Raspberry planting and care in the open field in the Leningrad region

Planting and caring for raspberries outdoors

When planting raspberries in the country, it is important to choose a good variety, choose the right place for planting and follow the rules for caring for the crop. Taking into account the characteristics of the plant and the factors necessary for good development, you can grow an excellent harvest.

Raspberry varieties and their differences

Every year, breeders develop new varieties that are more resistant to diseases, pests and weather conditions. They differ in terms of ripening, shape and color of berries, as well as their size.

Repaired raspberry variety Apricot

Raspberry varieties are divided into three categories according to their distinctive features:

• Traditional strains adapt and grow in almost any environment. They are not demanding on the soil, tolerate low temperatures, and quickly multiply by root shoots. The berries of these varieties are small, and the overall harvest is not rich. These include Meteor, Volnitsa, Kirzhach;
• Large-fruited - giving record yields from a bush of large (4-12 g, in some cases up to 20 g) berries. Taste qualities of berries of large-fruited varieties of raspberries are at their best. The shoots branch well, which increases the yield. The best large-fruited varieties: Ruby Giant, Izobilnaya, Patricia;
• Repaired - varieties that bear fruit before frost, giving two harvests per season. Remontant raspberries can bear fruit on one-year and two-year-old shoots, which makes it different from other species. Among the representatives of this species, one can distinguish the varieties Aprikosovaya, Atlant, Bryanskoe Divo.

Planting and caring for regular and remontant raspberries are similar. A feature of their cultivation is the way of pruning the bushes.

Site selection and soil preparation for raspberries

The site for planting raspberries should be well-lit and protected from the wind. The most successful planting of seedlings along the fence or wall of the house on the south side. In this case, the bushes will receive enough light in the summer, the fences will protect the bushes from the wind, and in the winter, trap the snow.

Choosing the perfect place to grow raspberries

If the site is located on a slope, it is worth taking the middle part of it under the raspberries, since in the lowland the bushes can freeze out in winter, or you will have to deal with waterlogging of the soil in spring, during melt water.

Crop rotation rules for raspberries

• Precursors such as tomatoes, potatoes, and strawberries are undesirable for raspberries. The proximity of these crops with raspberries is also best avoided.
• The root secretions of raspberries help protect apple trees and pears from a fungal disease - scab, and an apple tree can save raspberries - from gray rot.
• You can avoid the growth of raspberries by limiting the planting to sorrel. Two to three rows of casing along the contour will increase the acidity of the soil, and the roots will not grow in that direction.
• Berry bushes with proper soil preparation can grow for 10-15 years in one place.

Soil preparation

Raspberries love fertile, light and well-drained soils.To grow it on sandy and peaty soils, it is necessary to annually apply humus and compost to stimulate the activity of microorganisms.

Heavy clay soils are not suitable for growing raspberries as the roots will rot. The acidity of the soil under the raspberry tree should be neutral or slightly acidic.

Soil preparation for the raspberry tree

The soil for the raspberry tree is prepared in advance, digging deeply and applying organic and mineral fertilizers. With an autumn planting - not less than a month, with a spring planting - from autumn. From fertilizers, manure or humus is introduced, urea or ammonium nitrate, superphosphate and potassium salt are added.

Planting raspberries in open ground

Possible spring planting in late March - early April for the Moscow region. It is carried out as early as possible, before the start of sap flow.

Advice

The best time to plant a raspberry tree in central Russia is autumn (late September - mid-October). Raspberries planted during this period will have time to take root by frost, which will help it to winter well in the future.

If it was possible to acquire the desired raspberry seedlings only in late autumn, they are buried in a temporary trench, and transplanted to a permanent place in early spring.

Planting raspberry seedlings in spring

Annual, well-ripened shoots are used as planting material. Reproduction is also possible by root layers, which are laid out in parts in trenches or holes.

Ways to book a raspberry tree

There are several ways to book a raspberry tree:

• Belt - planting of seedlings is carried out in trenches, observing the distance between the rows of 1.5-2 m, the distance in a row is 30-50 cm. A two-line planting in trenches with a distance between the lines of 30 cm is possible. Wire or twine is pulled along the entire length of the row, to with which future bushes will be tied. This method is considered more successful for planting.
• Shrub - when seedlings are planted in separate holes, 40x50x50 cm in size.

Bush method of growing raspberries

• Stamp - you can read about this method in our other article.

Raspberry planting technology

When planting raspberries, it is worth following some rules so that the seedlings begin to bear fruit as early as possible:

• If fertilizers were not applied during the digging of the site, they are applied directly into the trenches or holes, mixing with the ground in order to exclude direct contact of the roots with them.
• Trenches and holes are plentifully spilled before planting with water, at least 2.5 liters each.
• Before planting, the roots of seedlings are dipped in a clay mash.
• Deepen the seedlings 2-3 cm below the root collar. After complete post-planting shrinkage of the earth, the neck will come out, and the bush will develop normally.
• The planted seedlings are covered with loose soil, which is lightly tamped, after which the seedlings are watered again.
• The planted raspberry tree is mulched with peat or humus. With the arrival of spring, mulch is embedded in the ground.

Growing and caring for a raspberry tree in the garden

Raspberry care consists in timely watering, weeding, feeding and pruning of bushes.

Watering and feeding raspberries in the open field

The greatest need for watering raspberries is in the spring at the beginning of the growing season, and in the summer - during the development and ripening of fruits. They are carried out 2 times a month abundantly (20-30 l / m²). Frequent, but meager watering will not be beneficial, since the main part of raspberry roots lies at a depth of 40-50 cm.The last watering is carried out in October - trenches or holes are poured for pre-winter moisture charging of the bushes.

After each watering, the soil in the raspberry bush is loosened to provide air access to the roots, and weeds are removed as necessary. Mulch made from straw, peat or humus can help reduce the frequency of weeding and save raspberries from unexpected drought.

Raspberries respond well to fertilization, especially in the first year of planting. It is better to use organic matter - solutions of mullein or bird droppings.

Fertilizer from mullein for raspberries

Planting is fed 2-3 times a season.In the future, summer dressing can be completely replaced by generous autumn "dressing" of the soil with minerals and organic fertilizers

Raspberry garter

In order for garden raspberries to grow and develop well, planting and care in the open field must include a garter to the supports. Its bushes are quite high and powerful, therefore, the support must be reliable. When bush planting, the fan method of garter is often used, when stakes are driven in between the bushes. Shoots from different bushes, from low to high, are tied to the stakes.

Garter raspberry to trellis

A raspberry tree planted in trenches requires a trellis garter. The trellis is pulled over the pillars installed along the edges of the row on both sides of the bushes. As the seedlings grow, the rows of trellis are gradually added.

Protection of raspberries from diseases and pests

Whatever variety your raspberries grow, planting care necessarily includes measures to combat diseases and pests.

The main parasites of raspberries:

• raspberry beetle;
• stem fly;
• spider mite.

Advice

As a prophylaxis against pests of raspberries, they use deep digging of the soil in the fall, destruction of plant residues, and covering the bushes in spring with agrofibre.

Processing raspberry ovaries from a raspberry beetle

Fungal diseases of raspberry:

• purple or brown spotting;
• brown trunk ulcers - anthracnose;
• white spot.

Against fungal diseases, prophylactic spraying of bushes in the spring with solutions of nitrophene and Bordeaux liquid is used.

• In case of viral diseases (root cancer, mosaic, curl), the affected bushes will have to be uprooted and burned.

Seasonal outdoor pruning of raspberries

A good raspberry harvest cannot be achieved without regular and correct pruning of the bushes. This is due to the life cycle of the shoots. It takes two years, after which the shoots die off, interfere with young branches, become carriers of diseases and pests.

Pruning raspberries in spring

Spring pruning is needed to normalize shoots and stimulate their growth. They spend it as early as possible, when the snow melts. Frozen, broken and weak shoots are cut as close to the ground as possible, trying not to leave stumps. 12-16 strong shoots are left per running meter of raspberry, the tops of which are also shortened to the first strong bud.

Important!

All plant waste after pruning must be removed from the site and destroyed.

The next pruning is carried out in the summer, removing all fertile branches to the base. It is not worth delaying with this procedure, since the fruit branches of this year have already completed their life cycle and only inhibit the growth of new shoots.

Pruning raspberries in summer to the ground

In autumn, shoots with signs of disease, broken by the wind or technology, are removed in the raspberry tree. You also need to cut out young shoots that did not have time to gain strength over the summer (stem diameter up to 10 mm). You cannot leave the leaves on the branches, they must be removed. When the raspberry is removed, the shoots are tied and bent to the ground. This will help them survive the winter without loss.

Bending raspberries to the ground for the winter

Advice

With autumn pruning, 30-35 shoots are left in the raspberry plant per running meter. This amount allows you to make a stock that will replenish frozen and broken shoots in the spring.

Raspberry overgrowth problem

The growth pattern of raspberries is aggressive. Growing up, it can occupy large areas, forming a distant growth. You need to get rid of it as quickly as possible for several reasons:

• Distant seedlings take a lot of strength and energy from the mother bush;
• Shoots of root suckers are able to clog a large area of ​​nearby areas in a short time.

Support fence to limit the growth of raspberries

Unplanned raspberry growth can be avoided by using underground barriers at the raspberry border. To do this, pieces of slate or boards are driven into the ground to a depth of 40-50 cm. They should rise 10-15 cm above the soil surface.If the overgrowth nevertheless makes its way through the barrier, it is cut out at the root immediately.

Advice

All shoots that are more than 20 cm away from the mother bush must be cut out. You cannot pull the roots out of the ground, you can injure neighboring bushes.

Pruning remontant raspberries

Particular attention should be paid to pruning remontant raspberries. When growing it for one harvest, in the fall all shoots are cut out, while the hemp does not need to be left. In the spring, young shoots will grow, which will yield a harvest at the end of the season.

For two harvests - pruning remontant is carried out in the same way as for regular raspberries. In this case, biennial shoots will give a summer harvest, and annual ones - in the fall.

Outcome

With the right approach to care, growing raspberries in the country does not cause any particular problems. Compliance with the timing of planting and pruning, fertilizing and ensuring timely watering is the key to a good harvest of large and sweet berries.

So you want to taste the fragrant and sweet raspberries as soon as possible in the summer. And to make a reserve for the winter - this berry is an excellent remedy for angina and flu. As soon as the first signs of the disease appear, you will fill in freshly frozen raspberries, pour boiling water over it, make a sandwich with butter, rub it with garlic - you will not need antigrippin.

In Babino, there is an opinion that raspberries do not grow well on our soils. Therefore, it is rare for anyone to find thickets of raspberries on the site. Although there are a lot of forest raspberry bushes along the sides of the clearing, along which the power line goes. It seems that there is not enough light there because of the willow bushes and no one specially prepared the soil for it, but you push the bushes apart and here it is - forest raspberries.

So why don't we grow raspberries? Let's try to figure it out.

Growing conditions and soil

Raspberry grows well when it is planted on the south side of buildings - a house, a barn or a bathhouse. It is even better if the landing site is illuminated by the sun all day. This is the ideal case, as the experts recommend. But, if there is no way to plant raspberries in a sunny place, then you can do with partial shade. I have raspberries growing along the southern border of the site, illuminated by diffused sunlight - on the north side there is a neighbor's greenhouse and a house.

If the soil on the site is swampy, then it is better to plant raspberries in the beds. This is done on the site of our neighbors - the bed is flat, excess water flows into the drainage ditch, the raspberry itself is a feast for the eyes. Raspberries also do not like too dry places, therefore, when there is no rain for a long time, it must be watered.

Special conversation about soil. The soil should be loose, manured, neutral, that is, not acidic. Therefore, we pay special attention to soil preparation. Dig a ridge 1.2 m wide to clay. In the middle of the ridge, along its entire width, we dig a groove in the clay “for the bayonet of the shovel”. We fill this groove with semi-rotten roots and sprinkle with dolomite flour. Along this groove, in a rainy summer, excess water will be discharged from the garden.

For each meter of the ridge, we add two buckets of rotted manure, one bucket of river sand, two buckets of peat, pour everything with dolomite flour and add ash.

It is good to loosen the soil with sawdust, but they must be rotted. For 2-3 years we have them in heaps and only after this period we bring them into the beds. It is advisable to pick all the weeds. Left in the soil, a small root of dream, an ubiquitous weed, will grow back into a lush plant. Choosing it from the plantings of raspberries after planting is a difficult task.

We plant raspberries in two rows in spring or autumn, the distance between the rows is 0.7 m, between the bushes - 0.5 m. In autumn, the best planting dates are late September - early October. For the third year now, autumn has been warm, with an even temperature, without frost. In October, the seedling manages to take root and grows quickly in the spring. When planting, we leave 3-4 buds. Buds at the roots, basal buds, should be in the ground.

Usually, seedlings are bought at exhibitions.If the raspberry is remontant, then the seedlings are sold even with berries. You can immediately, when buying, cut the seedlings five buds from the root, and when planting, four more. Then you don't have to carry heavy one and a half meter bushes.

If you failed to plant raspberries in the fall, dig in the bush until spring. I usually, if I do not have enough time to plant, plant the seedling immediately in a five liter plastic container. For the winter, I dip in the balloon obliquely and close it with spruce branches, and in the spring, until the buds have blossomed, I dig it out and put it in a sunny place - let it grow before planting. And I land when I have free time. The good thing about container plantings is that they can be planted at any time - in spring, summer or autumn. But raspberry seedlings with an open root system should be planted in early spring, until the buds have blossomed. After planting, the bushes are watered abundantly with water and mulched with peat, humus or rotted sawdust.

Top dressing

I feed raspberries 3-4 times a season, and only organic. In the spring, in April, I spill mullein infusion. I fill the bucket half with a mullein, let it brew for two weeks, then I dilute 1 liter of this infusion in 10 liters of water. Approximate consumption: one watering can per 1 square meter of garden. After that, the soil is mulched with rotted sawdust. I do this in April, until the raspberry sprouts new shoots.

After three weeks, I feed it with either green fertilizer or an infusion of chicken manure. Chicken droppings, like mullein, I insist for two weeks, I dilute 0.5 liters of infusion in 10 liters of water.

Green fertilizer can be harvested from mid-spring. I fill a two-hundred-liter barrel by one third with mullein or humus, supplement it to the top with weeded weeds, fill it with water, close the lid and insist for two weeks. The green fertilizer is ready for the whole summer. We dilute 1 liter of infusion in 10 liters of water.

In the second half of summer, the bushes can be fed with ash infusion, but I, for lack of time, just spray the ash. And in the fall, I once again mulch the plantings with humus or rotted sawdust.

It is also important to remove the growth on time. On last year's bushes, 5 or 6 shoots should be left for fruiting. In the spring, shoots begin to grow, which will bear fruit next year. They also need to be left 5 or 6. The rest must be broken out when they are still very small.

It is even easier with remontant varieties. We leave 5 or 6 shoots in each bush. We break out the rest.

Pest control

It is important to carry out disease prevention and to resist pests on time. If you see that the tops of young shoots have wilted, know that these are the tricks of a raspberry stem fly. She lays eggs in the axils of the upper leaves. Therefore, as soon as young shoots appear, I pre-treat raspberries with Iskra. Then, during the summer, you can spray the bushes with infusions of garlic, onions, tomato tops.

And be sure to attract birds to your garden. One starling family living in your garden can be invaluable. Watch the starlings when they have hatched offspring. The wide-open beaks of eternally hungry chicks peep out of the birdhouse, and tireless parents endlessly drag them food - the very pests of the garden that destroy our plants, flowers and fruits.

About varieties

Let's start with the varieties that can be planted in our plots. We have planted summer raspberry varieties, several remontant raspberry bushes (fruiting in autumn) and several modern large-fruited varieties. It is not possible to write about all of them in the article, but I will still tell you about some of them.

Kuzmin's news

I cannot fail to mention this raspberry variety, bred by N.V. Kuzmin in the city of Vetluga, Kostroma region, almost a hundred years ago. This variety has been growing on our site almost from the very foundation of horticulture.The plant is vigorous, the berries are large, up to 4 g, up to 2 cm long, self-fertility is high, which means that another pollinator variety is not required to obtain a crop. A variety of high winter hardiness, I never bent it down for the winter, and sometimes frosts in our country, in Babino, are up to 42 ° C. Kuzmin's news refers to varieties of early ripening, for the Leningrad region this is the second half of July. But, I want to remind you that the ripening time of raspberries can vary depending on the weather: early spring, warm summer - and early harvest, late spring and cold summer - the fruits can ripen a month later than the due date for them. But in general, the yield of the variety is good, with sufficient care and watering, up to 2.5 kg of berries can be removed from the bush.

Yellow giant

This variety, bred by the breeder V.V. Kichina, my son and I acquired in Moscow, almost first-hand. The variety lives up to its name, the berries are large, yellow, tender, sweet. Anyone who sees the berries is always surprised at their size, but you need to know that the berries are tender, not easily transportable and you cannot skip the time of their removal from the bush. The bushes themselves are tall, with good care they can grow up to 2.5 m. It gives a lot of growth, it is not difficult to breed it. Winter hardiness is high, the bushes do not need to be bent down for the winter.

Tenderness

The variety was bred at the Leningrad fruit and vegetable experimental station, where our famous breeder GD Aleksandrova works. About 5-6 years ago we managed to acquire this variety from reliable sources and we are quite happy with it.

The variety is of medium ripening, the berries ripen in the first half of August. The bushes are medium-sized, there are few thorns. Berries are blunt-conical, large, red, very tasty. The variety is resistant to disease.

Cumberland

If you want to get not only taste, but also aesthetic pleasure, then plant Cumberland raspberries. In your thickets of raspberries, raspberry bushes with red, yellow and black berries will ripen almost simultaneously. For now, this raspberry is being replaced by the black blackberry Agave. The same tall bushes up to 2.5 m, the same black sweet berries, reminiscent of the taste of mulberry. But the difference is that in raspberries the stalk is detached, but in blackberries it is not; raspberries Cumberland do not give root suckers, and blackberries to Agaves give shoots. Both raspberries and blackberries have much higher yields than other varieties of raspberries. Winter hardiness of this blackberry variety is high - I have tested it for many years. And raspberries, according to experts, are quite winter-hardy.

Repaired varieties

It is tempting to have remontant varieties on the site. It is very easy in late autumn to cut off the stems that have grown and already bear fruit during the season at the root. In addition, at this time there is no most terrible pest - the raspberry beetle, he has already gone to winter. You take off the berries clean, without worms.

I have three remontant varieties, one of them is Indian Summer. This is a variety of early ripening, berries ripen in the Moscow region at the beginning of August, but in our country it is ten days later. The berries are large, up to 3.3 g, rounded-conical, bright red, sweet with a slight sourness. The crop was not weighed, in the literature it is mentioned that with high agricultural technology, you can get up to 2 kg per bush. You can also try another variety of remontant raspberries - Indian Summer-2, it belongs to the early and winter-hardy varieties.

And remember that we are in the North-West - in the zone of risky farming, therefore, it is necessary to purchase remontant raspberries only of early varieties; to allocate sunny areas under it, which are not blown by our, at times, icy, northern winds. And the summer should be not cold.

It is a pity when part of the crop does not ripen and you have to cut out bushes with unripe berries. But almost until frost, this berry can be eaten directly from the bush. And twigs, even with unripe berries, I recommend cutting, drying and brewing in case of flu or sore throat.

Elena Litvyakova

"Garden affairs" No. 4 (29), April 2009

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 Repairing raspberries - this is a category of plants in which berries are formed on the shoots of the current year. The remontant plants include such plants of raspberries, strawberries, roses, citrus fruits, which bear fruit on the shoots of the current year and often several times a year. Non-remontant varieties do not have a harvest on the shoots of the current year.

Have remontant varieties in the spring of each year, new shoots grow from the underground part of the bush, on which a harvest of berries is formed. By winter, the upper part of the fruiting shoot dries up. On the rest of the shoot in the second year, fruit branches with berries are formed, as is usually the case with non-refurbished varieties. Of course, a remontant variety can be harvested on both two-year-old and one-year-old shoots, but in this case, good berries are not obtained either there or there. There are still many gardeners who support fruiting simultaneously on both annual and biennial shoots, but at the same time, in terms of quantity and quality, the crop from a bush is worse in comparison with raspberry plants, where the crop is obtained only on annual shoots.

Biological remontant grade advantage - its ability to give abundant fruiting on annual shoots. This advantage is manifested as much as possible if the entire force of the bush is directed only to the harvest on the shoots of the current year. This is why it is generally accepted by remontant varietiesto receive only one harvest and only on the shoots of the current year. If the shoots of the entire raspberry bush are annually cut to ground level before the onset of frost, then the next year the entire bush will work only for the harvest on annual shoots.

In the conditions of the North-West, the early high-yielding remontant varieties Kalashnik and Nedoshayaemaya showed themselves well.

KALASHNIK

remontant variety of raspberry, which is used exclusively for obtaining the autumn harvest.

Berries are medium in size (2-3 g), round and blunt-conical, dark red, shiny, well removed from the fruit.

The taste of berries is sweet with a weak "raspberry" aroma, juicy pulp and few seeds, transportable.

Productivity is high - about 10 t / ha or 2-3 kg per bush, and with good care the yield more than doubles. Ripens on August 5-10 and after 4-5 main harvests, fruiting ends by September 20. I usually allow 5-6 days between harvests, since the berries do not deteriorate for a long time on the bushes.

Plants Kalashnik varieties up to 2.0 m high, spreading, powerfully developed, remontant, form 10-12 replacement shoots and 5-10 root suckers, very quickly spread over the site. Annual shoots are thick and medium, strong and elastic, internodes are shortened, shoots are escaping with a fruiting upper part, covered with a wax coating, thorns are evenly distributed along the entire length of the shoot, during dormancy the shoots are colored brown.

The fruiting upper part of the shoot is up to 1m, has 2-4 orders of branching and forms 20-80 berries each. Fruit formations are clustered together. The leaves are large, dark green, flat, the edges of the leaves are crenate.

In the Leningrad region, it does not freeze under the snow at -40 ° C. Resistance to all major diseases and pests at the level of the best standard varieties and in the presence of diseases on the shoots, the variety does not reduce its high yields.

UNAUTHORIZED

a remontant variety of raspberries, in which in the Leningrad Region the entire crop ripens before frost, until September 17.

Berries are medium - 2-4 g and up to 4.5-6.0 g, blunt-conical, dark red, shiny, drupes are small, homogeneous, tightly linked to each other, well removed from the fruit plant, berries of medium density.

The taste of berries is sweet with a weak "raspberry" aroma, juicy pulp and few seeds, transportable.

Productivity is high - about 10 t / ha or 2-3 kg per bush, and with good care the yield more than doubles. Ripens on August 5-7 and after 4-5 main harvests, fruiting ends by September 10. Between harvests, I usually allow 5-6 days or more, since the berries do not deteriorate for a long time on the bushes

Plants of the P34 variety are about 1.0-1.5 m high, spreading type, powerfully developed, remontant, form 6-8 replacement shoots and 5-10 root suckers, very quickly creep over the site. Annual shoots are thick and medium, strong and resilient, internodes are shortened, shoots are slightly runny with a fruiting upper part, almost without wax bloom, thorns are evenly distributed along the entire length of the shoot, during the dormant period the shoots are colored yellow-brown.

The fruiting top of the shoot is up to 1 m, has 2-4 orders of branching and forms 20-50 berries each. Fruit formations are clustered together. The leaves are large, light green, flat and curved downward, the edges of the leaves are bearded.

In the Leningrad region, it does not freeze under the snow at -40 ° C. Resistance to all major diseases and pests at the level of standard varieties.

Agrotechnics of remontant raspberries is in many ways similar to caring for regular raspberries. The fundamental differences are that in the fall we destroy the aerial part of the bush, there is no garter of two-year-old shoots, no spraying is carried out against the raspberry beetle, the raspberry gnat and, in general, from diseases. The basic “raspberry” costs of manual harvesting, tillage, fertilization and watering remain the same.

Repairing raspberries always planted in the form of a row and be sure to install pillars and wire. At the summer cottage, usually the pillars are installed every 4 meters, the wire is pulled at a height of 100 cm above the ground. The wire must be galvanized and is best suited with a thickness of 4-5 mm. Between the rows of raspberries should be 1.8m - 2.0m, and in the row between plants 70cm.

Planting remontant raspberries can be carried out in spring or autumn. They plant one seedling per hole under a shovel, but the harvest is obtained earlier and better if two seedlings are planted in each hole. When digging on seedlings, it is necessary to remove all the leaves and be sure to shorten them at a height of about 50 cm. Early dug seedlings do not take root well, many of them die in the first winter, many dry out by half.

Usually raspberries are planted for 10 years., but with good care, there are many examples of raspberries producing very high yields for over 20 years.

The biology of raspberries is such that a lot of growth always grows around the main plant. The shoots take up more than 50% of all nutrients extracted and produced by the entire raspberry plant.

In practice, the raspberry shoot is the enemy of the raspberry, which appears by itself throughout its life. You need to accustom yourself to the fact that there can be no normal harvest if the emerging root suckers (shoots) are not constantly destroyed on your raspberries. Destroy them with a sharp shovel, cutting at a depth of 5-8 cm in the ground.

If we regularly destroy all the shoots, then 8-10 replacement shoots grow from the central part of the bush every year. Each year, only 7 replacement shoots are left per bush. In the absence of overgrowth, the root system works for the enhanced development of bush replacement shoots and the berries are almost not shallow from the first to the last harvests.

Raspberries are very responsive to manure application and, when there is one, they give it at 0.5 tons per hundred square meters. The main raspberry roots are located in the soil layer at a depth of 15-20 cm, and in this layer the raspberry roots should receive everything they need. Good results in the absence of manure are given by the introduction of mineral fertilizers. On different lands of the Moscow Region, only nitrogen fertilizers should be applied annually, once every three years - potash fertilizers, and practically no phosphorus fertilizers. In our work, we did not apply phosphorus fertilizers for almost 30 years, but this did not reduce the yield even on demonstration plots with a very high yield of remontant varieties.

Nitrogen fertilizers in the form of urea (carbamide) or ammonium nitrate always increase the yield. It is best to add 7-8 kg of urea or other nitrogen fertilizer to 1 hundred square meters of raspberries ..

Mandatory is considered very important feeding in the year of planting... Usually, after the beginning of budding, closer to May 10, the first feeding is given, after 2 weeks - the second and after another 2 weeks the third and last feeding. For feeding on a bucket of water, take a shovel of fresh cow dung, add a spoon with top of urea or any saltpeter, stir well and give 1 liter of feeding for each seedling. The same top dressing is applied once or twice under any weakened bush that was planted earlier.

Raspberry roots lie in the surface layer of the soil and any drought and even a short period without rain can quickly lead to dehydration of plants. Every time you squeeze the loose soil from under the bush into a lump and the lump crumbles, then it's time to water the raspberries.

Excess water is very harmful to raspberries. That is why, with excessive watering in summer cottages, raspberries die from root rot. The gardener in such cases says for a long time that his raspberries do not grow and only later will say that they simply died.

Everyone understands that there should be no weeds on raspberries. This is achieved either by manual weeding and the simultaneous destruction of all raspberry growth, or they get rid of weeds by treating them with herbicides.

Fungal diseases are widespread on raspberries - botritis, didimella, anthracnose, leptosphereium, powdery mildew, but as a rule, no spraying against such diseases is carried out. The fact is that the listed remontant varieties are quite resistant to all these diseases, and in the presence of these diseases on the shoots of these varieties, the yields constantly remain high.

Sometimes annoyed gardeners claim that their raspberries have degenerated. This is biologically impossible. The previous variety can, due to hereditary changes (mutations), give new hereditary forms, improved or worsened. But this is extremely rare, but neglected “degenerating” raspberries can be found quite often. If you transplant the weakened plants of your neglected raspberries to a well-fertilized placethen convince yourself and others that raspberries do not degenerate.

The main result of all our care work is to obtain well-developed raspberry plants. These thousands of green factories, without human intervention, according to their natural program, “release” the raspberries we are used to, which a person cannot create without smart plants from the same materials.

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For the first experience of growing berry bushes, summer residents choose the most unpretentious of them. Planting raspberries will be an excellent practice for beginners in gardening and will delight experienced gardeners with its simplicity. It reproduces easily in many ways. Raspberries are grown even from seeds. But the advantages of a shrub are not limited to this.

Requirements for growing conditions

Raspberries grow well in an area open to the sun, reacting to a lack of light with a decrease in yield. Some gardeners grow it in partial shade, but this is only suitable for the southern regions. The bush does not like drafts, so you need to reliably protect it from strong northerly winds. Most often, plantings of raspberries can be seen next to fences, as well as near the walls of residential or outbuildings. This arrangement has its advantages. It helps to save the limited space of the site. From spring to autumn, barriers protect raspberry bushes from drafts, and in winter they hold snow near the plants and between them, preventing plantings from freezing.

The composition of the soil is not the most important condition for the abundant fruiting of the crop. Light loams with certain characteristics are optimal for growing raspberries:

• neutral or slightly acidic reaction;
• good moisture permeability;
• rich supply of nutrients.

The peculiarity of the root system of the shrub is that it is located almost at the soil surface - at a depth of 15-20 cm. Therefore, it is not recommended to plant it on hills and slopes. On them, the plant will suffer from a lack of moisture. You should not place a raspberry tree in lowlands where water stagnates. The bushes of the culture do not like swampy soil. The close proximity of groundwater also adversely affects them. The minimum depth of their occurrence at the planting site of the shrub is 1.5 m.

Predecessors and site preparation

Answering the question of how to plant raspberries correctly, one cannot ignore its predecessors.

The shrub will be comfortable on the soil freed up after certain crops:

• legumes;
• Luke;
• parsley;
• garlic.

Advice

It is better to prepare a place for planting raspberries in advance, a year before sowing alkaloid lupine on the site. This will protect her bushes from the invasion of a dangerous pest - beetle. Lupine is poisonous to its larvae.

It is not recommended to plant raspberries in the country in areas where last season there were beds with such plants:

• potatoes;
• tomatoes;
• pepper;
• eggplant;
• strawberries.

The reason is simple: these crops are vulnerable to the same diseases.

The raspberry tree will bear fruit successfully in one place, without bringing much trouble, for 12 years, then it is better to transfer it to another site. If this is not done, the yield of the bushes will decrease due to the natural depletion of the soil. Pathogens will also accumulate in it. It will be possible to grow a culture in the same place only after some time (4-6 years).

Before planting raspberries, thoroughly prepare the site. The soil is dug up and enriched with organic and mineral compounds:

• compost (humus, manure);
• superphosphate;
• wood ash.

Landing dates

Garden raspberries easily adapt to new conditions, so you can place plants in the country from spring to autumn, acting according to certain rules.

1. In spring, the right time for the procedure comes early, as soon as the soil warms up and a relative warmth is established. Raspberry seedlings, on which the buds have not yet had time to form and swell, take root well.
2. In summer (from early June to mid-July), you can plant raspberry bushes on a permanent site that have undergone preliminary cultivation in a greenhouse or at home. They will quickly take root and begin to develop actively, fully strengthening by the onset of cold weather. When buying material for summer planting, you need to choose plants with a closed root system. The risk of their death when placed in the ground is minimal. Such bushes are less sick and start growing faster, because during the procedure their roots are not damaged.
3. In the autumn, strong, well-ripened raspberry vines are planted. They will painlessly endure the frosty winter. They are placed in the ground until leaf fall continues.

Many summer residents believe that an autumn planting is more comfortable for a plant. At this time, raspberry survival does not interfere with strong heat, and constant soil moisture creates the most favorable conditions for its root system. With the arrival of warmth, overwintered bushes show rapid growth.

If the planting of raspberries is carried out in the spring, the weather conditions greatly affect its result. Drought and heat will not benefit young plants. The culture is characterized by an early onset of sap flow. In many regions, by the time the seedlings are placed in the ground, leaves already appear on them. Even frequent and abundant moisturizing of the raspberry tree will not facilitate the process of their adaptation.Roots that have not yet taken root will not be able to provide the plant with water, while the leaves will evaporate it, drawing moisture from the shoots and weakening them. Pruning a bush will help here. Only buds that have not yet begun to grow are left on it.

Advice

When deciding for yourself when it is better to plant raspberries, it is important to take into account the peculiarities of the variety chosen for breeding.

Layout scheme

There are 2 methods of planting a crop:

• trench (tape);
• hole.

It is easier to cultivate raspberries in a bush method in unprotected soil: it makes it easier to care for plants and soil. But with it, you need to be prepared for the rapid aging of the plantings. If you place the bushes on the site using the strip method, the raspberry tree will be updated on its own - with numerous root suckers. Also, with him, the area of ​​\ u200b \ u200bthe garden is more rationally used.

With the trench method, the site for the future raspberry tree in the country is preliminarily marked with a stretched cord. Then the planting furrows are dug. Their depth should be 35-45 cm, and their width should be 40-50 cm. They are made parallel to each other. A considerable distance is left between the trenches - 1.8 m. Having placed raspberry seedlings in the furrow, it is filled with a fertile substrate based on soil and humus. They complete the procedure by compacting the soil well. Such a planting scheme for raspberries assumes the location of its bushes with an interval of 0.5-0.7 m.

You can make the trench wider - a meter. Then, along its perimeter, it is recommended to dig in a border of slate sheets, deepening them by 30 cm.It should rise 3-5 cm above the soil surface.This will facilitate the introduction of manure and mulching and protect the area from filling with root shoots of the plant, to which Japanese raspberries are especially prone ... Making wide row spacings attractive by preventing weed growth is easy. It is enough to sow seeds of lawn grass or green manure.

With the hole method of planting raspberries, holes are dug around the perimeter of the site. You can arrange them in rows or staggered. The width, depth and diameter of the planting hole are made the same - 30 cm. Fertilizers are poured downwards - compost or wood ash. The distance between the rows does not change (1.8-2 m), but the bushes are placed in them less often - with an interval of 1 m.

Landing features

All varieties of crops, including exotic Japanese raspberries, which are becoming increasingly popular, prefer nutritious soil. In order for her bushes in the country to grow well for a long time and bear fruit abundantly, additives are added to the soil dug out of trenches or from holes:

• compost;
• superphosphate;
• potassium sulfate.

Advice

It is not necessary to apply fertilizers containing nitrogen to the planting pits or trenches, otherwise the plants will root poorly.

A little substrate is poured into the holes so that a small mound forms. If plants with an open root system are used, their lower part is dipped in a mullein solution or in a mash made from a nutrient mixture. Putting a raspberry seedling on a mound, fertile soil is poured into the pit. It is impossible to deepen its root collar, otherwise the bud located near it can rot, and the development of the plant will greatly slow down. That's right, if between it and the surface of the soil remains 1-2 cm.After its shrinkage, it will be at the level of the soil.

If the land in the country house is too wet, and the site is prone to flooding or is characterized by a close occurrence of groundwater, the shrub is grown on raised and wide (0.7-1.0 m) beds. Do not fill the trench with earth to the top. It is better to leave a small hollow. So, when irrigating a raspberry tree, less water is consumed, and natural precipitation is used more rationally: snow accumulates in a trench from the very beginning of winter.

Watering the plant abundantly (10 liters of water for 3-4 raspberry bushes), the site is mulched. You can use for this:

• peat;
• humus;
• sawdust;
• straw;
• dry leaves.

Saplings with well-developed buds require pruning. They are shortened to 30 cm.It is better to install raspberry supports at the time of planting. It is convenient to grow shrubs on a trellis. It's easy to make. Pillars, pipes or thick wooden beams are dug in along the edges of trenches with planted raspberries, pulling 2 rows of wire between them (at a height of 1 m and 1.5 m from the ground surface). When the bushes grow up, they are tied to a trellis.

Generative reproduction

It is not difficult to grow raspberries from seeds, although this method of breeding it is rarely practiced. Its main disadvantage is not even a lot of labor costs, but the fact that the properties of the mother bush are not transferred to the seedlings. It is widely believed among summer residents that when planting raspberry seeds, it will take more than one year to wait for the harvest. But this is not the case. With proper pre-sowing seed preparation, the plant will bear its first fruits next year. They start it even in the process of collecting planting material.

From fully ripe (better - overripe) fruits, remove the juice by placing them in a bag of gauze and squeezing thoroughly. Then the pulp with seeds needs to be dried a little. To do this, use paper or cloth, spreading the berry mass on it. Then they put it in a well-ventilated place. The sun's rays should not fall on it. When the raspberry seeds are slightly dry, they are mixed with sand and sown in boxes. You can put them in a cold greenhouse. Before the emergence of shoots, 2 parameters are carefully monitored: protection of crops from sunlight and constant soil moisture.

Another method of preparing raspberry seeds is also practiced. Water is poured into a slightly mashed berry mass, stirring well. High-quality seeds are heavy, they will settle to the bottom, and unripe lungs will immediately float to the surface. After draining the water, the procedure is repeated several times. After drying the washed seeds, they are placed in the refrigerator, where they are kept at a temperature of +1 to + 5 ° C until planting, or sown in the beds. Friendly germination of raspberry seeds can be expected in moist and loose soil with an admixture of sand and peat. They are closed up shallowly - only 2-5 mm. When planting in spring, the beds are covered with foil.

Professionals recommend stratification of raspberry seeds. This is a simple but time-consuming process. After mixing the pre-soaked raspberry seeds with wet sand, they are wrapped in nylon cloth and placed in a container with moss. Then the container is placed in the refrigerator (on the bottom shelf) or in the basement, where the air temperature is + 2 ° C. It is necessary to regularly knead the contents of the packages so that the seeds and sand are mixed. Maintain high humidity, periodically sprinkling bags and moss.

After keeping the raspberry seeds in such conditions for 3-5 months, they are planted in the ground. They do this together with the sand. Sowing is carried out immediately after removing the contents of the bags, without drying it. Stratification significantly increases the germination of raspberry seeds.

Fundamentals of agricultural technology

Correct agricultural technology provides for a number of activities. But you should not be afraid of their abundance. Planting and caring for raspberries is easy and not time-consuming. The shrub loves watering. The lack of moisture negatively affects the taste of its berries and can even destroy the plants. But it is not worth pouring in the raspberry tree either. Moisturize plantings in the country not often (once a week), but abundantly.

Neighborhood weeds raspberry does not tolerate well. But constant weeding and loosening of the soil under the bushes can injure its roots, and the yield of the plant will decrease. Mulching will help in the struggle for the cleanliness of plantings. Any organic matter (humus, dry leaves, sawdust, crushed bark) is used for it, pouring it onto the beds with raspberries in a thick (8-10 cm) layer. This mulch will significantly help the plant:

• protects against weeds;
• retain moisture in the soil;
• will fertilize it (after decomposition).

Raspberries will yield a good harvest if they are fed regularly. Its bushes can do without fertilization only in the first year after planting in organic-rich soil. Raspberry is fed three times per season.In early spring, fertilizers are applied containing a lot of nitrogen - ammonium nitrate, infusion of mullein or bird droppings. The second feeding is carried out when the shrub begins to bear fruit. Any complex composition or nitroammophoska is suitable for her. The third time the raspberry is fertilized in September. This top dressing will help the plants survive the winter painlessly and form flower buds. Potassium salt, superphosphate and wood ash are used for it.

Bush shaping and garter

In order to grow raspberries to consistently bring high yields, its bushes need regular pruning. With her, fruitful shoots are shortened and get rid of thickening stems and excess root growth. Of the numerous young branches in the spring, 5-6 of the strongest are left on the bush (according to the number of fruitful shoots, which they will replace in the future). The rest are removed at the base with a shovel or flat cutter.

When the shoots grow up and they begin to ripen for the winter, another pruning is carried out. The raspberry branches are shortened by ¼, since their middle yields the greatest yield. Spring pruning of overwintered shoots on a plant is carried out to a strong bud (about 10 cm). Dried branches are removed completely. In the fall, the bush is relieved of two-year-old shoots that have already yielded a crop by cutting them out at the root.

Highly decorative Japanese and other varieties of raspberries are winter-hardy. But in severe frosts, plant shoots can still suffer. To prevent this from happening, in late autumn, raspberry bushes bend down, tilting them to each other and tying them. A layer of snow accumulated on them will protect the buds from freezing.

Long shoots of raspberries can break under the weight of the fruit. To avoid this, as well as to facilitate the care of the plantings, their garter to the trellis will help. It is carried out in early spring, until the buds on raspberries wake up. If they are already swollen, they can be easily damaged during the garter process. It is more convenient to grow raspberries on a double-leaf trellis. It looks like it is stretched in 2 rows of wires parallel to each other, but located in the same plane. Fruitful shoots of the shrub are attached on different sides, and young shoots develop in the center.

Raspberries are a bright representative of those rare cultures, which are almost impossible to ruin. Therefore, many summer residents begin their acquaintance with berry bushes with her. She is undemanding, hardy, high-yielding. The raspberry tree will not require much attention to itself, but you cannot leave it at all without leaving, otherwise the plantings will turn into impenetrable thorny thickets, and the crop grinds.

Certain varieties of culture are actively used in landscape design. Japanese raspberry bushes look spectacular from spring to summer, being covered first with flowers, and then with large ripening fruits. They are especially good in hedges. Nature has endowed raspberries with many beneficial properties. It is not surprising that you can find shrubs in almost every summer cottage.