Why do you have smaller and smaller harvest each year?

Do you have similar experience? Even if you take care of your raspberries well, after a few years they produce little or no fruit at all. Can you prevent this?

To begin with, we should say that it is quite normal as old plants produce smaller and drier fruits. You should also know that raspberry bushes should be renewed every 8-10 years.

Spring pruning is very important

Yes, indeed. Bushes should be pruned and you should remove old and diseased branches as old branches prevent the bush from developing new fruitful shoots. If you grow remontant varieties, cut off only the upper part of the branch, because they will bear fruit again.

Hoeing

Do not loosen the soil around the raspberries, even if you want to remove weeds. Raspberries do not like it and you will damage fine roots. Instead, cover the soil with mulch. That way you will not damage small roots and the soil will remain loose longer.

Photo: Pixabay

Watering is also very important

About 60-70% of raspberry roots are 25-30 cm deep, which is why these plants are very sensitive to a lack of water, but also to excess of water . The best way is to water raspberries often and in small doses. Do not forget that raspberries need plenty of water from May to August.

Where to plant

Raspberries like humus-rich soils with a pH between 5 and 6.5. A big problem is too compacted impermeable soil, which prevents proper water circulation. Make sure that no poodles of water will stay on top during heavy rainfall or even during excessive watering. This quickly leads to root diseases and reduced yields. As mentioned above, cover the soil with suitable mulch.
Suitable crops that should be planted before raspberries include cereals, buckwheat, rapeseed, onions, carrots and legumes. Do not plant where grasses, clover or alfalfa grew before as the soil may be infested with pests (worms). Definitely do not plant where potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers and strawberries grew before.

Preview photo: Pixabay

Source: https://www.zahrada-centrum.cz/clanky/311-kdy-kam-a-jaky-malinik-vysadit