Winter Protection for Raspberries and Blackberries
“Winter Protection for Raspberries and Blackberries”
Both raspberries and blackberries should have protection in winter, especially in the North East.
My method for preparing my raspberry and blackberry plants for the winter, begins by starting at the end of the row, where I gather all the canes from a hill, form them into a bunch, and bend the blackberry and raspberry canes down to the ground as flatly as possible, working them slowly.
By working the canes down to the ground slowly and carefully, I avoid breaking or cracking the stalks at their junction with the roots.
It is a good idea to have another person help you when this work is being done. Not using another person to help you would make this task difficult to accomplish.
Have one person bend the blackberry and raspberry plants over and that person hold the raspberry and blackberry plants down, while the other person puts a spadeful of soil on the plants to keep them in place.
Once this has been done, take the blackberry or raspberry plant from the next hill and bend them down so that its top overlaps the crown of the hill that was first treated. Continue doing this until all the plants in a row are flat, and in a line from one end of the line to the other end.
Once all the blackberry or raspberry plants have been laid down, walk along the rows and with a spade throw soil up against the plants. After this has been completed, cover the rest of the plants with a mulch such as straw or hay eliminating the remainder of the blackberry plant from being exposed to the elements.
You cover your blackberry and raspberry plants with soil and mulch, not to keep out frost as many might expect, but to prevent exposure to sun shine which extracts frost.
During the night the plant freezes again, and the frequent alternations of freezing and thawing result in a rupture of plant cells. The covering of soil and mulch keep out the sun, and the canes remain frozen, which is precisely what we want for our blackberry and raspberry plants.
In spring, after the frost has thawed out of the ground, remove the covering of mulch, and walk along the rows with a pitchfork, inserting its tines under the blackberry and raspberry canes lifting them carefully out from under the soil and mulch that was thrown over them in fall.
At first your blackberry plants will have anything but an upright look, but as the sap begins to circulate in them they will resume their old position.
Once the soil has been leveled down around your raspberry plants, apply some spring manure, such as: cow manure or chicken manure, either one will work fine, then your blackberry and raspberry plants can be tied to the wires attached to your stakes in the garden.
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No TagsTags: blackberries, canes, gardening, manure, Mulch, plants, raspberry, roots, soil