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Hi. I was wondering if anyone had any ideas as to ghow to solve my problem raspberries.

I planted some raspberry canes 18 months ago, and now for the second year, they have appeared very very short indeed (< 6 inches). The variery is 'Galante' which is supposed to produce fruit all season (last year I enjoyed a handful of fruits from July to November). They have healthy leaves, and even get as far as to produce some flowers. Unfortunately, my rabbit is a little partial to these, and they are just at his height! If the canes grew to a few feet, he would not be an issue. The soil is pretty poor, I bought some 'reclaimed' topsoil three years ago to build a partially raised bed for the raspberries. The bed enjoys full sun, although the soil always appears rather dry. I have tried mulching with seaweed after the winter storms with the hope that this would keep moisture in and fertilise when rotted, but with apparently little success. I'll post a picture tomorrow if it were deemed helpful.

Any ideas please? Thank you in advance.

No experience of that variety but in general raspberries like a bit of shade and moist roots. They are originally a wooded margin plant afterall.

I would give a very heavy mulch of well rotted manure in the autumn and let this work in over winter. Given a dressing of fish blood and bone in the spring and keep them moist if very dry.

Jerry

Thanks for the advice Jerry. Is it worth digging them up now and replacing my rubbish soil with well fertllsed and moist soil? Or is July a really bad time to do this?

Quote from: Andz on July 04, 2005, 11:35:17
Thanks for the advice Jerry. Is it worth digging them up now and replacing my rubbish soil with well fertllsed and moist soil? Or is July a really bad time to do this?

I would leave it until late autumn, doing it now will only set them back more.

Jerry

Just a thought, but did you rinse the sea weed first? They won't have been terribley fond of the salt in it.  Lottie

Good point Lottie. However, despite making the effort and getting up at 6am to avoid ridicule from the neighbourhood Chavas whilst I barrowed my seaweed up the street (I live in Suburbia By The Sea), my laziness took over and I left my seaweed piled up on an empty bed for several weeks whilst the rain saw to it. That was lucky!

Hi Andz

I only planted my raspberries at the beginning of May, but at first they didn't do very well at all. ???

I thought I was going to lose the plants, so I mulched the roots with a small amount of manure, and I haven't looked back since :D ;).

The books state to mulch with manure either in autumn or very early spring, but I tried it in summer and it has worked :)

My lottie is very exposed, so I don't have the luxury of any shade for them, but they seem to be doing fine.

Hope this helps

Ruth