Planting Canes

Called in with homebase the other night and seen they have various currant, raspberry, loganberry and blackberry "canes" for sale, as in just seems 2 canes wrapped very tight in black plastic.

Am in right in believing they are this years, so will really fruit next year? even so they are only £1 each from the "grow your own" range.

Would I be too early planting now? in particular the raspberries are "malling jewels".

Any tips on planting etc would be fantastic! Ive got big pots lying around I could them into until i sort their raised beds out next month

 

Hi G

" Malling Jewel" are a summer flowering raspberry so canes produced this year 2012 they will have fruit on next year 2013. So dont expect any 1st year.

If you decide to buy now is a good time to plant (November till early March) , they will do really well in a pot for about a year , so you could plant in pots now until you sort out the raised beds , dont plant them too deep and spread the roots out , I made a mound of soil then the roots sat on the top then covered in soil , once planted trim down the stem to about 3 inches I know looks drastic but this will help it produce more shoots and encourage under ground shoots to come up .

I actualy grow this variety and it does really well, in October I take out the old canes and tie in all the new ones that have grown that year (and thin out if needed) , I do grow Autumn Raspberry as well and with these I cut them down to two three inches in February .

Hope this helps , I know they look a bargain at £1.00 but I have learnt to buy from a grower http://www.welshfruitstocks.co.uk/ for all the hard work and time .

These are people I buy from , really good quality

Spruce

 

Thank you very much Spruce! they do look reasonable on price aswel which is always good!

I do intend to have the beds in place I hope by the end of January, would you still try them in pots or go straight into beds? they will only contain the bagged compost and soil really, though I could put fertilisers in. Pots on the other hand will be half the time and easier managed, and as you say it wont be until next year until they fruit.

For 1 cane what sie of pot would you put in minimum? I dont want to hamper next years canes by limiting growth now is all.

 

I would try and put in a size 12 pot if you have any ? , and add slow release fertiliser , they would be a nice size to plant out later.

Spruce

 

Thank you again Spruce!

 

I would plant in beds, unless the beds are not ready - then I would use pots just so they get under way, but Raspberries really want to spread so I don't think they will be as good in pots, long term.

You won't get any fruit in the first year from a Summer fruiting variety (it is important you cut it right down after planting so it doesn't attempt to fruit). You will usually get some fruit on Autumn flowering varieties in the first year, but that is stressing the plant so might be advisable to remove the fruit before it forms so that the plant builds up strength, and a decent root system, for subsequent years.

But the fruit you want, in the first year, from the Supermarket - rather than forcing the plant to give you a handful, and then only a mediocre harvest in year 2!

Make sure you have enough plants. Nothing more infuriating, IMHO, than only having enough fruit at each picking for fewer people than are sitting around the table!

I'm sure I have way too many, but as a guide: I have 10 Raspberry plants [of each variety] so that they produce enough fruit for the family and any guests we have visiting - and I have ten separate varieties, from unbelievably-early to so-late-the-Winter-gets-them-first !! so that we have a long picking season.

 

Thank you very much kristen! very useful and I do hope to get my beds ready in time, if I am still early enough to play in beds then Ill just focus on getting them ready and sorted out, may try a couple pots just to experiment and keep close to home as such.

May I ask what your early variety is and your later one? you mts have a very big space for all those plants!

oh and another question, if planting in a raised bed where I can control water and fertilisers, as well as control the weed population etc, how close would you plant them? I intend on getting 15 canes altogether, and I do have space but at the same time done want a small acre just for raspberries so from experience, how close would you reckon to give? I know more is better but a rough guide would be great! aso any feeding tips for he first year!

 

Varieties are shown in the cropping plan at the bottom of Page 2 here:
http://kgarden.wordpress.com/projects/vegetable-patch/

(its in an image, so I can't cut & paste the names here)

Last page, on that link above, is a Gallery of some photos, which gives a bit of an idea of the size

My RHS Growign Fruit book says: 18" apart in a single row (if there is a "next row" it should be 6 feet away), the row should preferably run North South

 

Great looking garden you have there Kristen! with that variety of raspberries I cant see how youd go a miss! from the pictures yours look to be well matured ( down the right hand side during the summer shots yeh?)

 

Yup, those are the ones

I would expect newly planted canes to get to about that "density" in the second or third year - just don't expect much in the first year.

 

Yeah I will have to work on my patience, something I'm not very good at, but for the sake of raspberries, ill try

 

Last year you went to the shop and bought Raspberries. You just need to tell yourself you will have to do the same again this year, but it should be for the very last time. Simples!

 

All going well I hope so! I do have a plant left from last year however as to its identity I have really no idea! It could be a blackberry bush for all I know

Thanks again for the help Kristen