Green gardening: Growing raspberries

There are three types of raspberries grown in this country – reds, blacks and purples – all are self-fertile. Raspberries are prone to viral diseases so to ensure they are free from disease, buy them from a reputable nursery.

Select raspberry varieties that are certified to be virus-free. To avoid the risk of spreading viral diseases, it is best not to replenish your stock by raising new plants from those you already have: always try to buy new canes of certified virus-free stock. Buy one-year-old canes for planting in early spring.

Raspberries generally do best in full sun but will grow in partial shade. Do not plant them in positions exposed to frost or strong winds and avoid planting them on steep slopes, which drain too quickly. Raspberries do well in any well-drained but moisture-retaining, slightly acidic soil. They will also grow in alkaline soil if it is enriched with compost or decayed manure.

The average family should obtain a plentiful fruit supply with 18 to 24 raspberry canes.

• Boyne. Large, firm medium red berries, early to mid season.Early-mid Medium red. Large, firm berries.
• Brandywine.  Very large purple fruit, good for jam. Late season.
• Bristol.  Large black berries, mid season.
• Canby. Red fruit, mid season. Thornless canes.
• Cumberland. Vigorous, but susceptible to disease. Black fruit, mid season.
• Fall Gold. Vigorous, hardy early and late season, produces yellow fruit.
• Heritage. Productive, vigorous bushes with good red berries, early and late season.
• Latham. Fair-quality red berries. Quite hardy, early season.
• Redwing. Large red fruit with good flavour, mid season.
• Royalty. Late season, thorny bush, with excellent sweet, purple berries.
• September. Medium-sized, red berries. Early and late season.
• Sodus. Large, good-quality, purple berries. Vigorous, quite hardy, mid season.

• Raspberries grow best in a row, with the canes trained against wires.
• First, clear the site of perennial weeds — either dig them up or cover them with black plastic.
• In late summer or early fall, prepare the ground by digging a spade-deep trench about 75 centimetres (29.5 inches) wide.
• Fork in compost or well-rotted manure at the rate of about two 10-litre (10.5-quart) buckets per square metre (three feet square).
• Then fill in the trench with soil.

Planting is usually done in early spring after frost danger has passed.

• Dig a shallow trench about eight centimetres (three inches) deep and 15 to 20 centimetres (six to eight inches) wide.
• Place the young plants upright in it, 45 centimetres (18 inches) apart and with roots spread out.
• Cover the roots with eight centimetres (three inches) of soil, and then firm it gently with your feet.
• Leave two metres (six and a half feet) of space between rows.
• Immediately after planting, cut each cane to just above a good bud, 20 to 30 centimetres (eight to 12 inches) above ground level.
• Well-rotted manure, if available, is ideal fertilizer, applied in the fall each year. In spring, one month before growth starts, apply 125 grams (four and a half ounces) of bone meal per square metre (three feet square). Allow these fertilizers to be washed into the soil naturally. In early spring mulch with a five-centimetre (two-inch) layer of shredded leaves, bark mulch, or wood chips.
• Water well in warm, dry spells. Control weeds by pulling them up by hand. Do not hoe between the canes, particularly during the growing period, since this can damage the shallow surface roots.
• Protect ripening fruit from birds, preferably with netting.