Today I worked in the raspberries, cutting back the old canes and tying up the new ones. The raspberry supports have been great and I might add a few more clotheslines (lower and higher) to support the shorter and taller canes. I completed two rows, and have about six more to do.

The new plants I added this year didn’t get enough water or light, and as a result the black raspberry plant died and the yellow raspberry plant didn’t produce berries. The other bush (was it red berries?) is no where to be found, so probably died earlier. There are some spaces at the back of the patch, but unless someone invents “shade berries”, those spaces are going to stay empty.

So, this fall I am going to do what I did last year, and add lots of compost and manure to the patches, maybe add some fertilizer and more bark mulch (weeds have been low due to the mulch and the lack of light). I am rolling up the soaker hoses and putting them away for now, but am going to use them again next spring.

One last thing I need to do is to trim all the hedges around the berries and cut the branches hanging over the raspberries, blocking the light. Must add that to the “to do” list…