To: "North American Fruit Explorers" <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Raspberry winter kill
Date: Fri, 22 May 2009 23:00:03 -0500
Michael's description of the behavior of black raspberries has me very
puzzled. I'm almost afraid to mention that I have a planting from a friend
whose plants had come from Miller's. Mine have been untended but harvested
annually for about 12 years. Our temps are probably colder than Oregon's,
getting down to at least 8 degrees, sometimes to zero and a degree or two
below a few times. We have variable winter temps nearly every winter. We
have diseases galore. Yet the plants keep spreading. I try to cut out some
of the honeysuckle and sometimes throw some phosphate or trace minerals on
them. I think I threw a little bit of commercial fertilizer at them this
spring. I don't do anything to prevent them from tiprooting where they
like, as they are where the garden meets the woods. Is it possible your
soil is too alkaline, or even too rich? Ours is poor acid clay, though the
soil where they are is somewhat improved. Donna