How to properly process raspberries in the fall: a description of the most important stages
Sweet, juicy raspberries are one of children's favorite summer treats. But in order for the berry harvest to please you every season, the bushes need to be looked after. Raspberries require this care not only in spring and summer, but also in autumn.
Read on for information on how to properly process raspberries in the fall and protect them from pests.
Why is it important to care for raspberries in the fall?
Raspberries are unpretentious plants. It grows well and bears fruit, even if it is not looked after at all.
However, over time the bushes grow. In dense conditions, they lack sunlight and air circulation inside the bushes becomes difficult., the plants begin to hurt.
All this leads to the fact that there are fewer berries and they grow small and not so sweet. Simple care measures in spring and autumn are a prerequisite for obtaining a stable harvest of vitamin-rich berries.
Stages of autumn care
Caring for raspberries in the autumn includes:
- thinning and pruning;
- weeding;
- loosening the earth;
- fertilizing;
- watering and mulching of plantings;
- shelter for the winter.
Processing times
The start time of autumn work depends on what type of shrub growing on the site.
Traditional varieties
These are unpretentious varieties that bear fruit in almost all types of soil and in any climate.. They produce a harvest once per season.
Autumn care activities for such shrubs begin at the end of August.. At this time, the fruiting period is already over, and the plant begins to prepare for winter.
The growth of the stems stops, the wood changes the green color of the bark to brown and thickens to protect against cold weather. The shrub enters the dormant stage, completing active processes. When the first snow falls, all metabolic processes stop.
Remontant varieties
The fruiting period of these varieties ends only with the onset of cold weather.
Need to know! Processing schemes for traditional and remontant raspberries differ. The remontant fruit bears fruit twice per season, so the timing of its pruning is shifted to late autumn.
Pruning of remontant varieties begins in late autumn, about two weeks before the expected frost. By this time, the second wave of fruiting is completed. Treatment begins after the leaves fall, since in the fall the remontant raspberries take nutrients from them for the root system.
Pruning technology
The first thing to do is to thin out the raspberry tree, removing all excess stems and shoots. In this way, you will ensure good ventilation and illumination of the plantings, reducing the risk of disease and pest damage.
Required Tools
To work you will need clothes made of thick fabric, gloves to protect your skin from thorny stems and sharp pruning shears.. Don't forget to disinfect your tools before and after work. This way you will protect the bush from infection with diseases.
Schemes and instructions
Treatment of plantings begins with the removal of all diseased, broken, poorly developed and pest-affected shoots. The branches are cut down to the very roots, leaving no stump. Then all two-year-old shoots are removed.
Attention! The main purpose of the pruning procedure is to remove spent two-year-old shoots. They are distinguished from annuals by their brown, woody trunk.
Of the annuals, only well-developed branches are left. Be sure to shorten the tops by 10 cm. This part does not bear fruit and slows down the preparation of the main stem for winter.
The bushes are thinned out so that no more than 8-10 stems remain per 1 m². All cut raspberries are taken out of the area and burned.
The nuances of pruning remontant raspberries
Remontant raspberries bear fruit on both two-year-old shoots and one-year-old shoots. Therefore, two-year-old trunks are not removed, but only the tops are pinched. The tops of annual shoots of remontant raspberries are not shortened, since this is where the berry crop is laid.
After collecting the first harvest, remove the fruit-bearing shoots to get the second one as soon as possible.
In regions with short summers, the second raspberry harvest does not have time to ripen. In such areas, remontant raspberries are grown as an annual plant. This means that the above-ground part is cut off completely in the fall. And next season new annual shoots will bear fruit.
Processing after trimming
After removing excess stems, the raspberry tree is carefully weeded and the soil is loosened. Weeds must be removed, as they use the nutrients and soil moisture necessary for cultivated plants.
Overgrown weeds shade the plantings and increase humidity in the root zone, promoting the development of rot and other raspberry diseases. They retain foci of infections and overwinter pests.
After weeding, the soil is loosened. If raspberries are planted in two or more rows, a ditch is made between them for autumn watering and fertilization.
Features of care depending on the region
In some cases, it is advisable to prune fruit-bearing shoots not in the fall, but in the early spring. It depends on the region where the crop is grown.
Spring pruning is more suitable for regions with mild winters. Indeed, in warm climates, raspberries continue to grow and accumulate nutrients even after the fruiting period.
And in areas with harsh and little snowy winters, unremoved fruit-bearing shoots contribute to better snow retention and successful wintering.
Additional care activities
In addition to pruning, weeding and loosening, Raspberry plantings need fertilizing and protection from diseases and pests.
Fertilizer application
For successful wintering and full growth in the spring, fertilizers are added to the soil. Plants need nitrogen to develop their root system in spring. However, if you have already applied nitrogen fertilizers in the summer, there is no need to do this additionally in the fall.
As the main phosphorus fertilizer, apply in the fall superphosphate, incorporating it into the soil. The shrub also needs potassium for successful wintering, so the soil is additionally fertilized with potassium magnesium or potassium monophosphate.
Follow the instructions when calculating the required amount of fertilizing. Remember that excess nutrients are just as harmful to plants as their deficiency.
Alternatively use complex phosphorus-potassium fertilizers for shrubs.
Protection from diseases and pests
Another important stage of autumn work with raspberries is processing the bushes to protect from pests and diseases. Insect larvae and pathogens of fungal diseases overwinter in the bark. In the spring they wake up and harm young shoots.
Processing begins after pruning, but before mulching. The raspberry plant is cleared of leaves, cut branches, and mulch residues.
How to treat raspberries against pests? To protect against insects, bushes are sprayed with special products. Names of drugs that are most effective against wintering pests:
- “Fufanon” is an insectoacaricide for protection against a complex of pests;
- "Intavir" is an insecticide with enteric contact action against various types of pests.
To prevent the development of diseases, plantings are sprayed Bordeaux mixture and copper sulfate solution.
Interesting things on the site:
Rules for feeding cherries in autumn
Watering and mulching the soil
This is the final stage of autumn work. Raspberries are moisture-loving shrubs, so if the soil is dry, water it abundantly before wintering.
When the water has been absorbed, the soil surface is mulched.. This will protect the root system from hypothermia, retain moisture in the soil and slow down the growth of weeds.
Important! The raspberry root system is afraid of frost, as it is located only 20-30 cm from the surface of the earth.
How to mulch raspberries in the fall and how to do it correctly? For autumn mulching, peat, straw, sawdust or rotted leaves are used.. The selected material is poured around the stems in a layer of 8-10 cm.
Preparing for cold weather
Caring for raspberries in the fall ends with bending the branches to the ground. After pruning, the stems are tied with ropes, a weight is attached and carefully tilted. It is better to do bending before the onset of frost, while the raspberry stems are still flexible.
When grown in the southern regions and central Russia, it is not necessary to cover raspberries. It is enough to mulch the soil well to protect the roots.
And in the Urals, Siberia and especially in the northern regions, shrubs need in additional insulation.
One option is to wrap the bushes with spunbond or other suitable material.. In this case, the free space between the branches is filled with straw. Shoots bent to the ground are also covered with leaves or spruce branches.
Need to know! An overly covered shrub will begin to rot during thaws and winter rains and will die as a result. Therefore, when choosing material for shelter, focus on the climate of your region.
The simplest and most effective way of insulation is to cover the bushes with snow.. The snow blanket should cover them entirely.
For successful wintering, the condition of the plantings plays an important role. Resistance to cold is lower in bushes that are overfed with nitrogen, that have not completed the growing season in the fall, and in bushes that are dense, diseased, and growing in the shade.
Rejuvenation of old bushes
Raspberry plantings successfully grow and bear fruit in the same place for many years. If you get a plot with an old raspberry tree, it is not necessary to uproot it and plant a new one.
Rejuvenation of old plantings carried out in the fall gives good results. The plantings are inspected and the oldest bushes that do not bear fruit are noted. Around each such bush they dig up the ground with a shovel, cutting off the roots, and remove it.
The resulting voids are filled with compost or humus and compacted. From the root shoots remaining in the ground, new shoots will appear in this place in the spring. After the procedure, the raspberry tree is well watered.
Removal of old roots is carried out in stages over 2-3 years, gradually completely renewing the plantings.
Advice from experienced gardeners
Advice and recommendations from experienced gardeners will help care for raspberries correctly and get a stable harvest every season:
- After completing all the autumn work in the raspberry garden, cut off the roots that spread beyond its borders. To do this, use a bayonet shovel to walk around the bushes at a distance of 30-40 cm. Carry out the procedure once a year in the fall to avoid the spread of raspberries throughout the entire area.
- When planting a new raspberry bed, dig the remains of slate or metal into the ground around the perimeter of the bed to a depth of 40-50 cm. This way you will limit the growth of roots.
- Cut stems flush with the ground. Pathogens and pest larvae overwinter on protruding stumps.
- When thinning the bushes in the fall, also remove all small shoots. These stems will not have time to grow stronger before the cold weather arrives.
- When pruning, ruthlessly remove old shoots. The life cycle of the shrub is two-year; after the second year, the shoots stop growing and dry out.
Conclusion
Raspberries, like any garden crop, need care. To grow and form fruits, it needs sunlight, space, moisture and nutrients. Densified plantings and neglect of fertilizing and watering lead to crushing of berries and a decrease in yield.
By spending a little time pruning, weeding and fertilizing in the fall, you will be rewarded with plenty of healthy, flavorful berries next summer.