 cm (10 inches), unless it is 1 year old summer fruiting varieties as they will fruit on this wood next year. If you want the summer fruiting variety to concentrate on vegetative growth in its first year you can cut these down as well, and forgo the first years fruit.
Growing:
During dry spells water the plants at their base to avoid fungal diseases. As with any plant in flower e.g. runner beans a dry spell can lead to flowers not setting. I early spring you want to promote flower bud formation, so apply a potash based feed, just like with strawberries in January. If your plants are not growing well give them a general fertilizer to promote growth, or a high nitrogen feed in March. Then mulch the plants well to enrich the soil and suppress weed growth. You can use well-rotted manure, compost, or leafmould. My beds have had at least a foot (30 cm) or well-rotted manure over the last three years, so if I cannot get enough this year, then I may use woodchips to suppress the weeds as the ground is rich in organic matter that will last several years, by that time the woodchips will be well rotted.
Pruning:
Summer fruiting:
After the plant has fruited you will find new canes growing. These canes will fruit the following year. The canes that fruited this year are of no more use and need to be cut to ground level and removed. The current year’s canes left are then thinned out to leave about 6 to eight canes that have the strongest growth. These canes are then tied onto the wire spread out about 3 to four inches apart. To stop the plants getting into a tangled mess any suckers coming from the pants are removed, unless you wish to raise a few new plants (see propagation).
Autumn fruiting Varieties
These fruit on the current year’s growth, which means that as they have fruited in the autumn all the growth must be removed by cutting down to ground level after fruiting. This is carried out around February. Treat suckers in the same way as summer fruiting varieties. Thin the canes so that they are about 3 to 4 inches apart.
Propagation
These are propagated from the suckers, just lift the suckers and replant them in November. Note that raspberries do get virus diseases and loose vigor over time. The suckers will carry the virus. If this happens you need to start afresh with new virus free stock.
Pests and Diseases:
Birds love to eat your raspberries. If your raspberries keep looking like they are nearly ready, but never get there then it’s probably because the birds are having a nice breakfast instead of you. You need to net your raspberries.
Raspberry Spur blight:
A fungal disease usually caused by overcrowding. You get purple patches on the canes. Cut out and destroy affected canes and avoid overcrowding your canes in future. The disease causes reduced yields.
Raspberry beetle
little white maggots are found in the fruit. The fruits stalk end tends to become dry and brittle pick off affected fruits.
Autumn fruiting varieties largely avoid the beetle. There are some organic sprays containing pyrethrum, however personally I do not like to spray even with organic sprays.
Raspberry cane blight
The plants leaves wither in the summer and the base of the cane will turn dark brown and the bark may split. Cut out the affected cane below ground level and burn it, then disinfect your equipment you used to cut the cane out. This is a serious fungal disease. Plants stressed by drying out and overcrowding are more prone to getting this infection.
Other common pests include aphids, leaf hoppers. You may also get chlorosis i.e yellowing of the leaves between the leaf veins. This happens when the soil is too alkaline and the plant cannot take up nutrients e.g. Iron. Do not lime your raspberries. You could try to use a chelating agent to help the plant.
November.
You can sow:
Broad Beans. Sow a winter hardy variety e.g. Aquadulce Claudia
You can plant:
Fruit trees and bushes Garlic Rhubarb Other Jobs
Dig and manure your plot before the ground is unworkable due to the weather.
Lime ground if it’s too acidic.
Do not lime freshly manured ground
Remove bean poles and store in a dry place
Prune apples, pears, vines, currents and gooseberries .
Take hardwood cuttings of Vines, currents and gooseberries
Figs: Remove fruit that is bigger than a cherry, leave embryo fruit alone, these are next years figs
Collect leaves to make leaf mould
Net Brassicas against pigeons
Our first frost of the autumn brings to an end of all the tender summer crops. My beans and squashes were still slowly producing crops. So I am pleased that they carried on till November.
Winter is a time for planning preparation and renewal in the hope that the hard work will bring rewards next year. I have been undertaking some of these tasks clearing beds, adding manure and compost, some tasks will be deferred until I have spare ground as I have winter crops and green manure growing, also emerging pea and bean seedlings for an early crop next year.
I have been planning to renew my raspberry bed as the plants are not very productive. To do this involves some preparation on my part. I have new plants on order, some early, midseason and late varieties. I will be planting them in a bed free of bindweed and couch grass and hope that this will reward me with better crops in the future.
I will also be collecting leaves to make leafmould to make some seed compost and improve my soil in one to two years time. As stated this time of year many things are about planning, preparation, renewal and hope for the future. Find the tasks on your plot with this in mind at this time of year and come up trumps in the future.
This months newsletter is about growing raspberries.
Raspberries are either summer fruiting or autumn fruiting. Summer fruiting raspberries fruit on last year’s wood and are sometimes referred to as floricanes. Autumn fruiting raspberries fruit on the current season’s growth and are sometimes referred to as primocanes. This means that their care and pruning is different. There are varieties that fruit early season, mid-season and late-season, so you can be eating them for a long time in the summer to the autumn.
Planting:
You can grow raspberries in pots or in the ground. This article is about growing in the ground.
Raspberries can be propagated from suckers and if not managed will spread, beware!
You can buy plants in pots which you can plant outside the normal planting season of November to March. Nurseries often sale them bare rooted. When you get the bare rooted plants they will be thirsty so place the roots in some water for half an hour. If you cannot plant them straight away then you can heel the plants into the ground as a temporary measure. Just get a spade and open a slit in the ground. Place the roots into the ground and use your heel to push the soil around the roots. There is no need to separate the plants if you do this.
Raspberries are not so happy on shallow sandy soil. They like a slightly acidic soil pH 6.5 to 6.7 is optimal. (pH 7 is neutral and less than 7 is acidic. pH 6 is 10 times as acidic as pH 7 and pH 5 is 100 times as acidic as pH 7, it a logarithmic scale!).
They like a fertile soil that is well drained and moisture retentive. So if you do not have a soggy patch of ground, then its lots of organic matter to develop these conditions. You want to plant in a soil free of perennial weeds, and like most plants you want the ground weed free or you will regret it later as it can be awkward to weed between the plants. You can help keep it weed free by weeding and adding a thick mulch each spring.
They like to be in a sunny spot and not too windy, but will produce a smaller crop in light shade if that is the only spot that you have to grow them.
Plant your rows in a North South orientation
Prepare the ground with a generous amount of compost or rotted manure plus a general fertilizer.
Space the plants 45–60cm (18in–2ft) apart, and space the rows 1.8m (6ft) apart. Do not plant the plants too deeply (use the soil mark on the stems as a guide i.e. about 5 cm (2 inches) deep. For each row dig out a trench about 9 inches wide and 3 inches deep. You can the spreas the roots out before covering with soil. Then add an additional thick mulch of organic material like compost etc.
Summer fruiting Raspberries can grow quite tall and need to be tied into some form of frame or using string to tie the plants in between stout wooden posts (five and a half feet above the ground and two and a half feet below the ground) which have wire strung tightly between them at two foot (60cm) intervals. There are other similar arrangements available, basically they need support. Tie the canes to the wire with string.
Autumn fruiting raspberries need support as well but they tend to be shorter plants. There are several methods of doing this. A method suitable for summer and autumn fruiting varieties is to have tall posts with a piece of wood nailed at right angles to the post (like a cross); then string wire or string between the cross arms. The plants grow between the string and are held loosely in place in their cage. Repeat the crossbar at different levels and wire these up as well
Cut the stems down to 25 cm (10 inches), unless it is 1 year old summer fruiting varieties as they will fruit on this wood next year. If you want the summer fruiting variety to concentrate on vegetative growth in its first year you can cut these down as well, and forgo the first years fruit.
Growing:
During dry spells water the plants at their base to avoid fungal diseases. As with any plant in flower e.g. runner beans a dry spell can lead to flowers not setting. I early spring you want to promote flower bud formation, so apply a potash based feed, just like with strawberries in January. If your plants are not growing well give them a general fertilizer to promote growth, or a high nitrogen feed in March. Then mulch the plants well to enrich the soil and suppress weed growth. You can use well-rotted manure, compost, or leafmould. My beds have had at least a foot (30 cm) or well-rotted manure over the last three years, so if I cannot get enough this year, then I may use woodchips to suppress the weeds as the ground is rich in organic matter that will last several years, by that time the woodchips will be well rotted.
Pruning:
Summer fruiting:
After the plant has fruited you will find new canes growing. These canes will fruit the following year. The canes that fruited this year are of no more use and need to be cut to ground level and removed. The current year’s canes left are then thinned out to leave about 6 to eight canes that have the strongest growth. These canes are then tied onto the wire spread out about 3 to four inches apart. To stop the plants getting into a tangled mess any suckers coming from the pants are removed, unless you wish to raise a few new plants (see propagation).
Autumn fruiting Varieties
These fruit on the current year’s growth, which means that as they have fruited in the autumn all the growth must be removed by cutting down to ground level after fruiting. This is carried out around February. Treat suckers in the same way as summer fruiting varieties. Thin the canes so that they are about 3 to 4 inches apart.
Propagation
These are propagated from the suckers, just lift the suckers and replant them in November. Note that raspberries do get virus diseases and loose vigor over time. The suckers will carry the virus. If this happens you need to start afresh with new virus free stock.
Pests and Diseases:
Birds love to eat your raspberries. If your raspberries keep looking like they are nearly ready, but never get there then it’s probably because the birds are having a nice breakfast instead of you. You need to net your raspberries.
Raspberry Spur blight:
A fungal disease usually caused by overcrowding. You get purple patches on the canes. Cut out and destroy affected canes and avoid overcrowding your canes in future. The disease causes reduced yields.
Raspberry beetle
little white maggots are found in the fruit. The fruits stalk end tends to become dry and brittle pick off affected fruits.
Autumn fruiting varieties largely avoid the beetle. There are some organic sprays containing pyrethrum, however personally I do not like to spray even with organic sprays.
Raspberry cane blight
The plants leaves wither in the summer and the base of the cane will turn dark brown and the bark may split. Cut out the affected cane below ground level and burn it, then disinfect your equipment you used to cut the cane out. This is a serious fungal disease. Plants stressed by drying out and overcrowding are more prone to getting this infection.
Other common pests include aphids, leaf hoppers. You may also get chlorosis i.e yellowing of the leaves between the leaf veins. This happens when the soil is too alkaline and the plant cannot take up nutrients e.g. Iron. Do not lime your raspberries. You could try to use a chelating agent to help the plant.
November.
You can sow:
Broad Beans. Sow a winter hardy variety e.g. Aquadulce Claudia
You can plant:
Fruit trees and bushes Garlic Rhubarb Other Jobs
Dig and manure your plot before the ground is unworkable due to the weather.
Lime ground if it’s too acidic.
Do not lime freshly manured ground
Remove bean poles and store in a dry place
Prune apples, pears, vines, currents and gooseberries .
Take hardwood cuttings of Vines, currents and gooseberries
Figs: Remove fruit that is bigger than a cherry, leave embryo fruit alone, these are next years figs
Collect leaves to make leaf mould
Net Brassicas against pigeons