soil cover the roots. The handle or old cane 

 should be cut off at ground level after a 

 new shoot has developed. 



CULTIVATION: The soil should not be al- 

 lou'ed to become too compact. Cultivating 

 1 to 2 inches deep will control weeds and 

 also increase oxygen exchange to the roots. 

 Incorporating organic matter into the soil 

 will reduce the need for cultivation and also 

 improve plant growth. A 3 to 4 inch layer 

 of wood chips — obtained from the tree 

 pruning division of your electric company — 

 will replace the need for all hoeing and 

 cultivation. As the wood chips decay, they 

 will have to be replaced to maintain weed 

 control. Do not use sawdust or pine shav- 

 ings. 



TRAINING: Black raspberries should have 

 the tip of the new cane pinched or cut off at 

 15 inches in height the 1st year and 22-24 

 inches the 2nd year and subsequent years. 

 This should be done when the new canes 

 are 18 to 20 inches high the first year and 

 24-28 inches high the second and subsequent 

 years. Pinching causes the side branches — 

 which produce the fruit — to develop and 

 also causes the main cane to be sufficiently 

 strong to be self supporting. 



New canes of red raspberries are not cut 

 back the first growing season. They are, 

 however, cut back shortly before the leaves 

 emerge in the second growing season. The 

 amount of cane that is retained is deter- 

 mined by the support system used since red 

 raspberries are not normally self-supporting. 

 Red raspberries can be self supporting if 

 several canes are cut off at 30 inches. These 

 canes are tied together to form hills or 

 clusters of plants about every 3 feet. The 

 canes should be tied together at 20 inch 

 height and again at 28 inch height. No 

 more than 6 canes should be tied together. 

 Excess plants should be cut off at ground 

 level. If plants are tied to a stake or wire, 

 the canes can be cut off at 36-48 inch 

 height. Cutting the plants off at 30 inches is 

 easier and less expensive, but in so doing, 

 you remove the early maturing fruit as it is 

 produced from buds that occur near the end 

 of the canes. 



Thornless blackberries should have their 

 canes tied in the shape of a fan to a wire or 



wooden trellis. The canes should be cut off 

 at 4 to 6 feet length. The length will be 

 determined by the cane position on the 

 trellis; number of canes retained and vigor 

 of the plant. The new canes that will pro- 

 duce next year's fruit should be left on the 

 ground but trained down the row under the 

 existing fruiting canes. 



PRUNING: Black raspberry fruiting canes 

 may be removed after harvest but it is 

 much easier to wait until the following 

 March. The same procedure is also true 

 for Latham red raspberry and Thornfree 

 blackberry. Southland red raspberry, how- 

 ever, is an everbearer i.e., it produces a crop 

 of fruit on the tip of the new canes in 

 August, September and early October and 

 a June crop the following summer on the 

 lower section of the same cane. As a re- 

 sult, the tip of the cane that produced fruit 

 in the fall is removed the following March. 

 The remaining portion of the cane is tied in 

 the manner described under training for red 

 raspberries for the June crop. Those canes 

 can then be removed after harvest or the 

 following March. New canes that emerged 

 in the spring will again provide the fall 

 crop and the following June crop. 



WINTER PROTECTION: Cold injury to 

 raspberries is caused by extremely low tem- 

 peratures and exposure to the drying effects 

 of the winter winds in the northern sector 

 of the U.S. and by the fluctuating warm and 

 cold climatic conditions in the southern re- 

 gions. Both types of injury can be markedly 

 reduced if the new canes are bent over in 

 November and held near the ground with 

 wire fencing. A very light layer of straw 

 will increase the protection. This method 

 protects the canes from the winds in the 

 northern region and also helps moderate the 

 temperature. In the southern region it pro- 

 vides protection by keeping the plants nearer 

 the soil and, therefore, cooler during the 

 warm air temperature periods that fre- 

 quently occur. Keeping the canes cooler dur- 

 ing the warm periods in the winter restricts 

 the starting of new growth and the resulting 

 cold injury that occurs when the tempera- 

 tures drop below freezing in a following 

 cold wave in late January, February and 

 March. 



17 



