new fruit bushes when to harvest

I only came on here for 5 mins. before feeding pigs, and an hour later I am still on here .....

I read that someone harvested their strawberries from new plants and that the plants did not do so well in second year, believe this to be true of raspberries too. Being a bear of little brain I am confused. I have been given some strawbs and raspberries are they considered first year plants? Do I leave the fruit on them and if so why? In my experience its always a race between me and the pig/chickens as to who gets any fruit from anything in our garden. In nature the wild birds would take the fruit?? Help please.

I need to go feed the pigs now so may not respond to any replies until tomorrow but thanks for takng the trouble to reply.

lOVE THIS SITE

 

You need to give 1st year plants (from runners) a year to build up their strength so remove any flowers that appear. I think in nature, strawb' runners would still be supplied with food from the parent plant but we cut them off as soon as they have produced their own roots.

Cheers. Tony.

 

Sounds wrong to me I'm afraid.

I think that strawberry plants deteriorate over about 3 years, so it is worth making new plants, taken from Runners, such that the bed can be replaced every few years. (Probably worth getting new, certified virus-free, plants now-and-again too).

Raspberries will not produce in the first year (Autumn fruiting ones may well try to, but I think it is worth preventing them fruiting so that the young plants don't waste their energy fruiting but instead build up strength to give better crops in future years). They will carry on cropping for years and years after that - if looked after reasonably well.

Cut the canes down to the ground after planting - you will then get suckers which will carry the next crop (this year in the case of Autumn fruiting varieties [although see above ], and next-year for Summer fruiting ones). Once a cane has finished fruiting cut it down to the ground - for Autumn fruiting this will turn out to be all the canes, for Summer fruiting it will be half the canes as next-year's canes will already be growing before this-years have finished fruiting.

 

Thanks both so much. This gardening thing is like a fun science project ....