renovating raspberry patch

13 years ago

the patch is probably about 25 by 40 feet ... severely overgrown ...

heritage .. and the yellow/orange one ... can you name that off hand ... both twice bearing .... [probably fall gold]

lots of perennial weeds.. some trees... etc ..

my plan.. tell me what you think ....

take half the plot.. and cut it all down ... giving up the summer harvest on that half .. get in there ... remove the saplings... perhaps remove some of the plants.. then wildly broadcast which every triple [12-12-12] fert i have.. not heavy ....

enjoy the summer harvest on the half left alone ... and then a double fall harvest ....

and then do the same next spring .... [or could i do it in late fall????]

but for the lost half production.. and presuming i will not over-fertilize ...

is there any downside that i am missing ...

thanks

ken

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Comments (3)

glenn_russell
13 years ago
Hi Ken-
I was basically in your boat last year. I had an idea, but didn't know if it would work: Would it be possible to harvest your fall crop of raspberries, then nuke the bed with roundup and kill them totally in time for spring? And could I verify 100% removal in time to get an order into Nourse?

The answer is yes. I was out there this weekend, and all my other raspberries are waking up, and there wasn't even a hint of life in these beds. I remove the old cane stubs/roots and tilled the bed. My new arrivals should be here next week, and they have a nice home waiting for them.

So, perhaps you'd want to try this route?
-Glenn
alexander3_gw
13 years ago
I would amend Glenn's suggestion by adding a step where you dig up several of the raspberry plants you already have, then bare root them to get rid of any weeds. Why order new ones when you have a bunch already?

Alex
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glenn_russell
13 years ago
I admit, I hadn't thought of Alex's idea, but I do like it. My main concern though is the varieties he currently has. Of all the raspberry varieties I've researched and/or grown, Fall Gold get's dissed almost every time. For a yellow, the flavor of Anne can't be beat, and even Kiwi Gold would be a better choice than Fall Gold.
As for Heritage, it is the variety by which all others are judged. But, it's my opinion that there are much better varieties out there, and it was one of the two beds I just removed. I found them to be smaller, and not as sweet as other varieties. Can density was higher, but yield seemed lower. Instead, two of my favorite reds are Prelude or Caroline. It will be a significant effort to remove those beds, and for me, the $3 per plant from someone like Nourse would be money well spent.
-Glenn

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renovating raspberry patch

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glenn_russell

alexander3_gw

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