Allotments 4 All

A few years ago I transplanted some healthy summer raspberries into a new patch. To try to suppress weeds I covered the ground with a few inches of commercial chipped bark. The raspberries all died apart from one or two at the edge which just struggled on. I have twice planted new canes but they have also not survived. In 30 years I have never had any problems with raspberries before. The bark has now rotted away and the weeds are doing very well!

What has gone wrong and how do I correct it? And any advice on weed control?

Quote from: richardglobal on March 21, 2019, 10:16:46
a few inches of commercial chipped bark.

It stole the goodness from the ground, it will put it back but too late for the raspberries. When I need new canes I go scrounging, there is always somebody thinning them out.

Chipped bark can certainly reduce soil nutrients but I have no idea if that could be enough to cause raspberries to die completely rather than just grow poorly. One possibility might be cane blight. This is a fungal disease, so maybe the bark provided an environment that allowed it to flourish. Canes tend to look alright in the spring but deteriorate rapidly as the season progresses.  Also, is the area well drained?  Raspberries hate being waterlogged, often resulting in root rot.

Is it possible that the commercial chipped bark was intended to be used as a weed supressing mulch and accordingly had been treated with a weedkiller which has leached into the ground below? The weedkiller has perhaps now lost its potency and the weeds and anything else now flourish.

Thanks, everyone. Although the weeds are doing well, successive tries of raspberries aren't! Drainage is fine. I think I'll swap the soil for another part of the garden and try again.

Raspberries do not like alkaline soil either.  Do you know your ph value, Richardglobal? 

Thanks for your interest, galina. The soil is acid and the raspberries were doing well on a neighbouring patch.