Most of us consider raspberries to be not only a delicious berry, but also a remedy for many diseases and painful symptoms. For colds, raspberries can help relieve sore throat and may normalize fever. Many discomfort associated with the digestive system (gastritis, heartburn, peptic ulcer, nausea and others) can also be relieved or cured by raspberries. This berry contains a huge amount of vitamins and other nutrients..
Any patient and loving summer resident will be able to grow raspberries on his land plot. To get a good harvest, you must follow all the recommendations of experienced gardeners and not violate the rules of caring for the raspberry tree. This will provide you with an excellent harvest for the next fifteen years..
Planting raspberries
In order for the raspberry harvest in the same area to be high for many years, you need to start with the correct planting of the bushes..
Landing time is also important. Early spring (March) or late autumn (November) is the best time. It should be taken into account that the site should be well lit, but light shading should also be present..
It is ideal to plant raspberry bushes after siderates or cereals and, in no case, after tomatoes and potatoes. After such vegetable plants, the growth and development of raspberry bushes may be questionable..
On seedlings prepared for planting, you need to cut off the entire leaf mass. It is necessary to leave at least half a meter between the landing holes, and a little more than one and a half meters between the rows. Such narrow lanes have their advantages. During plant maintenance and harvesting, you will have free access to the bushes. Each seedling, in turn, receives the required amount of light and air..
The seedling holes (40 centimeters deep) must be filled with a mixture of compost and ash. A young seedling is placed in a hole and sprinkled with garden soil or humus, leaving the root collar uncovered. So new shoots will form faster..
Immediately after planting, the seedlings are watered abundantly. Each plant will need about two liters of water. The next step is mulching and pruning. Mulch will maintain the necessary soil moisture and protect against weeds. Pruning is carried out as much as possible, leaving at least three buds on each seedling.
In the next season, all branches of the first year of life are pruned (cut almost to the very ground), and only young shoots are left. Such pruning of young seedlings contributes to their better rooting and development of the root system. The development of the whole plant will depend on it, which means the quality and quantity of the crop.
It is recommended to plant any siderates between the rows of raspberry bushes (in autumn). In early spring, it will be necessary to mow down all the crops that have appeared and use them as a mulching layer throughout the entire raspberry tree.
Raspberry care
Raspberries love to grow in porous, lightweight and moist areas of land. Not every farmer can provide his raspberry with such soil. But mulching will help solve all the problems. This layer will become not only a protection for the beds, but also food for plants..
You can use old newspapers as a first layer. Newspapers line the entire surface of the earth between the raspberry bushes. Then all the available organic waste is poured on top – grass, straw, small branches of trees and bushes, wood waste (sawdust or shavings), food waste.
In order for the raspberries to be large every season, it is necessary to regularly prune the bushes. At the end of the summer cottage season, you need to cut off all the branches that have spawned to the level of the soil. Do not forget to get rid of young growth. After pruning, each raspberry seedling should have two to five of the strongest and strongest shoots..
To prevent the long raspberry branches from bending under the weight of the berries, additional supports can be made. These can be wooden posts along the edges of the beds, which are connected with wires along all the plants. This design will provide good access to the bushes when caring for them. The stems will not tilt, it will be possible to irrigate, feed and update mulching without any problems.
Feeding raspberries
In the first years of life, when the plants are gaining strength and their formation continues, additional feeding in the form of organic fertilizers will be required. The mulching layer gives its positive results, but this is not enough for young bushes..
In the spring, for active growth and development, you can add one of the options for feeding:
- Chicken droppings (1 kilogram) are mixed with water (1 large bucket) and infused for 24 hours. One liter of this infusion is added to 10 liters of water and watered under each bush.
- The herbal infusion is mixed with the manure infusion in equal proportions. This liquid fertilizer is applied to wet soil.
For young shoots, it is recommended to spray with a solution with effective microorganisms. It will be not only an excellent fertilizer, but also a prophylaxis against infectious and fungal diseases..
In the autumn, it is advisable to feed raspberries with a complex fertilizer. To prepare it, you will need a large container (wooden or metal barrel), which is filled with various organic matter (about 60-70 percent): fresh grass or vegetable tops, wood ash (1.5 cups), hay or straw, chicken droppings, one and a half glasses sugar (or jam), a small piece of chalk and pour warm water to the brim.
The fermentation process takes place within 10 days. To apply top dressing, you need to dilute 0.5 liters of the finished infusion with 10 liters of water. Each raspberry bush will need 3 liters of this fertilizer..
Video – how to grow large and sweet raspberries
How to grow large and SWEET raspberries