#raspberry canes

Welcome to the Berry Patch, all canes are now producing ripe fruit.  Unlike strawberries which really slow down or pause if it’s not sunny, once raspberries get to a certain point, they ripen even if it’s overcast and rainy, and especially if it’s rainy which they LOVE, and which makes for fat, happy berries.  We’ve had overnight or morning rains with clearing afternoons and I’ve got berries coming in increasing amounts.  This week is going to be the mother-load, and I should really make some cordial.

Raspberry One looks to be about midway through its fruit cycle.  Two's berries are larger and more triangular than One’s, and One has darker fruit too.  Gold Raspberry is just warming up, and the berry are in clusters of four or five, with one right now being much darker than the rest.  The Gold berries are the smallest but pack a strong flavor punch.  Once picked, these berries have a very short shelf life, starting to decline noticeably by the end of the first day even when kept refrigerated.

last night i dreamed about my grandmothers house. it was a low ranch house on a large lot with concrete courtyards and japanese garden inspired landscaping. in the dream, the ceiling between the kitchen and office was a huge skylight and there were tropical plants, a fireplace simulating lava, and a water feature underneath. in her office space i found a wealth of fabric scraps, dies for cutting specific shapes consistently, and an ancient cricut machine.

in the backyard i walked through the concrete courtyards, past the massive bowl-shaped concrete planters, to the berry patch. i ran my hands through the leaves and ate blueberries, blackberries and raspberries. i went to the ancient tree draping itself over the back patio and sat and climbed in it, like i had so many times as a child, running my hands over flaking bark, smoothing and shaping it where i touched it like a giant bonsai.

some part of me remembered that my grandmother's house was torn down and replaced with a boxy and gray three-story mcmansion. i let myself into the backyard anyway and dug into the lawn until i found the raspberry canes, pulling them up through the years and back into the world, and took them with me to replant them. aren't there cameras back here? i thought, but it was too late, and i was already leaving.

i drove east down a street i'd been down many times, where the furniture-sellers piled their wares on the sidewalks and in the center turn lane, priced neatly. a young man stood by a bedframe i'd been eyeing, covered in salish style carvings with worn black paint accenting the designs. i stopped next to him. "i'm taking it home today," he told me. "going to get some fresh paint on here." he was in his early 20s. it was his first big purchase. a shame he couldnt afford the matching side tables and dresser. i kept driving, and turned left.

Now is a good time to plant fruit

We have plenty ready in beds 8 and 14, and bare rooted raspberry canes on bed 1.

Why not pop in for some advice.

To plant soft fruit such as raspberries, blackberries, and currants, follow these steps:

Choose a sunny spot.

Soft fruit trees need at least six hours of sunlight per day.

Prepare the soil.

Soft fruit trees prefer well-drained soil that is rich in organic matter.

Amend the soil with compost or manure before planting.

Dig a hole.

The hole should be twice as wide as the root ball of the plant and deep enough so that the top of the root ball is level with the surface of the soil.

Place the plant in the hole.

Backfill the hole with soil and gently tamp it down to remove any air pockets.

Water the plant thoroughly.

Here are some additional tips for planting soft fruit:

Space the bushes according to their mature size.

Water the plants regularly, especially during the first year after planting.

Fertilise the trees in the spring with sulphate of potash

Mulch around the trees with compost or bark chips to help retain moisture and suppress weeds.

Stay fit, stay healthy. Keep gardening!

Horsfields Nursery Tel:- 01226 790441

Open seven days a week 10am - 4pm

[email protected]

Horsfields Nursery

Pot House Hamlet

Silkstone

Barnsley

South Yorkshire

S75 4JU

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Last chance for bare rooted raspberry.

The rest of our fruit is now all potted on beds 8 and 14.

Listen to our April gardening.

Click on the link https://youtu.be/ERnVx0BYJZY

We are open seven days a week 10am - 4pm.

Horsfields Nursery Tel:- 01226 790441

[email protected]

Horsfields Nursery

Pot House Hamlet

Silkstone

Barnsley

South Yorkshire

S75 4JU

Beautiful plants in a beautiful place

Like to keep in the loop about our special offers & receive helpful hints and tips on gardening.

Why not sign up to our newsletter?

http://eepurl.com/bwMctr

Stay fit. Stay healthy. Keep gardening!

#pothousehamlet

#placestovisitbarnsley

#horsfieldsnursery

#horsfields

#gardencentrebarnsley

#gardencentrepenistone

#silkstone

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As much as I talk about the strawberries, there is a huge stand of raspberry canes, and it’s about to rain down fruit as well.

I’m looking at these golden raspberry canes, and I’m imagining the entire shebang growing longer with way more side canes and dripping with fruit, and I realize I’m daring the berries to come at me.

I gotta work on some trellis strategies, because these canes want to march west, and I should get them to serpentine over the raised bed where I can use the framework to help support them.  

The golden raspberry cane needed something done before it became an uncontrolled, stabby monster, and the solution has rendered it somewhat of a semi-controlled, stabby monster.

The developing canes are so thin, I had to do all of this bare-handed.  So many micro-scratches... but this should save my ass over the next few weeks.

I set the two wrought-iron plant stands several feet apart and used two of my longest bamboo poles to bridge the two, making a framework along which I can wrap/drape/support the two developing golden canes.  They can now grow east-west they way they want.

Two days later, that clump I photographed produced a ripe raspberry.