Why Autumn Raspberries Earn Their Space

Most of us plant raspberries with summer in mind, then spend late August watching the canes go quiet just as the apples start to swell. Autumn-fruiting raspberries fill that gap beautifully. They begin cropping in late August and will keep going until the first proper frosts, often through October and into November in a sheltered spot. In a mixed orchard plot, where space is shared with fruit trees, soft fruit bushes and a few raised beds, that late season is worth a great deal.

The other advantage is simplicity. Summer varieties fruit on last year's canes, so you need to know your primocanes from your floricanes and tie in the right wood each year. Autumn types fruit on canes produced in the same season, which means one straightforward winter cut and no permanent support structure to fuss over. If you have ever inherited a raspberry patch and despaired at the tangle, this is the crop for you.

Choosing a Spot in a Mixed Plot

The temptation is to tuck raspberries into whatever gap is left. Resist it. Raspberries want sun for at least six hours a day, and they want moisture, but they will not thank you for sitting in a bog. In a plot that already carries apples, pears or plums, the key is to keep the raspberry row well clear of tree roots. Aim for at least two to three metres from the trunk of a mature tree, and further if it is a vigorous rootstock.

Rows work better than blocks. Run them north to south if you can, so both sides get light, and leave a good metre and a half between the raspberry row and anything else. Raspberries sucker freely, and while that is useful for filling a row, it is less welcome in the middle of your brassicas.

• Full sun, shelter from strong wind, but good air movement to reduce fungal problems
• Free-draining soil, ideally slightly acid to neutral, around pH 6 to 6.5
• Away from the shade cast by orchard trees, especially on the south side
• Not in ground that has grown potatoes, tomatoes or strawberries recently

Preparing the Ground and Planting

Raspberries are hungry, shallow-rooted plants, and the preparation you do before planting pays you back for years. Dig the row over in autumn, working in two or three barrowloads of well-rotted manure or garden compost per metre. If your soil is heavy clay, add grit as well. The roots seldom go deeper than a spade's blade, so it is the top 30cm that matters.

Bare-root canes are the cheapest and, in my experience, the most reliable. Order them for planting between November and March, whenever the ground is not frozen or waterlogged. Space them 45cm apart in the row, setting the roots just below the surface and firming gently with your boot. Cut the canes down to about 25cm above ground straight after planting. It feels brutal, but it encourages strong new growth from the base.

Good varieties to look for include Autumn Bliss, still the standard for flavour and reliability, Polka for heavy crops on tidy canes, and Joan J, which is nearly spine-free and a pleasure to pick. If you fancy something different, All Gold gives yellow fruit with a lovely, mild sweetness.

Watering, Feeding and Mulching

From flowering onwards, water properly. A light sprinkle does nothing for shallow roots. Give each plant two to three litres twice a week in dry spells, and double that while the fruit is swelling. Drip irrigation laid along the row is ideal if you have it, as it keeps the foliage dry and the fruit cleaner.

Feed in early spring with a balanced general fertiliser, then switch to a high-potassium feed, such as a tomato feed, from midsummer until the crop finishes. A mulch of garden compost or well-rotted manure in March, applied 8cm deep but kept clear of the canes themselves, will hold moisture and suppress weeds. Do not let the mulch mound up against the stems, as that invites rot.

Weeds compete badly with raspberries. Hand-weed or hoe shallowly along the row — deep cultivation will slice through the feeding roots and cost you yield.

Pruning: One Cut, Once a Year

This is the job that separates a good crop from a disappointing one, and it is refreshingly simple. In late winter, around February when the worst of the weather has passed but before growth restarts, cut every cane on an autumn-fruiting raspberry down to ground level. All of them. The canes that fruited last autumn are finished, and the new ones will come from the base.

• Cut to within 5cm of the soil, leaving no stubs
• Remove the cut canes from the plot rather than composting them on the row
• Thin the new growth in late spring if it comes up thick, leaving the strongest stems roughly 10cm apart
• Feed and mulch immediately after pruning to fuel the new canes

If you want a small summer crop as well, some growers leave a few of the strongest canes unpruned to fruit in July. Be aware that this reduces the autumn harvest, so it is usually better to keep things simple and let the plot's summer fruit come from elsewhere.

Picking, Pests and the Long View

Pick every two or three days in warm weather, lifting the fruit gently with a thumb and forefinger rather than pulling. Ripe autumn raspberries come away with almost no effort and will keep in the fridge for two or three days. Surplus freezes perfectly on a tray before bagging.

Birds are the main thief, and a simple cage of netting over the row is the only reliable answer. Grey mould can appear in wet autumns, so keep the row open and pick promptly. Cane blight and raspberry beetle are occasional visitors; good airflow, clean pruning and prompt removal of debris deal with most problems before they start.

Plant a row this winter and you will wonder why you waited. Few crops give so much for so little fuss, and few taste so good picked warm on a damp October morning with the orchard already stripped bare.