Summer-Fruiting Raspberries Organic

Removal of old-fruited canes from summer-fruiting raspberries, blackberries and hybrid berries should be carried out as soon as the old canes have finished cropping (July to September, depending on variety). Cutting out spent cane promptly will help the new vegetative cane to ripen properly, making it less vulnerable to cold injury during winter. Old canes can also act as a source of cane blight and cane spot. The old cane should be cut out as close to the ground as possible, without leaving snags or stubs, which will otherwise rub against newly emerging primocane the following year.

Once old-fruited cane has been removed, the best of the new cane should be selected and tied in to the wires securely to help reduce cane rocking and abrasion during the winter. The canes should only be temporarily tied in, so that they can move without rubbing against their fixings. Permanent tying-in should be carried out after the canes have hardened off, so as to prevent them shrinking and rattling against the wire. Cane tipping, to reduce the height of raspberry canes above the top wires, should be left until the canes are dormant in late winter or early spring, otherwise this may encourage early bud-break on the lower portions of the cane, which is susceptible to cold injury. They may then be shortened to 7.5cm above the top wire. Any weak, damaged, or diseased canes should also be cut out at this time. Prunings and autumn leaf litter may be shredded or pulverized in the alleyway if disease-free, otherwise plant waste material and crop debris should be removed and burnt to limit the spread of infection.

Autumn-Fruiting Raspberries

After fruiting, old cane should be left until the following spring before being cut down to the ground in February to March, before new spawn emerges. Limiting the number of canes that develop during the spring to twelve to twenty /m of row will give an earlier harvest with larger fruits.

Blackberries and Hybrid Berries

Many varieties of blackberry and hybrid berry will fruit on the same canes for several years running. Old cane may be left to crop again, but only if the canes are still green by November, are pest- and disease-free, and there is insufficient cane for the next season.