Tending raspberries and making fruit cages
Posted by Fiona Nevile in Fruit | 25 comments
I’ve always fancied having a walk-in fruit cage. The sort supplied by Harrod Horticulture, with a sturdy ‘easy to assemble frame’ and nets without rucks. I’ve gazed at the pictures on their site imagining that I am the slim woman in jeans, opening the door, large trug in hand. Beyond her the bushes are bursting with fruit.
These cages are expensive. Whilst waiting for a windfall, I bought some cheap nets two years ago and laid them over the canes when our crop was ripe and attracting the local birds. I didn’t realise that unripe berries are also extremely palatable. I threw on a net to protect the one remaining berry on a redcurrant bush.
Last year I discovered that if you throw on nets too early, the bushes grow through the nets and the exposed canes fruit prolifically. It’s also hard to gather of crop of berries under a low net as it seems to snag any extremity. Your spectacles, nose, buttons and shoe laces can all stop acceleration in an instant. Last year I gave up foraging under our nets towards the end of the season. It was too much of a palaver.
A few days ago, when I returned from work to find our would-be Houdini, I had three hours of freedom before dusk. I decided to tackle The Raspberry Cage Problem.
I’ve been putting this off as there are two major defects in our raspberry patch. Pathetic use of netting and I have mixed early, mid season and autumn fruiting raspberries in the one bed. I imagined drifting down the row from June to September, gathering baskets of raspberries.
Last year Raspberries were guzzled from June until October but my venture was doomed as summer fruiting canes are treated differently from autumn fruiting ones. Autumn canes are chopped (3″ from the ground) in February. Summer fruiting canes fruit on last year’s growth and the canes are cut (3″ from the ground) soon after harvesting in July.
Mixing them in the same patch is total lunacy. The canes throw up new canes each year and spread quite quickly. After a few years it would be impossible to differentiate between the two strains.
For the past two years my laziness has allowed all canes to romp away. This was my last chance to rein in the runaway coach. Some canes still had their labels. A few canes had no label. I cut down the autumn fruiting ones and trimmed the summer fruiting varieties as they had shot up and were totally out of hand, although I knew as I snipped we would be loosing a few kilos.
Two years ago I had put in some sturdy poles and wires to support the heavy trusses. Most canes had stretched away from them so I was able to guide them towards this structure. Supported they will fruit far better. Like us all.
This year I need to tag the unmarked canes when they bear fruit and mark them clearly so that in the autumn they can be separated.
With just an hour to go before dusk I ventured into the barn, looking for supports to make my cage. I was planning to check Freecycle for fruit cages, so this was just a cursory measure before battening down the hatches and firing up the computer.
In the gloom, my eye fell on four eight foot stair rods that I had found in an outhouse at my Aunt Pickles’ house, fifteen years ago. I was sure that they would come in handy some day.
We now have a sturdy 12′ x 6′ walk in fruit cage. Harrod Horticulture eat your heart out.
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Hi Jayne
I think that cages are your only answer for the soft fruit bushes. Sturdy wooden poles are available from most garden centres (and not too expensive). I am going to construct a cage for the rest of soft fruits this year as I always seem to donate so much fruit to the birds.
im lucky i have apples,pears,plums,cherrys greengages,peaches,raspberrys,strawberrys,blueberrys and gooseberrys and a flock of wild birds that can get to them and consume them before ive pulled my boots on, i have tried loads of nets shiney things,ect but they work a way around them in days oh well its nice to share!
Hi Pat
This weekend I will tackle my re currant bushes, thanks for the advice!
Hi Kate
Yes, you are right I’ll always think of Aunt Pickles when I’m picking raspberries. And that’ll be a good thing.
I had no idea abut the variations when tending raspberries.
You will think of your Aunt Pickles often when picking raspberries. You found a perfect solution! I didn’t realise there was such a variation in the fruiting times of raspberries.
Fiona, I agree, We had a bumper crop of red currants last year in our little garden. Brian and I pruned the big bush yesterday. Still letting the little ones grow. I read where they needed trimmed back by about 20 percent. Between the pair of us we got there in the end. LOL He over prunes and I underprune.
Hi Magic Cochin
I was so chuffed to get a vaguely practical fruit cage up and running. The netting on the cage is good too. sturdier than the flimsy green stuff. This is recommended for garden ponds and doesn’t rip and snag as easily. I needed 4 packs to cover the cage (each pack contains a 12’x12′ sheet @ £4.99).
Needless to say, Inca got trapped inside the change when I completed the final section!
Hi Pamela
Yes I love raspberries too. They are my favourite fruit and the essential ingredient for my favourite home made liqueur.
Like you, I am loathe to buy the supermarket ones. They are so expensive. The only answer was to grow our own! I don’t think that John thinks that this is a good idea as they are gradually taking over the sunniest vegetable bed.
Wonderful reading about your mum and the raspberries!
Hi Pat
The books say that you can train raspberries around poles but they would spread.
I really want to crack my soft fruit growing problems this year. I’m going to make another cage for the red and white currant border. Soft fruit is so pricey that I think that it’s worth taking a bit of trouble with them.
Hi Kate(uk)
The sad thing about builders is that they often seem to trample on your garden – generally without realising.
Next year will be your garden year!
I’m going to put some raspberries and currants in a raised bed which I shall cage within sight of the back window so I can chase off the blackbirds as soon as I see them, but that will have to be sorted this autumn- the beds are currently a pile of builders’ rubble! I grew raspberries in my first garden- ssssssssooooooooo delicious ….
Well done Fiona!!! I haven’t ventured to grow Raspberries in our small garden yet… Still trying to figure out where to put a plum tree in….
I love raspberries and can often be found just inhaling the scent in the punnets before putting them back on the shelf as they are just too expensive for my current budget. A few years ago my sister bought raspberry canes on Wigton market which promised they would not spread. They are truly delicious raspberries but they are on a major takeover bid in my mum’s garden. She regularly threatens to dig the whole lot up but then the fruit appears and she relents. Don’t you just love raspberry pavlova?
How resourceful! Well done getting your fruit cage constructed. Everytime the Harrod catalogue plops through the letterbox I too drool over all the posh fruit cages and cloches. I dream of covering our whole veg plot, then I tot up the price !!!!!!! eeek
Celia