Raspberries

[Sakeena]

The Raspberry (Rubus idaeus), is a bushy plant with tiny thorns, small white flowers and lovely greenish leaves that produces a slightly sourish but sweet, red fruit. The fruit itself is soft and shaped almost like a very tiny, furry, scarlet-coloured bunch of grapes, but does in fact neither look nor taste anything like grapes. The raspberry fruit is very pleasing to the palate, but does tend to leave lots of little seeds stuck between one's teeth when eaten.

not to be confused with raspberry tart :D http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A284528

If you've got the space for them, raspberries are good value because they're ridiculously expensive and usually squashed and soggy in the shops.

how to grow raspberries 1 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/basics/techniques/growfruitandveg_growingraspberries1.shtml)

how to grow raspberries 2 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/basics/techniques/growfruitandveg_growingraspberries2.shtml)

[Sakeena]

i've bought a cutting today from garden centre, so can't wait to plant it this weekend but i will need to plant it in a large pot:

Common Name: Summer fruiting raspberry
Genus: Rubus
Species: idaeus
Skill Level: Beginner
Exposure: Full sun, Partial shade
Soil type: Well-drained/light, Acidic, Moist
Height: 150cm - 200cm

'Glen Magna' is a recently introduced summer fruiting raspberry variety. It boasts large, deep red fruit with a delicious flavour. These are ready for harvest in July and August, and can used fresh or frozen. The vigorous, upright canes show good disease resistance. As with all summer fruiting raspberries, the canes that have fruited should be cut back to ground level as soon as all the fruit has been picked. For the biggest crops, mulch around the plants each year with well-rotted manure and tie the canes onto horizontal support wires.

the above is from http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/plants/plant_finder/plant_pages/8207.shtml

according to the package:

plant jan - may, sept - nov and fruits may - july.

[Riz]

hi sakeena..

nice one..

so it can be planted right away, thats cool, i might buy a few cuttings from the garden centre,,,

plastic pots are well overpriced arnt they !! i would use a plastic bucket from B&Q for 98pence each..

[Sakeena]

i went past a pound shop today and saw a pack of 10 approx. medium size for a £1 in the window - but not big enough.

Might just buy a bucket and drill holes like you. Save money and plenty of room for it to grown inshallah!

:)

[Riz]

i went past a pound shop today and saw a pack of 10 approx. medium size for a £1 in the window - but not big enough.

:)

seems like a bargain, you should have bought them anyway for future use :)

[Sakeena]

thats what i thought but no use, got loads. Need extra large, most of my plants have over grown thier current homes. been replanting a few of them this evening

[Sakeena]

Start a raspberry container
Think raspberries and you might conjure up a fruit cage the size of half a tennis court, but there’s no reason why this succulent crop can’t be grown in a container, on a patio or even balcony. What greater joy could there be than reaching out for a bowl of raspberries fresh from the back door?

They are also a powerhouse of vitamins with just 100g (31/2oz) containing the entire vitamin C requirement for the day. Raspberries can produce fruit for as long as 10 or 20 years depending on the variety and have quite short roots – making them well suited for container gardening. They do like a little depth to the compost though, so choose containers about 30cm (12in) deep and 30cm (12in) in diameter.

Raspberries perform best in a full sun position although they will tolerate some shade. Plant them firmly but shallowly. They are largely surface rooting and planting too deep will discourage the formation of new canes. After planting, prune the canes back to about 25cm (10in). Stout stakes should be inserted to provide support up to about 2m (6ft).

RASPBERRY CANE SUPPLIERS
• Victoriana Nursery Gardens (01233 740 529, www.victoriana.ws)
• Ken Muir (01255 830 181, www.kenmuir.co.uk)
• Reads Nursery (01508 548 395, www.readsnursery.co.uk)
• Kore Wild Fruit (01600 860 248, www.korewildfruitnursery.co.uk)

PRUNING RASPBERRIES
For summer fruiting raspberries, cut down all the canes that have fruited to 15cm (6in) from the ground after they have finished fruiting. Autumn fruiting varieties produce fruit on the current season’s growth. To prune these cut down all growth to 15cm (6in) from the ground.

[Riz]

went looking for a rasberry plant today, couldnt find them asked the lady at the counter she told me to come back next week... :)

[Sakeena]

so did you get one in the end?

the cutting i had grew a shot on the side however it died shortly after :/

[Riz]

so did you get one in the end?

the cutting i had grew a shot on the side however it died shortly after :/

not yet, i will try again at the weekend :). might grow it in a pot...

[Riz]

sakeena, i was in B&Q today and saw the rasberry plant it was on for £4.99, and saw some strawberry plants, i might go in next week and buy both....

[Sakeena]

thanks for that but i've already bought a strawberry growig kit from woolworths for £2.99. i might pop in for the raspberry plant however.

[Te'oma]

Couple of notes about raspberries. They tend to send out suckers so it's advisable to grow them in containers to keep the maintenance down a bit. Also, as the bush grows, wherever a branch touches the ground, it will root so you can train them along the ground to get a hedge effect eventually. Once you notice that it's firmly rooted you can sever it from the parent plant.
Also, do not expect fruit in your first year. Raspberries only produce fruit on 2 year old wood so be prepared to invest some time before you start making plans on making jam from your harvest.
They like soil conditions to be slightly acidic so it's a good idea to use some chopped straw to cover the soil around the roots and this also helps to control the suckers a bit too. Any fertilizers that you use should contain a fair bit of pottasium and phosphorus with moderate amounts of nitrogen.

[Foz]

i planted one last year.....

i got a grand total of ONE raspberry lol.....

and even the birds got that...i saw it and i thought to myself ill come home and pick it ( was off out then) came home and it was gone! :eek:

[~Obsidian~]

I just spotted a cheap one of these today, not even sure it was alive but it was only a quid so I bought it, I soaked the roots for a while and then planted it out into a bucket. Can't wait to see if it grows!

:sunny:

[edibles]

raserry plants are very similar to blackberries, i have a blackberry plant outside and it has been allowed to grow and choke everything as well as darken a lot of growing space, do i started digging out the rizomes, going to finish tomorrow, inshallah.

[Foz]

did it survive then obsidian?

heres mine which i got from homebase last year

[Riz]

hi fozia..

Its doing really well :)

cant wait to see it grow through the summer .....


ps.. i think i have identified your outdoor plant as well please take a look link : http://www.muslimgrower.com/discussionforum/showthread.php?t=265

[~Obsidian~]

Nope :(

Masha Allah yours looks really good!

[Foz]

heres my rasberry bush now...the lower leaves are being attacked by some insect...and the very lower leaves my rabbit is eating!

http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k90/fozpot/STA50996.jpg

and heres a pic of one...my daughter is pointing at it (shes eaten the rest by then! lol

[edibles]

looks delicious, not to surprised to hear its been eaten

[~Obsidian~]

They look lovely Foz mashaAllah!

[Foz]

my raspberries are doing well this year mashAllah

http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k90/fozpot/STA51149.jpg

[Foz]

those are 3 strawberries at the front which i took from my parents house

[~Obsidian~]

Masha'Allah :D I was watching this program yesterday called 'The Edible Gardener' and she had this great tip - prune only half of your raspberries each year (alternate the ones you prune each year) and you'll get an early crop and a late crop. So when you do prune (and if you have enough plants) remember that and insha'Allah your fruiting season will be extended.

[ummahmed]

not yet, i will try again at the weekend :). might grow it in a pot...

did you end up growing one in a pot? how well did it do and what size pot did you use?

[Foz]

i had one red raspberry today! got it before the birds had it!

my bushes are doing ok

[Foz]

some of my raspberries last month

[Tania]

The bush begun to grow and i hope to pick up few raspberries this year:
http://img859.imageshack.us/img859/5810/capture31.png