Topic: raspberry mulch

[norfolklass]

this winter I'm aiming to move my raspberries from the 'temporary' home that they've been in for the past three years to a permanent fruit bed. I want to have soft fruit (raspberries, blackcurrants, redcurrants, gooseberries and rhubarb) in one long bed that runs along the boundary between me and my neighbour. (I know the rasps will run so I'll be sinking a barrier into the soil so they don't creep into his plot.) one thing I want to do is to mulch the bed to keep the weeds down but I've got no idea what would be the best thing to use. what, if anything, does everyone else put around their raspberries and other soft fruits to stop the weeds?

[tonybloke]

hiya over there in the Fine City!!
I mulch my rasp's with a 2" layer of well rotted FYM, then a layer of straw. this keeps the roots moist and cool, and they seem to love it!!  ;)

[grawrc]

I'm sorry but when I read the header I had this mental picture of lying in a mulch of fragrant raspberries....mmmmmmm .. and eating one or two from time to time.

Too much watching Scrubs? Or maybe my particular as yet undiscovered fetish? ;D ;D ;)

Back to reality:  I do exactly as Tony suggests. Sometimes I use grass mowings rather than straw but not at this time of year.

[norfolklass]

thanks tony, and grawrc ;D I like your thinking, lying in raspberries sounds deelishus!!

I wasn't sure about pH etc and if some mulches were better than others. seem to remember reading somewhere that grass clippings use up nitrogen to break down but can't remember if this is good or bad for soft fruit...

[Slug_killer]

Its leaves and woody stuff that use up nitrogen, grass provides it, but add too much grass and it doesnt break down, just leaves a smelly nasty goo.

Rasbs want a good all round feed for root growth, leaf growth and for fruiting, eg. BFB or growmore.

[lightyears]

everytime i empty my chickens poo tray i sprinkle it on my raspberry beds, i do add hemicore bedding to my hens so it makes for a nice mulch. i did have a compost bin full which you could have took but i used it myself as no one seemed interested.

[Digeroo]

I have been giving my raspberries coffee grounds hoping it will reduce the alkalinity of the soil, but do not drink enough coffee to help more than a couple of plants.  But they are doing better than the rest.

[Geoff H]

I have read of people using pine needles under raspberries. You see raspberries running wild in conifer plantations and most weeds don't like acidity. I have used shredded prunings from a conifer hedge before now. you can put them on and they don't seem to heat up like lawn mowings would be and they are not full of weed seeds. Also they stick around for a long time and you can walk on the mulch in wet weather without getting your feet muddy. It is one useful thing ,and the only useful thing I can think of , about having a leylandii hedge