How to prepare raspberries for winter and harvest next year

When to start preparing for the cold

The quality of complex care and preparation of the plant for winter affects the volume of berries that a summer resident in the Moscow region will collect next year. Proper preparation will also help improve the plant's immunity, making it more resistant to disease. As a rule, preparation of berry plantings for the coming frosts begins in the summer months. It is important for summer residents from Khabarovsk and other cities:

• cut off the stems;
• remove leaves;
• feed shrubs or fertilize;
• do mulching;
• cover the plant.

Despite the stereotypes, preparation should not begin in the fall, but at the end of summer. It is necessary to apply phosphorus and potash fertilizers. The main thing is not to use nitrogen fertilizing.

Raspberries are a plant that loves fertilized and nutritious soil. In addition to providing the summer resident with a good harvest next season, fertilizers will also improve the condition of the tree's root system. The last time feeding should be done in the first days of October.

Video "How to prepare raspberries for winter"

This video will show you how to properly prepare raspberries for the winter season.

Trimming scheme

In order for the plants to develop normally in the next season, the gardener needs to leave no more than 4 shoots. If raspberry bushes, for example, the Yellow Marvel, are planted in a row, you need to make sure that there are no more than 10 shoots per 1 m of the plot. Broken, diseased and dried shoots are removed immediately. It is also worth removing those that grow to the sides and interfere with the "neighbors".

Sometimes gardeners do not cut the shoots completely. Then there are small "hemp". Inside, such stems are full, so they are considered potentially dangerous: there is a possibility of accumulation of parasites. In such places, pests can lay eggs and spend the whole winter. The result is obvious, and, as a rule, not what we would like.

You can determine which stems need to be removed like this:

1. Spoiled and affected areas are noticeable by the bumps that appear on the trunk of the bush.
2. It is also important to pay attention to the length. The gardener needs to shorten the shoots to 80–90 cm. In the spring they will grow actively again, which means that it will be much easier to cover the shrubs before the cold weather. When shortening, it is imperative to leave the tip, which plays an important role in the process of photosynthesis.
3. Another point that requires attention: the gardener should remove all the leaves. With the onset of cold weather, they can rot, and then the bud will no longer grow. Of course, no one talks about plucking each leaf separately. Experienced gardeners and summer residents recommend using a soft glove. Squeeze your fingers and slide over the stem. The movement should be directed from bottom to top.

Feeding rules

In this case, it is worth adhering to a simple rule: if the soil contains an excessive amount of fertilizer, the resistance of raspberries to frost decreases.Given this, it is necessary to feed the shrubs at a certain time and monitor the amount of fertilizer used. It is also necessary to feed the shrubs of the Tarusa variety, which bring medium-sized berries.

We advise you to pay attention to the following recommendations:

• you need to feed the plants 45-50 days before pruning;
• if you use organic fertilizing - ash, humus or manure - it must be applied in the second decade of July;
• if nitrogen fertilizers are used, they are applied towards the end of the month.

Shelter methods

If the forecasts say that a cold winter is ahead in the Moscow region, you need to prepare a special shelter for the plant. Severe frosts are often not alone. In a chilly winter, a large layer of snow is guaranteed. In these cases, it is better to use non-woven material for insulation. It will allow air to pass through and allow the plant to breathe. It will also eliminate the likelihood of fading. Next, we will talk about how to cover raspberries for the winter. There are three ways to do this.

Under the snow

In the Leningrad Region and the Primorsky Territory, snow is considered a full-fledged insulation that can be used for all plants in the garden and in the country. If you want to protect raspberry bushes from the coming frosts, cover them with a snow layer of 60–80 cm. To keep the snow in one line near the raspberry bushes, it is recommended to install special shields. As a rule, they are made from dry sunflower or corn stalks, as well as from wood. They are installed in a checkerboard pattern. Having melted, snow, or rather melt water, will greatly benefit raspberries. On the eve of spring days, snow should be tamped and sprinkled with sawdust.

Fencing

As for the fence, experienced gardeners recommend installing it around the perimeter:

1. An attractive fence is a great decoration and design element of the landscape.
2. The fence also restricts the growth of shrubs to the sides.
3. The fence is the basis that protects berry bushes from wind and draft.

Temporary greenhouse

The method is considered the most expensive. The construction of a temporary greenhouse is a laborious and lengthy process. If the berry bushes are planted in higher elevations, the gardener needs to use this shelter method. It is also relevant in cases where the shrubs are blown from all sides.

The temporary greenhouse is a frame on which the film is stretched. Another alternative is sheathing with plywood sheets or similar material. If young bushes grow on your site, they can be covered with plywood or wooden boxes.

Rules for preparing remontant varieties for winter

Renovation cultures have their own characteristics. The fact is that they have the ability to produce crops on both summer and green shoots, as well as on ripe two-year-old shoots. We are talking about the Hercules variety, bred in the Bryansk region.

Are you dreaming of getting the maximum yield? In this case, you need to prepare remontant raspberries for the winter in the same way as ordinary ones. At the same time, it is important to shift the dates. Berry bushes of remontant varieties grow and yield crops before the onset of frost. Annual shoots give the maximum and high-quality yield. The same rules apply to the black Cumberland variety.

As soon as the winter cold and frost damage the leaves on the raspberries, it is necessary to cut the wood and leave the stems near the roots.

It will be good if the summer resident covers the roots with mulching material. So they will be preserved by the spring. You also need to watch so as not to use an excessive amount of mulching material - the roots can rot if the winter is warm and the temperature is high.

Features of the shelter in different regions

By themselves, berry bushes do not show particular resistance to frost. For this reason, preparation for the winter cold is different in different climatic zones. Residents of the northern regions - the Urals and Siberia - need to carefully prepare for winter.Raspberry stalks must be covered and bent down, otherwise they will freeze. Due to bending, the shrubs are covered with snow. This means that they will be protected from wind and frost. The Gusar variety is suitable for growing throughout the territory of the Russian Federation.

Are you planning to get a bountiful harvest of juicy and tasty Giant raspberries? Be sure to pay attention and time to prepare raspberries for winter in the fall. Timely and correctly carry out all the work, protecting shrubs from pests, diseases and freezing.