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Raspberry
Rubus idaeus
One row gives you jam for a year — summer or autumn croppers, take your pick.
Sun
Full sun to light shade
Water
3 cm / week during fruiting
Soil
Rich, well-drained, pH 5.5–6.5
Spacing
45 cm apart, rows 1.8 m
Days to harvest
1st harvest year 2
Hardiness
Zones 3–9
Seasonal Calendar
S
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H
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Sow Harvest
The method
- 1
Plant bare-root canes
Plant when dormant. Set canes 5 cm deep and cut to 25 cm.
- 2
Wire the row
Summer croppers need 3 horizontal wires between posts to tie canes in.
- 3
Prune correctly
Summer: cut fruited canes to the ground after harvest. Autumn: cut ALL canes to the ground in Feb.
- 4
Mulch every spring
Thick mulch of compost keeps roots cool and moist.
Common problems
Raspberry beetle
Grow later autumn varieties; hang pheromone traps in May.
Cane die-back
Prune cleanly, burn diseased canes, improve airflow.
Good neighbors
GarlicChiveTansy
Field tips
- “An autumn row and a summer row give fruit June to October.”
- “Suckers dug from a row transplant instantly — free new plants.”