small raspberries

[delboy]

My polka and Joan J as well as my Allgold are producing lots of fruit, but it's really small stuff, unlike last year when we had monster harvests of large berries.

Is this due to the hot and dry summer down here in the pansy south?

I have watered, but maybe not enough..

[delboy]

[Borlotti]

Think it is lack of water.  I have not watered the canes at the end of the allotment and no raspberries, half way down a bit of water, few small raspberries, the ones nearer the water tank I give two watering cans a day (at least) and they are bigger and better.  Trouble is not enough and I eat them on the way home.

[Chrispy]

I don't water my polka, and they seem fine.
Not had many fruit yet, but what I have had are big plump and sweet, and there is a lot more to come.

I do have a rather heavy soil and I have given them a good sprinkling of wood ash.

[GrannieAnnie]

I was comparing notes with a friend who is a retired Ag teacher and gave him some of our nice sized raspberries though it was a bit like taking coals to...what town is your mining town- Manchester? (Can't rmember) since he has a huge bed of raspberries normally.  Anyway he said his were terrible this year because he wasn't there to water them whereas I've been watering mine once a week if there was no rain and have nice big sprays of berries and new ones coming.

[nilly71]

Mine are very small too. I thought it was down to me moving them earlier this year.

Neil

[Obelixx]

Our Allgold used to be really good but for the last two years have been really poor and small and neither juicy nor tasty despite correct pruning and feeding and watering so we've decided to get rid and plant a couple of espalier pear trees this autumn instead.  We still have red Autumn Bliss raspberries which are delicious and large as well as ordinary summer ones.

[GrannieAnnie]

Our Allgold used to be really good but for the last two years have been really poor and small and neither juicy nor tasty despite correct pruning and feeding and watering so we've decided to get rid and plant a couple of espalier pear trees this autumn instead.  We still have red Autumn Bliss raspberries which are delicious and large as well as ordinary summer ones.

I got rid of our Autumn Gold for the same reason (lovely to look at but tasteless) and propagated more red Heritage which are large, sweet and don't crumble.