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Although there is a lot of controversy among gardeners regarding the timing of planting, practice shows that the survival rate is higher when planting raspberries in the spring. During the summer period, the seedlings are well strengthened, fully rooted and able to endure cold winter frosts without shelter.
Ways of planting
The time of planting raspberries – in spring, autumn or summer, does not matter so much. However, it is important to plant the seedling correctly, prune it and provide proper care. This is the main condition for good survival and early harvest. The most common are two ways of planting raspberries – bush or in a pit and trench.
Shrub
Planting raspberries in holes does not require preliminary soil preparation, digging and fertilizing. Pits are made 50-55 cm deep and 45-60 cm wide and prepared 1,5-2 weeks before planting. Immediately before planting, 3,5-4,5 kg of compost or humus is added. You can also apply only mineral fertilizers: superphosphates 25-35 g, ammonium nitrate 12-20 g, potassium salts 5-12 g for each hole. The best option would be the simultaneous application of mineral and organic fertilizers, in which case their dose is halved. Top dressing is mixed with fertile soil and fall asleep at the bottom of the pit. To create the most favorable conditions for the development of the root system, the plant should also be covered with earth from the top layer when planting. It is important to provide proper care for raspberries.
Raspberry planting scheme in spring
When the bush is lowered to the bottom of the planting hole and dug in, it is necessary to shake it lightly so that the entire space between the roots is well filled with soil. It is not recommended to deepen the bush too much, this greatly inhibits its development and growth, at the same time, a shallow planting can lead to drying of the basal buds. It is desirable that after watering and shrinkage of the soil, the root neck should be at the same level with the ground. After planting, the bushes are watered, slightly compact the soil with their feet and mulched with sawdust, peat or straw.
into the trench
Compared with the previous method, planting raspberries in the spring in a trench is more laborious and time consuming. However, in this case, the entire area of the future raspberry is initially provided with the same amount of nutrients, which has a beneficial effect on the yield in the future.
It is necessary to prepare trenches in advance, at least 22-26 days before planting young raspberries. Such preparation greatly facilitates subsequent care and contributes to the early rooting of seedlings. In the spring, when warm, dry weather sets in, before planting raspberries, the soil is cleared of weeds, roots and other debris in the selected area. To reduce the formation of weeds in the aisles, you can cover them with black film, old linoleum or roofing material. The cleared area is marked with pegs. After that, landing trenches 42-52 cm deep and 45-55 cm wide are dug along a stretched cord. At the same time, the length of the trench corresponds to the length of the future raspberry, and their number – to the planned rows of raspberries.
A mixture of black fertile soil, biohumus, rotted manure or compost is laid at the bottom of the trench with a layer of 10-15 cm. Double superphosphate 120-180 g is evenly scattered on top. Nitrogen fertilizers are not applied during planting, this slows down the process of adaptation and rooting, weakens the plant before wintering. Also add 1,5-2,5 scoops of ash, depending on the length of the trench. This supplement should be used with caution.
Although it improves the taste of berries, however, excess ash alkalizes the soil, as a result of which a young bush may lack magnesium and iron, and the risk of root system disease increases.
Selection of seedlings
Seedlings for successful planting are selected with 2-4 shoots with an average thickness of 5-8 mm, a well-developed root system with a length of at least 13-16 cm and a thick lobe. If the seedlings were purchased far from the site and cannot be planted immediately, they should be covered with a dense wet cloth or dug in temporarily to avoid drying out the roots. You can not keep the roots wet for a long time in a plastic bag, as they begin to rot and turn brown from moisture. You should also give preference to plants with bright green leaves that are not damaged or yellowed and twisted.
Immediately after planting, it is necessary to cut the seedlings to 25-40 cm from the soil level, leaving only the buds that have not yet begun to grow, so that the plant does not waste nutrients on the shoots, but is well rooted.
The choice of soil and place for raspberries
A well-lit area protected from cold winds should be taken under the raspberries. Rows of raspberries are best placed northeast to southwest. In partial shade, raspberries can grow, but fruiting will be low. Remontant varieties, such as Hercules, are especially sensitive to a lack of light. In this case, fully formed buds of the Hercules variety are placed mainly on unripened shoots, which will be strongly stretched. Such kidneys will certainly die during the winter frosts or during frosts in the spring. Proper care of the bushes is very important.
Raspberries love neutral and slightly acidic, well-drained and at the same time moisture-retaining, fertile, light loamy soils. It is possible to breed raspberries on sandy and sandy soils, but in this case, it is necessary to apply a large amount of organic fertilizers annually in the spring and regular watering.
On medium loamy soil in a cold, rainy, little sunny summer, even with proper care, the shoots may still not ripen. Due to excessive soil moisture, shoot growth will be continuous and intense. As a result, without timely pinching, they are able to stretch up to 2,5-3,5 m by the end of August without signs of maturation.
Tips for beginners
The video at the end of the entry tells how to choose the right raspberry seedlings. The video also shows how to provide her with care. In the first year after planting, you may find in the spring that some seedlings have not taken root. It is undesirable to leave raspberries in a rarefied state, even if the losses are insignificant. A young plantation should be audited at the end of the first year in the summer, removing sluggish, withered, non-rooted plants, and planting new ones in their place in autumn, according to the variety. If the plantation is small and the lunge was insignificant, it is possible to plant green raspberry offspring in the summer, while maintaining moderate soil moisture, without swamping or bringing it to dryness.
When the seedling has fresh, strong shoots, you should cut off the old stump at soil level, preventing it from fruiting. Refusal of the harvest in the first year ensures the early rooting of the bush and the development of strong shoots in subsequent years.
If raspberries were planted in fertile soil, and a sufficient amount of fertilizer was applied during planting, then in the first year the seedlings are not fed.
Raspberry bushes require careful care in the first year. Abundant watering of raspberries allows you to increase the yield and size of the berries. It is carried out before flowering, when the first ovaries of berries appear and during their ripening. At the same time, 1-2,5 buckets of water are given per 3,5 sq. m. Watering is carried out, as a rule, by sprinkling or in shallow furrows so as not to damage the root system of plants.
Video “Planting raspberries – which way is better”
How to choose planting material, what to pay attention to, how to plant raspberries correctly, other nuances of its agricultural technology and care are shown in this video.