The Zimbabwean Gardener Issue 19 Summer 2016/17 | Page 14

RASPBERRIES
raspberries
Growing raspberries is easier than you think - just a bit
of water and pruning does the trick!
To this day, only half of our raspberries
from the garden have made it into our
kitchen; this is not because of the birds
or poor growing conditions, but I (and a
few other guilty members!) simply cannot
resist pecking away at these plump, red,
juicy berries. This luring bush has proven
easier to grow than originally thought,
and by following these tips to keep your
bushes happy, you will get a continuous
harvest through summer and autumn.
Where to get them
If you have a friend with raspberries, ask
for some of their young suckers - roots
and all. Alternatively, raspberry plants are
becoming more and more available at
nurseries.
Planting them
Raspberries love well-drained soils, but
have performed exceptionally well in my
heavy clay soil – I have just had to make
sure they do not get wet feet. Like most
plants, good bed preparation will give
the raspberries a boost. Dig a 40cm deep
bed and add plenty of compost and well-
rotted manure – they love manure. Plant
them about 50cm apart; suckers will start
to shoot up between them a month or so
after planting. Some raspberries might
take a while to take, so a little patience is
needed. Raspberry roots are shallow and
need a good layer of mulch around the
base of the plants.
The suckers
Suckers will start to spread around the
bed as the weather starts to warm up.
Obviously, the more suckers you have,
the more raspberries. But don’t let them
get out of control – they will even pop up
on the outside the bed.
Feeding and spraying
Generally, I don’t feed them much
during summer months, but they love a
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