FARM Gardening Question on raspberries.

[Coco82919]

I have some raspberry plants that stopped producing after 2 years. They were sold as not needing male and female plants. Someone told me they may only produce on new canes. I forgot to cut down the canes in the fall. Is it to late to do this for raspberries this year. Also is there another reason for them not producing? Also I planted blackberries in with the raspberries and neither are producing.

I need to call it a night and will check responses tomorrow. I won't get a chance to check until tomorrow evening. I am curious if anyone else here grows raspberries and black berries and has any suggestions on how to care for them. Thanks. Coco.

 

[Laurane]

When the new plants start coming up and leafing out, you should be able to just pull out the old dry canes. We had thornless raspberries and they just seem to take care of themselves and "overproduce" so the birds get well fed.

 

[NC Susan]

I bought and planted them once where I wanted them
They walked out 6' to max sunshine the next year where they were happy
Never did get berries but then the Lawn mower did get the sunshine wandering raspberries

The birds have started blackberries in my yard
The blackberries are prolific their first year Intertwined in the azaleas in sun shade area that the birds chose
After that they are just sharp sticker canes ready to be chopped out as they don't bloom or berry Again

 

[Coco82919]

Not many of the canes are dry. They just leaf out, flower but no new raspberries or blackberries. I am in zone 5.

 

[marsh]

they love water

 

[Be Well]

And rich soil. We have red raspberries but they don't produce much since they haven't had enough sun and the dirt is poor. DH is going to fix that but hasn't yet.

 

[Michiana MaJo]

-I'm not an expert, but have grown raspberries for a number of years and had excellent rewards. (I love the berries, juiced...it's to die for! And, I also freeze them, mashed, then when ready to use, sweeten and put on my freezer waffles. Yum!)

OK, first, your problem may be that you're mixing blacks with reds...that is a no-no. I have literature that recommends keeping a distance of at least 100 feet between the two varieties. ( I grow purples, and that rule is the same for them, tho I don't have quite that much room to grow them that far apart, and so far, they've done quite well, but I do keep them at a pretty good distance.)

The next question would be.....are your reds the summer or fall bearing varieties, since that does make a difference in when and how to prune them. I have always grown the summer bearing ones. With them, in the fall, after they have borne fruit, you should cut (not pull!) those dried out canes (you can tell the difference) down to the ground and dispose them....to prevent disease. If you pull them out, you will pull out the new canes that have grown from that root, and lose those berries for the next year.

It really does help if you can apply manure (I can't), but I do fertilize twice a year, and I just happen to like using Jung's raspberry fertilizer, since it's easy to use..just mix with water and put in a sprinkler and apply, going down the rows. (The pkg. gives the directions. And, I have no relationship with the nursery, other than liking them.)

If you can mulch them, all the better....leaves are great...that is what I use, having a big English walnut tree that gives me a huge supply! My book on berries says your harvest will be bigger, if you mulch with leaves.

In the early spring, you will need to prune back the now tall canes...I cut them back to about 5' or a tad more. I also keep my rows confined with stakes which I put heavy twine all along the row...that also holds up some of the floppier canes.

I repeat...I'm no expert, but if you have mixed the reds and blacks, my guess is that you should dig them all up and plant from a new source of the one variety you prefer to keep, a distance away, probably not that far, since your "contaminated" sources will be gone. (Unless you have a very large lot, and can plant both varieties, only a safe distance from each other.)

One last thot...if you have the fall bearing reds, their pruning is different. I just planted some, and have not learned what their procedure is, but if you tell us that is the kind of reds you have, one of us will check our directions and give them to you. I recall that the pruning is different. The rest of the directions would be the same...distance from blacks, mulching, and fertilizing.

 

[WalknTrot]

I have a raspberry patch that I have to keep whacking back or it would take over the whole farm. I've heard every management practice imaginable over the years, (cutting back old canes, thinning, fretting about disease, keeping wild strains away from domestic, etc.) but my favorite is pure benign neglect and mowing them down when they get too out-of-hand. They are growing in native, sorta - clayish bare soil. Nothing special for sure. I DO water them if it has been dry - but only when they are blossoming, setting or ripening fruit. Every once in a while, if I want to be able to pick and not get scratched to death, I'll lay down or re-arrange some 2x10's to make "rows" in the thicket. That's about the extent of it, and I get more raspberries than I can use. I got these from a friend many moons ago, but I think they are the "Latham" strain. We can't grow blackberries here - too cold for them.

You don't say where you are located, and that could make a difference. I'm up north in Minnesota, and wild raspberries are abundant natives. It's their preferred climate, so we do have an advantage. Oh - did forget - the only pruning mine get is from the wild rabbits in the winter - and that might be a somewhat natural sort of co-dependent beneficial process. I dunno - I keep my hands out of it.

 

[2Trish]

There was a place I use to go every summer up north near Atlanta, Michigan. Tons of raspberries along the dusty dirt roads but they always were on the south side of the road. Don't know if being on the south side had any real bearing, just an observation.

 

[hunybee]

I have a raspberry patch that I have to keep whacking back or it would take over the whole farm. I've heard every management practice imaginable over the years, (cutting back old canes, thinning, fretting about disease, keeping wild strains away from domestic, etc.) but my favorite is pure benign neglect and mowing them down when they get too out-of-hand. They are growing in native, sorta - clayish bare soil. Nothing special for sure. I DO water them if it has been dry - but only when they are blossoming, setting or ripening fruit. Every once in a while, if I want to be able to pick and not get scratched to death, I'll lay down or re-arrange some 2x10's to make "rows" in the thicket. That's about the extent of it, and I get more raspberries than I can use. I got these from a friend many moons ago, but I think they are the "Latham" strain. We can't grow blackberries here - too cold for them.

You don't say where you are located, and that could make a difference. I'm up north in Minnesota, and wild raspberries are abundant natives. It's their preferred climate, so we do have an advantage. Oh - did forget - the only pruning mine get is from the wild rabbits in the winter - and that might be a somewhat natural sort of co-dependent beneficial process. I dunno - I keep my hands out of it.

you are exactly right. of course, i live here too lol. i don't know the strain we have as they were given from a friend and they didn't know what they are either. i have given the baby shoots to many others, and they are all going strong as well. none of us do anything to them at all except neglect them hahaha. it really may be the natural advantage of living here, but the thing about the rabbit sis a real thing. i hate the little #@*%&!$, and kill as many as possible because they eat everything in site in the winter and kill everything. the only thing i don't care if they nub down are the raspberries. they have a symbiotic relationship. the rabbits eat the canes (which survive just fine), and they poop all over in the patch. rabbit poop just happens to be one of the best fertilizers for raspberries there is. they live in the patches all year round as it is a natural protection. so, in this yard, they are safe if they stick to the raspberries. if they stray beyond that, they be dead.

 

[WalknTrot]

you are exactly right. of course, i live here too lol. i don't know the strain we have as they were given from a friend and they didn't know what they are either. i have given the baby shoots to many others, and they are all going strong as well. none of us do anything to them at all except neglect them hahaha. it really may be the natural advantage of living here, but the thing about the rabbit sis a real thing. i hate the little #@*%&!$, and kill as many as possible because they eat everything in site in the winter and kill everything. the only thing i don't care if they nub down are the raspberries. they have a symbiotic relationship. the rabbits eat the canes (which survive just fine), and they poop all over in the patch. rabbit poop just happens to be one of the best fertilizers for raspberries there is. they live in the patches all year round as it is a natural protection. so, in this yard, they are safe if they stick to the raspberries. if they stray beyond that, they be dead.

Thanks for the validation! Yup - we may not be able to ripen sweet corn in a normal year, but we can always eat raspberries...

 

[Coco82919]

Thanks. I have summer canes. They would start to produce fruit in June/ July, then a few in sept. But only did this for 2 or 3 years then stopped. I have a large pine tree that loses its needle and I often let them stay until spring. It could be it makes the soil to acidic.

OK, first, your problem may be that you're mixing blacks with reds...that is a no-no. I have literature that recommends keeping a distance of at least 100 feet between the two varieties. ( I grow purples, and that rule is the same for them, tho I don't have quite that much room to grow them that far apart, and so far, they've done quite well, but I do keep them at a pretty good distance.)

I have heard or read that you should not mix raspberries and blackberries but never found out why. That could be the problem. I do not know which canes are which because they look the same to me. I would have to did out all the canes and roots and then replant, but it would take me a few years to get all of them out as they are mixed in with many other plants.

It really does help if you can apply manure (I can't), but I do fertilize twice a year, and I just happen to like using Jung's raspberry fertilizer, since it's easy to use..just mix with water and put in a sprinkler and apply, going down the rows. (The pkg. gives the directions. And, I have no relationship with the nursery, other than liking them.)

I will try adding some composted steer manure as I have a few bags setting aside from last year. I did not realize they like rich soil, because they grow in the wild in many places, I assumed they just needed minimal fertilizer.

Thanks for the responses.

 

[dero50]

Fertilize when they first get buds then a couple weeks later. We even have raspberries and blackberries close together.

 

[Milk-maid]

I have both raspberries and blackberries.

They are far apart. Blackberries are prolific producers and spread. Mine are thornless blackberries.

Also, don't plant black raspberries with red raspberries.. they don't do well together. I was told that by the berry guy who sells them at the farmer's market. He's an expert on them.

Mulch them very well. Keep weeds away from them.

They need a lot of sun and water.

( I have chickens and they almost destroyed my red raspberry plants.. so I got replacements from my neighbor, whose yard they traveled to.)
Yes, raspberries travel and spread too.

 

[FarmerJohn]

Rasberries "given by a friend" may already be afflicted by a virus common to raspberries,, blackberries.

Traditional raspberries would flower and bear on the canes that grew last year. Newer overbearing varieties will flower and fruit on the tips of this year's canes. Some people just mow the whole patch to the ground every winter and just get the primocane harvest. that's what I did back when I had .8 ac. of Heritage raspberries in production.

I paid for certified disease-free starts and tried to eliminate any wild raspberry or blackberry for about 200 yards. I got about seven total years worth of production from the patch, peaking in year three.

 

[summerthyme]

I was wondering about a virus issue, as well. If you have a cooperative extension in your county, it might be worth talking to them and seeing if they have someone who knows brambles.

You might need to get someone to look at the patch to really diagnose the problem.

Summerthyme

 

[Jamis]

I have had blackberries right next to raspberries for about 8 years. They always end up growing together so I am always plucking out one one of the other. I never noticed a problem with them. They are both delicious.

 

[Babs]

Raspberries love acidic soil. Your soil may be too ph for them. You might try acidifying the soil. I have acidic soil and I use Alaska fish fertilizer on my canes. Also, as other's have mentioned, raspberries do very well mulched. I just use wood chips of whatever kind I have available. Make sure you don't have the bushes too thick. They need air space otherwise you will get powdery mildew and ruin the patch. Hope you can get some production.