Proper care of raspberries in July and August after harvest
Raspberry is a berry that contains many vitamins. It is planted in summer cottages and harvested in the summer and autumn seasons. There are several varieties of raspberries that are classified according to different characteristics. In order to enjoy tasty and juicy berries every year, proper care of the raspberry bushes after harvest is required.
When to harvest raspberries
It is unfortunately impossible to determine exactly when to harvest raspberries. The collection period may vary from year to year. It depends on several factors:
- weather conditions (with sunny and early spring, you can start harvesting in July);
- plant varieties;
- growing region;
- leaving.
Raspberries are harvested twice a year. The first harvest is in the summer, and the second begins in September and lasts until the first cold weather. Berries love the sun's rays. They are ready to sing while the sun warms them.
Raspberry leaves are also harvested, which have medicinal properties. After them you can go to the forest. Summer residents often collect leaves after harvesting. At this time, they have no healing properties. It should be harvested precisely during the flowering of the berries. The plant needs to be washed and dried in direct sunlight.
Harvest time
You must know exactly and remember the timing of the harvest. Too early assembly work will lead to the fact that there will not be a large amount of nutrients in the berries. Overripe raspberries will start to rot and lose some of their vitamins.
The collection begins in July and lasts until the first autumn cold weather. It is during the summer months that more berries fall. In order to know the exact ripening time of raspberries, you need to determine its variety.
Depending on the region of growth
Weather conditions are an important factor affecting the ripening of the crop. The lack of sun, constant rains and low temperatures will lead to the fact that the berries will sing much slower.
In the southern regions, raspberries are harvested from late June to November-December. In northern latitudes, the harvest takes place only in mid-July to September (short harvest period).
The amount of raspberries also depends on changes in the weather. One year can be a hot summer, which will give a good harvest. And next year, due to winds, rains and cool temperatures, the number of berries harvested will be reduced by 2-3 times.
Depending on the culture
In summer cottages, gardeners grow different types of raspberries. They are classified by color. Any kind of berry is healthy. Summer residents choose a variety based on taste preferences.
Black
The berry ripens much more slowly than the red one. The peculiarity lies in the collection itself. It quickly turns black, while remaining acidic without absorbing vitamins.
You will have to harvest later than regular raspberries. At the end of July (under favorable conditions) the bush will begin to bear its first fruits. By mid-August, raspberries will no longer bear fruit. In the southern regions, the berry ripens a little longer (until September).
Yellow
Loved by many children for its sweet taste. The berry does not contain a sore acid. This variety can be eaten endlessly. Harvesting should be done in the summer. You can determine the exact date by looking at the berry. When ripe, the fruit turns orange and slightly pinkish.
The yellow variety comes off much faster, so you need to have time to enjoy its taste in a short ripening period.
Red
The most popular garden variety that grows not only in summer cottages, but also in the forest. It is noteworthy that the forest variety of berries also has healing properties. Harvesting time is during the summer months. She begins to ripen in late June, early July and continues to ripen until September-October.
Red raspberries can be harvested for a long time. Most of the harvest occurs in mid-summer. By the end of the season, 3-4 times less berries are harvested from the bush. As a rule, in the fall, raspberries are used only for food.
Depending on the ripening period
Raspberries are classified by ripening dates. In their summer cottages, gardeners grow several varieties at once. As soon as one variety ceases to ripen, another ripens.
Early
The variety yields from the first summer month. This species should not be the only one on the site. The early variety has low fruitfulness; after 2-3 weeks it will cease to yield. The advantages of the species include frost resistance, a bright pronounced aroma of berries.
Medium ripening
The best variety for growing in summer cottages is medium-ripening berries. They have a high yield and allow you to eat them for a long time. The variety is protected from many diseases, it is not difficult to care for it.
Raspberries ripen from about the second mid-July to the first cold weather. With abundant watering, one bush gives up to 12 kilograms of harvest.
Late ripening
The bush bears fruit from mid-August until severe frosts. The type of berry is frost-resistant, at the first cold it gives a small harvest. Late-ripening berries love the sun's rays and ripen well in this weather. The berries do not crumble, are easy to pick and have a pleasant dessert taste.
Repaired
A variety that breeders have bred. She is loved by summer residents for her large size and excellent taste. The berry is large enough and sweet. It is possible to harvest from one bush already in the first year of planting.
The crop appears from mid-August and lasts until late October-early November. A repair berry can stay on a branch for a long time without crumbling or losing its taste. It is frost-resistant, which allows you to preserve the fruits until severe cold weather.
Care and feeding of raspberries during fruiting
To obtain a rich harvest, it is necessary to take proper care of the raspberry bushes after picking the berries. Raspberries love constant cultivation. Even during the fruiting period, it is worth not only watering the bushes, but also loosening the soil. Dried land will negatively affect the harvest.
If you want to increase the yield, it is worth giving 1-2 dressings. Both folk remedies and purchased chemical products can be used. During summer, pay close attention to old, dried shoots. They should be disposed of as quickly as possible, then the berry will give a larger amount of harvest.
What to do with raspberries after harvest
After harvesting, you can think about where and how to use raspberries:
- to freeze;
- cook jam;
- make wine, liqueur;
- crush with sugar.
If the harvest is rich, then they resort to several methods of harvesting raspberries for the winter. The most popular is fresh raspberries with sugar. For this recipe, you need to crush the berry, pour everything into a glass jar and pour sugar on top. Cover the resulting dessert with a lid and refrigerate. In this form, the berry will stand for a whole year. During illness, it is useful to use raspberries as a remedy for high fever and heat. Especially often it is advised to give it to children.
Requires processing of raspberries after harvest. Take the secateurs and examine the raspberries carefully. Remove all branches that have been bearing fruit. They are distinguished by their slightly dried appearance. Next summer, only young shoots bear fruit.
The better to feed raspberries
There are several recipes for feeding a bush plant. For greater efficiency, you should alternate methods.
Store funds
Gardeners prefer store-bought products. They contain the right amount of useful trace elements.
- A popular remedy is a complex of mineral fertilizers, consisting of nitrate, phosphate and potassium salt.
- Superphosphate - a lot of useful elements can improve the composition of the soil and, as a result, increase the yield from each bush.
- Urea.
- Ash.
- Ammonium nitrate.
- Potassium salt.
- Manganese.
To achieve greater efficiency, you can mix the two types of fertilizers in small quantities. Fertilizers can be watered or sprayed on leaves. Only spraying is carried out after harvest, so as not to harm the berries.
Folk recipes
As folk remedies, summer residents use:
- mullein;
- chicken droppings;
- banana peel;
- onion peel;
- eggshell;
- infusion of nettle.
For decoctions, the proposed product (peel or husk) is insisted in 10 liters of water. The resulting infusion is fed with raspberries 2 times a day.
How to apply top dressing correctly
It is advised to process shrubs with fertilizers 3 times a year. The first time the berry is fertilized in the spring, before flowering. The second time fertilizer is used during fruiting. Breeders are advised to feed at this time only if the berries are diseased or poor harvest (small).
The last top dressing is applied in the fall, before the winter season, so that the bush can better endure the cold.
Improving the soil around shrubs
The amount of the crop is influenced by the soil in which the shrub grows. All leaves that have fallen to the ground should be collected. Cleaning is done in order not to provoke the development of various infections and diseases. Dig up the soil in the autumn-spring season, carefully so as not to damage the roots of plants.
Raspberry is a shrub that doesn't require too much maintenance. There are a number of rules that should be followed to increase the amount of the crop. It is important to monitor the condition of the land, frequent watering.
There are negative conditions leading to a poor harvest that humans cannot influence. This is the lack of heat and sunlight. At this time, enhanced feeding is carried out.
