Boysenberries, raspberries and blackberries are also known as caneberries.
They need early preparation for the spring months in order to stay
healthy and productive. Here are some guidelines to grow raspberries
and blackberries efficiently.
Fertilize all caneberries in early spring when new growth starts.
For each 100 feet of row, apply five to six pounds of 10-20-20 fertilizer,
spreading it over the surface of the soil. The foliage should be
a hale and hearty green color. If the foliage appears to be dull
green or yellow, there may be a nitrogen deficiency in the plant.
In this case, apply one to one and ½ pound of ammonium nitrate
per 100 feet of row when the berries are in bloom. Mulch the berries
periodically with wood chips or bark in order to prevent infestations.
Caring For the Blackberry…
When planting erect blackberries such as Shawnee or Cherokee, remember
to prune them in late winter or early spring. This keeps them from
becoming too meshed together. Discard all but three or four of the
most durable canes. Trailing blackberries such as Boysen, Logan
and Kotata should not be pruned until the end of the berry-producing
season because they produce new canes at the head of the plant in
the spring, while producing the fruit the next year.
Caring For the Raspberry…
Raspberries come in several different varieties such as red fall-bearing,
black and purple and red summer bearing. It is important to remember
to remove all weak, diseased and broken canes at the soil level.
Red Fall-Bearing Raspberries: Prune and thin these raspberries
when inactive in the fall only, cutting all canes to the ground.
Remove all of the cane tips that fruited last fall. When the tips
on the cane appear, keep them confined to a row that is 12 to 15
inches wide.
Black and Purple Raspberries: Begin by removing all of the damaged
and smaller-sized canes when the plants are dormant in the wintertime.
In late spring or summer, the first year canes should be topped
by cutting the branches to 12 inches long.
Red Summer-Bearing Raspberries: Prune summer-bearing raspberries
from January into the early spring, when the plants are dormant.
Remove all diseased, smaller and broken canes so that the healthy
ones can grow properly. There are two ways to plant them successfully:
In hills or in a hedgerow. If planting in hills, leave 10 to 12
of the strongest canes at soil level. When planting in hedgerows,
narrow the row to 12 to 14 inches wide, thinning canes to four to
five strong ones. Make sure they are evenly spaced, in each foot
of row.
