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Raspberry is a plant from the rose family, known to man since ancient times. This extremely tasty, aromatic berry is also a storehouse of vitamins, minerals and amino acids.
In general, raspberries are not a particularly demanding plant, but to get a good harvest of large and juicy berries, the gardener needs to take care of the raspberry tree.
The responsible stage is spring raspberry care. This article explains how to protect a plant from pests in the spring, how to care for raspberries in the spring and prepare them for the time of flowering and fruiting.
The beginning of spring work in the raspberry field
The first action of a caring gardener in a raspberry garden is to remove last year’s leaves and branches. This stage is carried out as soon as the last snow melts. The importance of spring cleaning is due to the danger of plant infection - it is in the litter of last year's leaves that the main enemies of raspberries overwinter. Since they crawl out of their wintering places from the very end of the winter cold, it is important not to miss the moment of spring cleaning.
All collected raspberry leaves and branches must be burned, since there is a high probability of them being damaged by fungi, diseases, and viruses.
How to plant and replant raspberries in spring
Caring for raspberries in spring includes planting work. When performing this work, according to experienced gardeners, three factors are important:
- Choice raspberry varieties. Among the numerous (there are more than six hundred) varieties of raspberries, it is important to choose the one that most fully corresponds to the climatic conditions where the raspberry garden is located.
- Choosing a location. When choosing a place for a future raspberry garden, experienced gardeners are advised to take into account that this plant does not like direct sunlight and does not tolerate drafts well. Moist loamy and sandy loam soils are favorable for raspberries.
- Soil preparation. Caring for raspberries involves applying mineral and organic fertilizers, as well as providing watering.
When caring for raspberries in the spring, when planting seedlings, it is necessary to prepare holes (about 40 cm in diameter and depth). The fertile layer must be set aside and mixed with fertilizers. Experienced gardeners recommend this mixture:
- Compost or humus – 10 g.
- Potassium sulfate – 50 gr.
- Wood ash – 400 gr.
- Granulated superphosphate – 100 g.
These proportions of necessary fertilizers are given per hole.
Experienced gardeners advise mixing the top layer of soil with fertilizers and pouring some of it into a hole, placing a raspberry seedling there a little below the bud and covering it with prepared soil. Then a hole is made around it and filled with water. After absorbing moisture, the hole is filled with humus or sawdust, and the raspberry seedling is trimmed to 30 cm in height. If it doesn’t rain, then after a few days the raspberry planting needs watering.
How to prune raspberries correctly
One of the most important stages of spring raspberry care is pruning the plants.
Gardeners with extensive experience believe that the double pruning method is the most effective - it can significantly increase raspberry yields.
Double pruning of raspberries is carried out in two stages:
- Removing weak, diseased shoots that did not survive the winter; pruning on living stems is done to a healthy bud. This must be done before the soil warms up - in March-April.
- Trim 20 cm from the top of the raspberry shoot after the buds have opened.
According to the advice of experienced gardeners on caring for raspberries in the spring, the appearance of up to fifteen new shoots is stimulated, which give a good harvest.
Raspberry garter
Caring for raspberries in spring necessarily includes garter of raspberry shoots. Depending on the characteristics of the raspberry tree and the planting method, you can choose one of two options for raspberry garter.
- Handicraft - a stake is placed in the middle of a raspberry bush and shoots are tied to it. The method is convenient for hole planting. You can drive stakes between bushes and tie shoots from different bushes and at different heights - this ensures more uniform exposure to sunlight.
- Trellis - posts are installed along the edges of a row of raspberries, and two rows of wire are stretched between them. One is at a height of about 70 cm, the second is at a height of a meter. Well suited for trench planting.
How to till the soil
Proper care of raspberries in spring involves tilling the soil.
Proper tillage involves loosening (up to 10 cm deep), after which abundant watering is desirable.
Experienced gardeners believe that an element of spring raspberry care such as mulching the soil significantly contributes to increasing productivity. The procedure consists of adding a deep layer of humus, compost, rotted straw - the so-called mulch - to the raspberry tree. Fifteen centimeters of mulch will provide the roots with nutrition and moisture.
How to feed the soil
Gardeners with extensive experience believe that caring for raspberries in the spring is impossible without fertilizing the soil.
Every spring it is necessary to apply nitrogen fertilizers to the soil of the raspberry tree. The time for the first feeding of raspberries is early spring, immediately after the snow melts, before loosening, but after watering. For fertilizer, you can use ammonium nitrate plus a glass of wood ash (to prevent acidification) or potassium nitrate. A good option for spring care for raspberries can be comprehensive feeding:
- Potassium – 100 gr.
- Saltpeter – 100 gr.
- Superphosphate – 200 gr.
For 10 liters of water you need 100 g. this mixture.
The next stage of spring feeding of raspberries is carried out in May - 500 grams. mullein dissolve in 10 l. water.
Some experienced gardeners prefer to use only organic fertilizers. In addition to mullein, they use the droppings of rabbits (diluted with water in a ratio of 1:10), poultry (1:20). Raspberry soil and herbal infusion of comfrey and nettle fertilize well: 1 kg of fresh herbs are infused in a bucket of cold water for a week with daily stirring. To feed raspberries, dilute 1 liter. infusion in 10 liters of water and pour 2 liters of the mixture under each bush.
Pest protection
The first stage of the fight against raspberry pests During spring raspberry care is spring cleaning. As soon as the last snow melts and dead branches are pruned, last year's foliage and branches must be collected and burned. It is there that the main enemies of raspberries overwinter and most of them can be destroyed in this way before they emerge from hibernation.
The next stage of the fight is spraying the raspberry vine. It must be done before the buds open.
The beetle dies if the soil and raspberry shoots are treated with a solution of nitrafen (200 ml per 10 liters of water).
Fufanon or actellik are destructive to raspberry gall midge, especially its larvae (dose - 15 ml per 8 liters of water).
For the stem fly, an obstacle to emerging from hibernation is a layer of mulch on the raspberry tree trunks.
The treatment of raspberry vines with solutions of agravertine, actellik or fitoverm has been repeatedly tested and confirmed by experience.
Experienced gardeners recommend carrying out this part of spring care - processing work - on a cloudy day and only before flowering begins.
There are also quite effective folk remedies for controlling raspberry pests. If a raspberry tree is affected by gray rot, pine needles will protect it - they need to be spread between the raspberry bushes. Garlic treats fungal diseases of raspberry shoots. Insecticides successfully replace infusions of onions, dandelions, and yarrow.
These tips will allow you to prepare your raspberry garden well for the fruiting period and enjoy a bountiful raspberry harvest before the autumn cold.
