RASPBERRIES. Getting started

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1 RASPBERRIES Getting started Raspberries are suckering shrubs with cane-like stems m high. They grow best in well-drained, acidic to neutral, rich soil. Originally woodland plants from the Northern Hemisphere, they grow in cool-temperate areas, such as Tasmania, the south-western corner of Western Australia, the Blue Mountains and the Dandenongs. If you grow early, mid and late season cropping cultivars, you can have fruit from summer through to late autumn. Buy certified disease-free stock. There are yellow-fruited, mild-flavoured cultivars such as Golden as well as richly flavoured, raspberry-coloured fruit such as Heritage and Willamette. Allow plants per person to create a surplus for jam-making, bottling and desserts. Well-tended plants can remain productive for over 30 years. How to plant Plant in autumn or winter in rows facing north to south, as this ensures the plants receive even sunlight. They benefit greatly from a sheltered site with shade from the afternoon sun. Before planting, dig a trench to loosen the soil, then work in plenty of well-rotted compost or manure as you fill the trench. Create a ridge that is about 10 15cm above ground level, as this will improve drainage. To support the raspberry canes, attach three horizontal wires to lattice, a fence or firmly anchored posts. Soak some bare-rooted stock for about half an hour in a bucket of diluted seaweed tonic before planting. Plant at the same depth as they were originally, using the soil mark on the stem as a guide. Mulch with lucerne 10cm deep, then water well.

2 Care and maintenance Raspberries fruit on canes produced the previous season, which look exhausted when they have finished fruiting. Prune at ground level and tie in fresh, vigorous new canes, which will flower and fruit the following season. Tie shoots in and off the ground, and remove dead or weak shoots anytime. Mulch with well-rotted compost in autumn and with lucerne in spring. Feed the developing fruit with organic fertiliser or apply seaweed tonic, and water in hot, dry, windy weather. Drip irrigation with a timer provides regular water and encourages cropping. Organic troubleshooting - Birds love raspberries, so protect fruit using 4cm-squared netting. Unlike smaller netting, this saves fruit without trapping or injuring birds or snakes. - Handweed carefully. New suckers and surface-feeding roots are fragile. - Keep mulch away from the base of stems. This reduces fungal diseases. - Botrytis, a fungus affecting foliage and fruit, can be a problem in warm, moist autumns. Spray with organic approved copper-based fungicide. - Extreme heat and sunshine may spoil fruit. Cover with 25 per cent shadecloth or old net curtains. - Sawfly caterpillars may attack foliage. If seen, spray with horticultural soap. - To prevent pests and diseases from accumulating, bury spoiled fruit and prunings about half a metre down. - Condition neutral or mildly alkaline soil by applying iron chelates during late winter. This also supplements iron. - At spring bud burst, apply two teaspoonfuls of Epsom salts and an equal amount of sulfate of potash to 4.5L of water, and water in around plants. This supplements magnesium, which is needed for energy production, and potassium, which improves fruit flavour and disease resistance. STRAWBERRIES Strawberries are ground-hugging, herbaceous plants, about 15cm high and spreading into a clump cm wide. Part of the large Rosaceae family, their flowers are simple, five-petalled blooms that are pollinated by bees. These white or occasionally pink flowers are followed by succulent red fruits. Each clump sends out long thin runners (or stems) that take root to form a new plant. Getting started

3 Buy virus-free stock from nurseries, as strawberries are prone to disease. About plants provide enough fruit for a family, but even a couple of plants can be a delight to grow. Prior to planting, dig over the soil to remove weeds and any large clods, and add in plenty of compost, animal manure or blood and bone. Position your plants about 30cm apart, in full sun. Strawberries do best in welldrained soil, so plant them into soil that has been mounded up slightly. The crown of the plant, which is the swollen stem base, must be left at the surface of the soil and not buried too deep. Care and maintenance Water well, especially when the young plants are establishing, and during dry summers. Surround each plant with a layer of straw mulch so the fruit does not spoil by touching the soil. To feed your mini berry farm, sprinkle a small handful of complete fertiliser (such as tomato food, which is high in potash) around each plant as it comes into first flower, and water well. Harvesting For the fullest flavour from home-grown fruit, pick the berries at the right degree of ripeness. They are at their best when each fruit is three-quarters red. Keep a watch out, as the fruit ripens quite quickly and can deteriorate or be eaten up by tiny garden creatures. To avoid bruising ripe fruit, harvest it using scissors and leave a small piece of stalk attached. Pruning Over summer, strawberry plants send out runners. These modified shoots can be used to propagate new plants but if you don t need new plants, cut these runners off. After fruiting has finished, tidy up the bushes by giving them a hard prune down to 10cm. After four years, plants become underproductive. Remove old plants and replant with new virus-free stock. Troubleshooting Strawberries are very desirable to creatures other than humans. Possums, birds, slugs, snails and even dogs compete for the luscious fruit. Bird netting or wire mesh stretched over the plants may help. Repel snails and slugs with pet-safe baits or squashing. The disease botrytis, or grey mould, can affect strawberry fruit and leaves. Remove brown or soggy fruit. Apply a registered fungicide to new flowers but pay

4 careful attention to all withholding information (the time between spraying and harvest) on the label. Powdery mildew, a fungus that causes a whitish-grey powder on the leaves, can also affect strawberries. Treat plants with fungicide or regularly apply a milk spray (one part milk to nine parts water). Full sun and good air circulation reduces powdery mildew. BLUEBERRIES There are four main types of fruiting blueberries. The low bush types, which are native to northern and eastern Europe, and north America s cold regions, have a high chill factor and need very low temperature to set fruit. These are not suitable for most Australian growing conditions. The high bush types that originated in North America have a lot of cultivars and are well suited to the home garden. They are partly deciduous, and still have a chill factor, and these can be grown in southern Australia. There are the southern high bush varieties, which come from the southern states of America and these require warmer conditions. They grow well in Australian home gardens. The varieties for the very warm areas are called rabbit eyes, and they are given this name because when they are fruiting they look like a pair of rabbit s eyes on the bush. Cuttings of the deciduous varieties are taken from the firm wood that is pruned from the bush in winter. These should be about the diameter of a pencil and cm long. If they can t be planted out at the time they are taken, they should be wrapped in wet newspaper in plastic, and put into the crisper of the fridge, which is about 2 degrees C. Even stored under those conditions they will shoot. The cuttings should be put in a sandy raised bed. By summer they will have developed a good root system, which will be well established by autumn, when they can be planted out. The evergreen varieties are propagated by taking short tip cuttings, and grown under mist propagation. These varieties are very easy to grow in a cool temperate climate. They are self fertile so only one plant is needed. Once a cutting has established young roots it can be potted up to develop a more

5 fibrous root system, when it will be ready to plant out into the ground, this usually takes from between 18 months and 2 years, and these plants should be productive in their first year in the ground. Rich well-drained loam is ideal. Tease out the roots if necessary, to allow the plant to establish a good root system. If planting on a hot day or in a very warm climate, shade-cloth over the plant for several weeks will reduce and stress for the plant. Plants that are already fruiting should have bird net over them, as they are very appealing to birds, rabbits and rodents. Blueberry Vaccinium Joy is a high bush variety that has all the characteristics of a good variety that can be grown in the home garden. It has a compact habit, lovely autumn colour and large tasty fruit. Individual fruit ripens at different stages. There will be hard green fruit and ripe fruit on the shrub at the same time, so the picking time will be extended. Next year s fruit will already be forming between the leaf axles. Blueberry Vaccinium Bluerose is another excellent variety, with good autumn foliage, and large fruit. It is essential that the fruit be left on the shrub until the last minute, as the fruit is very acidic and will not ripen after being picked. When they are fully ripe they make an excellent berry for cooking or fresh eating. The skins will melt after about 10 minutes of simmering and produce a self-thickening sauce that is delicious poured over ice cream. They are one of the few berries that, when frozen and thawed, keep their form and flavour. SENSORY GARDENS Justin Calverley sensorygardens@netspace.net.au