The favorite berry of children and adults is not only incredibly tasty, but also useful - it's a whole storehouse of vitamins! But, planting it on your site, it is important to know what should be the proper care for raspberries in the spring to ensure a good harvest.
Raspberry - spring care, tips of seasoned gardeners
If you do not engage in a raspberry bush, most likely, he will still grow and be fruitful without any care. So what's the point? The fact is that well-groomed raspberry will give a very rich harvest - the berries will be large and juicy, more ovaries will form, and the probability of hitting the bush is reduced to almost zero. Caring for raspberries in early spring is the correct pruning of the bush after wintering, a little later the bush is tied up and processed.
What to do with raspberries in the spring after winter?
Care for raspberries in the spring begins from the very day when winter ended. This includes the following procedures:
- Hot shower. In early March, in order to prevent pest infestation, raspberry bush should be sprinkled with hot water. This is done very simply - pour boiling water into the watering can and water the raspberry from a height of about a meter. Do not worry, this procedure for raspberries is absolutely harmless.
- Soil cultivation. In spring, the soil around the raspberry bush should be well loosened, weeds removed and mulched whenever possible. But if the raspberry is located near water bodies or groundwater, mulching can not be done.
- Watering. Raspberry needs a lot of moisture. There is no strict order for moistening the soil, you need to focus only on the weather, the condition of the earth. Soil should be moderately moist.
Transplanting raspberries in spring to a new place
The first and main question is why this procedure is needed, and in what cases should it be done? Transplantation of raspberries in spring is carried out for two reasons.
- Too thick raspberry. If the raspberry has grown so that it is difficult to pass between the bushes, the plants are already cramped, and in order for each bush to develop normally and be able to bear fruit, some of them must be transplanted to another place.
- Unsuitable place. If for 2-3 years you see that, with all the rules of care, raspberry bushes do not feel good, then it is likely that you have chosen not for them a good place.
The most favorable time for a spring raspberry transplant is the end of May and the first half of June, when the soil is already well warmed up, but there is still no heat, and raspberry bushes are actively preparing for flowering. This is done extremely simply - carefully extract the bush from the ground and plant it in a new place, after which we water abundantly. Raspberry bushes tolerate transplantation well, it is good for them.
How to properly cut raspberries in spring?
Once the soil starts to warm up, and the weather is increasingly sunny, it's time to start forming the bush. The correct pruning of raspberries in spring is done in two stages.
- At the first stage, it is necessary to remove weak shoots, dry last year's branches, stems with blisters at the base (there may be larvae of parasites). The remaining good stems are also pruned if necessary, leaving 6-8 stems in the bush forming.
- When the average daily air temperature reaches at least 5 ° C, you can proceed to the second stage of trimming. At this time, the kidneys are already open, and the condition of each branch is visible. Remove the missing dry branches, the frozen tops of the stems.
All the high tips of the raspberry stems should be cut to a length of about 20 cm - this procedure contributes to the formation of lateral shoots, on each of which the ovary will form by the summer. To make the berries large, you can not allow the bush to reach more than 1.5 meters in height. Such planned pruning not only contributes to a rich harvest in raspberry, but also to a longer period of fruiting of each bush.
How to tie a raspberry in the spring?
There are two variants of cultivation of a raspberry with a garter to a support:
- trellised;
- cluster.
In tapestry, each bush must be tied to a wire in two places so that its top does not fall down. With cluster formation, a stake is driven between two bushes, and half of the bushes are tied to each cola. Garter of raspberries in spring is necessary so that raspberry bushes do not shade each other, more berries ripen simultaneously, and the whole harvest will be sweet and juicy.
What to fertilize raspberries in the spring?
In order for raspberry bushes to have enough nutrients during the wintering season, they are well fertilized in autumn, but by spring they again need to be fed in the form of solutions or granules. In total, raspberry is fertilized three times during the growing season.
- The first fertilizing is carried out immediately after the snow has come down. Top dressing of raspberries in the early spring should include nitrophosphate , kemir and complex mixtures. Useful will be ammonium nitrate or potassium, urea. You can use wood ash, which oxidizes the soil and saturates it with micro- and macro elements. After applying fertilizers, the raspberry must be poured, the soil should be silenced.
- The second top dressing is done after 25-30 days at the stage of ovary formation. Used organic fertilizers - manure or bird droppings. If organic was added to the first feeding, superphosphate and potassium salt should be added to the second one.
- The third feeding is no longer spring, it is produced after harvesting the entire crop. In the inter-row, a large number of mineral fertilizers are introduced.
Than to process a raspberry in the spring from pests?
Another point that includes caring for raspberries in spring is the protection of bushes from diseases and pests. The difficulty is that raspberries can not be treated with chemicals - this can be detrimental to health. Treatment of raspberries in spring should be made only by biological preparations. Before the formation of the ovary and at the beginning of flowering from diseases, the bush can be sprinkled with such means as:
- Trichodermine;
- Gliokladin;
- Phytosporin-M;
- Bactofit;
- Planris;
- Alirin-B.
As a preventive measure for pests on raspberries, you can use these tools:
- Verticillin;
- Bithoxybacillin;
- Mycoafidine;
- Aversectin-C;
- Bicol;
- Pecilomycin.
Well, do not forget about such simple measures to prevent diseases and pests of the raspberry bush, as simple care:
- Remove garbage from the site in a timely manner, both organic and inorganic.
- Top dressing and watering must be done strictly according to the rules and do not allow excessive moisture on the plot.