Allotments 4 All

I planted 2 rows of autumn rasps about 4 years ago.  Last winter/spring for the first time I attempted to thin them out as it was getting difficult to get between the rows due to suckers etc. Despite this they have turned into a complete jungle this year! I wonder if this is partly due to the weather, maybe they have put on more growth due to the amount of water and reaching up for light? Some of the stems have fallen over whereas they usually don't need any support. Has anyone else had this problem, and what can I do to bring them under control for next year? Think I'm going to have to buy a protective suit for picking the fruit!

No, it's not the weather, it's because they are raspberries... my summer fruiters have done the same [sigh].... given that it is a barely domesticated member of the blackberry family I guess the growth habit is only to be expected.... they should crop well though, the blackberries around here are no more rampant than usual but are even more smothered in fruit than they were last year.....

Suggest you get some Joanj they have very few prickles.  I have a jungle too and some seem to be rotting off at the roots.

Ah, so it's not just me then! ;D
The allotment I took over has a well established thicket of autumn raspberries, complete with its own nursery bed of horsetail and field bindweed.
I have fond fantasies of transplanting suckers into a fresh bed this autumn to give myself chance to clear the old bed of weeds. Any ideas what I can do with several hundred old raspberry canes? (not too eye watering please)

Tosh I inherited a similar plot and tried potting up some of the raspberry canes and replanting when they looked happy, but actually didn't get much off them, I have had a lot more success with a new batch of canes (Joan J)  Raspberry canes have about a ten year good productive life, so if they are that age as I suspect mine were you  may be better off buying new ones, see if anyone knows.

Caroline and Digeroo my autumn fruiting Joan J are huge plants this year and normally fruiting by now but not many yet, am hoping it will improve :)

My Autum raspberry's are 4yrs ,this Spring I dug out loads of suckers as they were taking over the paths between the rows ,I gave quite a few away to other Lotty pals ,I will have to dug out more in the late Au tum after the fruiting is over.

Caroline I have the same problem. I think that come the end of the season I will have to pull out all the one in the middle and just try and leave the ones on the outside. I can barely get in to pick them.  I had 4 or 5 to start with, now it is a patch that is 3 m wide and 1.5 metres think with raspberry stems!

That's the great thing about this forum- I find out it's not just me!! :D

Definatly not!