Autumn fruiting Raspberries.

[tim]

Our row is a 'thicket'.

When I cut them down, should I thin out as well - & to what extent?

[tim]

[caroline7758]

I'll be following this thread with interest, Tim as I can't get between my two rows this year!

[shirlton]

Ours haven't done any good at all this year probably due to the dry weather.(you can't be watering everything without being able to use a hose).I have just had an email from Ashridge nurseries where we got our fruit trees from with a monthly advice guide and they say to cut the autumn rasperries down after they have fruited.I have always cut mine in Feb so will try their way and see what happens. They are like a hedge at the moment.
When they start to shoot in the Springtime I am going to cut out all the weak shoots and just leave the really strong ones to see if it makes any difference.
They have never been as good as they were the first year.

[caroline7758]

I've been amazed that I've had a bumper crop despite hardly watering at all- I guess one advantage of them being like a thicket is that the leaves provide shade for the soil.

[GrannieAnnie]

Ours were growing in a block which wasn't easy to pick so last Fall and this Spring I transplanted out of the center leaving a U-shaped bed (and planted winter squash in the center ;D). The extra plants formed a separate row (also planted with winter squash). Much easier to pick everything in a row though I'll have to transplant out more this Fall or Spring from the bottom of the "U" again since I wasn't quite strict enough in thinning it and found that part too thick for easy picking. They'll make an additional row and give-aways.

We've had a bumper crop this Fall and still picking every morning, eating and freezing them each day, but they've been watered  regularly which makes a big difference in the size of "Heritage".

[tomatoada]

My Autumn Bliss raspberries are giving me a bumper crop this year.   I have not watered them at all.   I cut all branches off in January down to 6-8 inches.   I mulch them with grass cuttings and spread a few chicken pellets in Spring.   I grow them in a single row.  Last year they only gave me a poor crop.  Strange what nature does or is it the weather!

[grannyjanny]

I too will watch this one with interest. Two rows & can't get between them & not a brilliant crop. New plants last year.

[Spudbash]

Here in Hampshire, my Autumn Bliss keep on producing until the frost gets them, so I would never cut them back until winter. They're under an oak tree, so I need to water in hot spells in summer - not a problem since they're in my garden, not at an allotment.

As for thinning, I find they're so rampant that I have no qualms about removing any canes that stray from the patch I've allotted to them. I also remove any that appear to have been attacked by fungus, which is usually after a very wet spell.

I do love autumn rasps - especially for cooking with apples or pears.  :)  Pick a punnet of them and you've saved yourself at least a pound in cash!   ;D

[goodlife]

I would not thin out by digging within the row..but like Spudbash..those that stray off the row I'm happy digging out. If the row grows too 'thick', I'll cut down some canes that is not 'up to the standard' or just some to give room for the 'better' canes.

[saddad]

Our oldest ones aren't cropping very well so a dig up and replant is a good idea. We don't cut them down until Feb at the earliest. Cutting earlier reduces root rock in windy areas but on our site with heavy clay this isn't a problem. Cutting later protects the ground against hard frosts IMHO... do what the others in your area do...  :-\

[plot51A]

This is the second year for my Joan J, planted in a row at the back of my plot. Haven't watered them at all this year but I'm currently harvesting large amounts of huge berries and loads more coming. Have made jam, frozen loads and we have them for supper every night! I find the canes produce side shoots, first fruits are on the end of the cane, then more on the side shoots and as they will produce till well into October certainly wouldn't cut them back after the first fruits. I cut mine back in February, mulched with well rotted manure. Think I probably gave them some bonemeal too. At a rather posh farm shop in Suffolk with PYO raspberries last weekend they were charging £5.25 per kilo  :o Think I'll make a lottie profit on raspberries alone this year  ;D

[Columbus]

Hi Tim, Hi all,  :)

I have three rows with extras at one end like an E shape. The whole area is mulched with wood chips.
I will prune them to about one foot tall, which is higher than some folks
do, after the first frost so the autumn/winter winds don`t whip them around.

After they grow about three feet tall next year I replace the double support wires that run between stakes at the end of each row. I pull these tight on either side of the growing canes and anything that roots itself outside of the row through the spring and summer gets cut off at the base as its really not useful to me or the plant. This keeps all the canes open to the light and air and accessible to me.

At the moment they are about five feet tall and still producing loads of the biggest raspberries I ever saw. Although I think they will finish soon so I`m going to make raspberry vinigar this week.


Col

[caroline7758]

I don't support my autumn rasps at all, or net them. I find that the fact they bend over means that the birds don't get them- although it does make picking difficult!

[cacran]

I just put some canes in and sort of zig zag some washing line through them so that they get semi support. If I don't do anything, a lot get broken off in the wind. Mine seem a bit slow to start this time and I seem to have a lot of double ones. They seem to be fused together.mmmmmmmmm wonder what that is about??