Pruning raspberries in the sun

Sunday was a beautiful Spring day - warm and sunny with a gentle southerly breeze. It was great to get out in the garden and start preparing for the new season.

I spent a couple of hours tidying up the raspberries. Last year they produced luscious fruit right through the year. I cut last year's new stems down to 18-24 inches. They are already budding and a few have started to open bright green leaves. They will produce an early harvest and the brand new stems, which aren't even showing yet, will produce fruit through the summer and autumn.  Then I removed the 2-year-old stems which had died back anyway so just a firm tug was needed to release them from the base.

Looking forward to some beauties like these in a few months!

More about Raspberries and other soft fruit and berries at Froggarts Cottage >>