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9th August 2020

Raspberries are unusual in that their roots and crowns are perennial, while their stems or ‘canes’ are biennial.  This basically means that your raspberry plant will go on and on.  However, the branches (or canes) which bear the fruit live for only two summers making pruning especially important.

During the first growing season, the shoots of summer raspberries will not fruit - these are called primocanes.  The following year these canes will flower and produce fruit and are now called floricanes. 

The floricanes produce their fruit in early to mid summer and then die back. New primocanes are produced each year, so fruit production continues year after year. Your main task is to  prune out the dead canes each year.

Autumn fruiting varieties however produce fruit at the tip of the current season’s growth. 

It sounds far more complicated than it is! Once you have established which variety you are growing and how to handle the pruning regime there is perhaps no better soft fruit to grow for a prolific and delicious crop. 

Planting Raspberries

Although it is possible to grow raspberries from seed, by far the most common and straightforward way to cultivate them is to plant as bare root canes – usually available from nurseries and garden centres. 

Soil and Aspect 

Like most fruit, raspberries thrive in an open sunny site, but they will tolerate some light shade.  They prefer a deep, well drained but moisture retentive soil with a pH of around 6.0 to avoid iron deficiency. 

Cultivation 

Raspberries, whether bare-rooted or container-grown, should be planted out in late Autumn or early Winter.  Plant them a little deeper than they were previously growing (you’ll be able to see a soil mark on the stems of bare root plants) and space 45cm apart with 1.5m+ between rows. 

Cut the canes to 15cm above ground and water thoroughly after planting. 

Raspberries need very little or no feeding, but a mulch applied in the Spring will give the a nutrient boost. 

Pruning Raspberries

Summer Fruiting Varieties 

These need to be pruned twice.  In early or mid-Spring remove all weak or damaged canes to ground level.  Leave the most vigorous canes and aim to have them spaced around 15cm apart. 

After fruiting remove the spent canes – they will be brown in colour – to ground level after the last harvest of the summer to encourage growth of new shoots the following year. 

Autumn Fruiting Varieties 

In early Spring prune back all canes to ground level – no Summer pruning is necessary 

Harvesting and Storage 

Raspberries should be picked early in the morning before it gets too hot and are best eaten straightaway.  They can be frozen or made into jam too – they do not keep particularly well in the fridge. 

Pests and diseases 

The main diseases that commonly affect raspberries are botrytis (a fungus that affects many plant species) and mildew.  Keeping on top of pruning and watering will help avoid these. 

Deter birds with a Birdscare tape and protect your crop with a Round Fruit Cage to make sure you get to enjoy a bumper harvest. 

3rd August 2020

Who doesn't love a little peppery rocket in their salad?  And who hasn't gone to the fridge and found a bag of sorry looking rocket that is more limp than lovely!  The solution is simple.  And that is to grow your own.

Sowing

Rocket can either be started off in small pots on the windowsill, in the greenhouse, or it can be sown directly outside.

Sow seeds inside from March to June or outside from June to September.  Sow small amounts at regular intervals (say every 3 to 4 weeks) so that you don't create your own rocket glut and instead have a nice steady supply all summer long.

Choose a sunny spot with rich, fertile well drained soil.  Sow thinly, 0.5-1cm (¼- ½in) deep in rows 20cm (8in) apart.

Keep the seedlings covered with a Easy Poly Tunnel or a  Victorian Bell Cloche during the Spring and with an Easy Net Tunnel  during the hotter months, This helps to protect them and speed up their growth.  When the seedlings are big enough to handle, thin them out a little and use the thinnings in salad.  Your first taste of home grown rocket!

Care

Rocket very quickly goes to seed once it has matured, keeping it watered well can help stall this and stop it bolting.  As flower buds appear, pinch them out to prolong cropping, unless you want the plants to set seed. The flower buds can also be used in salads.

If you do turn your back for a moment and find your rocket bolted then you can always harvest the seeds for next year and tell people it was deliberate! This means the next sowing has cost you nothing which will make it taste even better!

Provide some shade in really hot weather as too much sun will make the leaves tough and not nice to eat.  Also, try not to over water as this will dilute the taste.

Pests

Flea beetle are sometimes a problem on rocket.  The leaves will become covered in small holes and damaged areas turn brown. To prevent this use fleece, especially whilst its still young, and keep the soil moist. If you water in nitrogen-rich fertilser then the crop can recover from this .

Harvest

Harvest lasts from April to November but you can pick your fist leaves around 4 weeks after planting.  Don't pick all the leaves form one plant as this will weaken its growth.  Instead, pick a few leaves from each plant and they will keep providing so you can ‘cut-and-come-again’ for much longer.

Try to pick just what you need but if you do pick more you can store them in a paper bag (will work just as well as a plastic one without the environmental impact) in a cool place for 2-4 days. Don’t let the rocket get too cold or it will wilt as soon as it warms up.

Rocket adds a great peppery taste to salads. It is delicious with a balsamic vinegar dressing, in a bacon butty or scattered over pasta.

For grow a whole range of salads along with your rocket see our Grow at Home: Salad Leaves Blog too.

27th July 2020

What are Deep Rootrainers :

Rootrainers are innovative planting cells and Maxi Rootrainers are the king of all Rootrainers.

They are perfect for growing trees from seeds or cuttings.  So, either plant your tree or, if you have a favourite tree that you want to preserve then you can take a cutting and give it the best start.

The young trees can be left in them for 2 to 3 years to fully establish a good set of deep roots.  This will help them to establish and give them the best chance of survival.

There are 40 cells which come in openable 'books' so that the saplings can be planted on without disturbing the roots.  The cells fit snuggly into a tray.

What crop are they for:

Maxi Rootrainers are perfect for broad leaved trees that have deep roots.  They are especially good if the tree is to be planted in a tough, dry or windy location.

They are also popular amongst those wanting to grow extremely large veg to thrash their neighbours at the village show!

Rapid Rootrainers and Compact Rapid Rootrainers are also available for bedding plants, salads and herbs.  And Deep Rootrainers are most commonly used for growing deep rooted veg such as peas, beans and sweetcorn.

What's so special about them?

What's really special in terms of trees is that you can leave them in the Rootrainers for a long time and they will never become pot bound.  So if you aren't ready to plant the tree this season then carry on watering and feeding and the sapling will be perfectly healthy.

Strong straight roots are a fundamental requirement of healthy and successful growth.

The rectangular shape provides a greater surface area and the grooves allow more roots to develop on the outside of the plug. Plants are also easily extracted from the ‘open books’ without root disturbance providing the perfect plug plants.

Rootrainers are well known and well loved by horticulturalists, commercial growers and all the best gardeners.

Find out more: 

See it in action: To see it in action head over to our YouTube channel Rootrainers

Related Blogs:  Read about it in use Rootrainers What size cell to use  

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