Kitchen Garden Forum

Thanks JB & RP. I knew there were many different types of Phytophthora and did not know how they affected different things. When I read in a few articles that there could be some influence I had to at least consider it.

Hi GS,
I am very glad that we appear to have cleared this up.
The reason I queried your initial statement is because there are so many people who view the forum and are very new to gardening. One of the things that newcomers find difficulty with is crop rotation and to then find that they have planted Raspberries, say last year, they now will try to work them into this years rotation which is damned near impossible.
It is the duty of this forum to present the truth for new growers.
I appreciate that you are interested in companion planting and you wish to get the very best out of your plot but there has been very little real scientific study done with companion planting. It is a great shame that these studies do not seem to attract the finance needed to make a very in-depth scientific approach to the whole subject. Sadly I do not think that it will ever happen.
Sincerely,
JB.

Can I just ask a quick question of other growers of Autumn Bliss. How tall do they grow? Some of the literature I've read suggests that they don't grow as tall as other varieties and therefore don't need to be staked. I haven't put any stakes in the position where I've planted them (about 12 inches away from a fence) and wonder whether they will be self supporting. If not, I can probably rig up some wire to the fence to stop the canes from waving about in the wind.

Mine did not need supporting last year. They grew to roughly 5ft. They were in quite a windy site too. They flopped over a bit after heavy rain (but soon recovered).
They now have support (as I recently moved them so had the opportunity to plan it in).

Mine are more or less self-supporting. I have six in a single row about 2 ft wide and use a 5 ft stake at each corner with one in the middle down each side. I run a couple of levels of twine around the stakes just to stop the canes flopping over too much. They certainly don't need the supporting wire and tying in that summer-fruiting canes need.

John

Thanks folks. Mine are in a rather windy corridor, so that is rather reassuring. Is there any noticeable difference in flavour between autumn fruiting raspberries and the summer ones?

I don't have any summer ones