How to grow Raspberry (Autumn Fruiting)
in the UK

Raspberries, especially the autumn-fruiting kind, are a proper cracking soft fruit to have on your plot, you know. They're dead easy to get going and look after, even for a beginner, and they give you a lovely late-season harvest when a lot of other things are slowing down.

Sowing

You don't really 'sow' autumn raspberries from seed, like. What you want are bare-root canes, and you can plant these anytime from November right through to March, before they really start to wake up. Dig a trench about 20cm deep and wide, pop the canes in, making sure the old soil mark is just below the surface, then backfill. Space them about 45-60cm apart, giving them plenty of room to spread out. A bit of well-rotted compost in the bottom of the trench never goes amiss to get them off to a good start.

Growing on

Once your bare-root canes are in, they'll just get on with it, bless 'em. You'll want to get some sort of support system in place straight away, like wires strung between sturdy posts, or even a simple fence if you've got one. The canes can get quite tall and heavy when they're laden with fruit, so they'll need something to lean on. They're perfectly happy planted directly into the soil on the plot, no need for faffing about with pots for these.

Looking after it

Autumn raspberries are pretty self-sufficient, but they do like a good drink when it's dry, especially when the fruit is swelling. A good layer of mulch, like woodchip or compost, around the base will help keep the moisture in and suppress the weeds. The main thing with these is the winter prune: come late autumn or early winter, just cut all the canes right down to the ground. Simple as that.

What goes wrong

The main things that cause bother are usually the birds, especially when the fruit starts to ripen. A bit of netting over the canes in late summer can save your crop, like. We sometimes get aphids, those tiny green or black bugs, but a strong jet of water can knock them off. Spotted wing drosophila can be a pest too, but good hygiene and picking fruit promptly helps a lot.

Harvest

You'll be picking these beauties from August right through to October, which is cracking for a late-season boost. The fruit comes away easily when it's ripe, so don't tug at them, just a gentle pull. You'll get a proper glut, I tell you. They're brilliant for freezing straight away on a tray, then bagging up, or for making loads of lovely jam and crumbles.