Raspberry garter - garter materials and methods

The raspberry garter is one of the most important steps in the care of this beautiful berry. It will help prevent such troubles as the breakage of a bush under the weight of berries, the development of various diseases as a result of poor moisture and air exchange between the bushes, uneven ripening of berries on the bush.

There are three ways to tie raspberry bushes:

• stake
• fan-shaped
• tapestry

Let's figure out together what is the meaning of each of these methods, as well as what advantages and disadvantages are inherent in each of them.

Why tie up raspberries?

1. Raspberry stalks, in their large mass, are quite fragile and easily break under the influence of such natural factors as strong wind or rain, especially often at the time of berry ripening, when, under the weight of the harvest, raspberries begin to bend to the ground. Agree, it would be very offensive, instead of the expected harvest, to see only broken bushes in your garden after another rain.
2. The raspberry garter is also a preventive measure against various infections and pests. Indeed, if the raspberry plant is thickened, gas exchange is disturbed in it, high humidity arises, and this, in turn, creates a favorable microclimate for the development of various infectious diseases, and also the areola of the spread of all kinds of pests rapidly increases in it.
3. It has a beneficial effect on the quantity and quality of the crop. Indeed, in correctly tied bushes, the berries are evenly illuminated, which leads to their more amicable ripening, as well as an improvement in taste. And besides, it is much more convenient for bees and other insects to pollinate the tied bushes, and, therefore, you will also not be deprived of the harvest.
4. The raspberry garter makes harvesting easier. You will not need to wade through the thickets, scratching against the thorns to pick the coveted berries. Not a single berry will be missed - everything is in sight, in addition, the time spent on picking will be significantly reduced.
5. In the tied bushes, the shoots of the next year develop better. Since they will be in the center of the bush, they will not lack space and lighting, and this will lead to a healthy harvest next year.

Raspberry garter in spring

The garter is carried out in the spring, even before the buds bloom on the raspberries, but after the stems have been cut.

And also it is advisable to carry out a garter on the eve of winter. In this case, a garter (as it were, bending to the ground) will help prevent raspberry bushes from freezing in dry and harsh winters.

Such a garter is carried out already when there are no leaves on the raspberries, and you need to be in time until the stems cease to be flexible, otherwise they may break during the garter. During the winter garter, raspberry bushes are bent to a height of about 20-25 cm from the ground.

What materials are used for the garter?

In the course of the garter, you can use almost any available material, the main condition is that everything that you use should not cause any mechanical damage to the raspberry stalks.

So, for example, you can use wooden stakes, slats, metal or reinforced concrete pipes, poles, wire, both metal and plastic. Various twines, twines, strong threads are also suitable.

Raspberry garter methods

The most common and most effective ways to tie raspberries are the following methods: stake, trellis and fan.

Let's take a closer look at the nuances of each of them.

Collecting method

Perhaps the simplest and most accessible method of garter for perception even by inexperienced summer residents, moreover, it does not require much time.

When using this method, a stake, rail, or other similar material (any metal support can be used), which is about 45 cm higher than the raspberry stem, is installed in the ground in the middle of the bush. Then 7-8 raspberry stalks are tied to this support, forming a bunch. The garter is made in two places - in the center and in the upper part. And the ends of the bush are taken to the sides, forming an arc and fixed.

The described method, although as mentioned earlier, is the simplest, but far from the most effective. The exchange of air and moisture in such "bundles" is difficult, which can become a favorable environment for the development of infectious diseases. Lighting is unevenly distributed throughout the bush: in the center of the bush, access to sunlight is much more difficult, which means that the development and ripening of berries will go slower.

Trellis method

Most effective.

This method, in turn, is subdivided into several more methods, depending on the chosen binding method.

Double bind (pistol)

The essence of the method is as follows.

At a distance of 4-4.5 m, two supports are placed one from the other (for example, wooden slats). Between them, two rows of wire (not metal) are pulled in parallel. The tension height of the lower wire is 1m from the ground level, the upper one is 0.5m from the lower one.

Raspberry stalks are tied to a wire in two places, taking them to the sides, at a distance of 0.5 m from one another.

The main advantage of this method is that the stems are evenly and equally illuminated, which will lead to a more harmonious ripening of the berries. In addition, the branches are well ventilated. And in case of diseases, the first signs will be immediately noticeable on the branches, which in some situations will help preserve the harvest.

Among the shortcomings, one can name the possibility of breaking off the stems, as well as the not very comfortable harvesting process: it will not be possible to do without hand protection.

Scandinavian binding

In principle, it differs little from the previous one. A different wire height is used here. The lower one is at the same level from the ground 1m, but the upper one is 1m from the lower one.

And besides, when using this method, the stems are not tied to a wire, but wrapped around it, forming a kind of tick upward, which is less traumatic for the stems.

With this method, the harvesting process is already greatly facilitated.

Single binding

Due to its laboriousness, this method is suitable only for a small volume of plantings.

When using this method, at a distance of 3-4 m from each other, pillars with supports are driven into the ground to a depth of about 50 cm. The height of the posts is more than 2m. After that, we install more pillars in a row. Between them, in 2-3 rows, we horizontally stretch the wire (both metal and plastic will do). Each raspberry stalk is separately tied to a wire so that the top does not rise above the wire above 20 cm, otherwise the shoot must be bent and tied up again.

The advantage of this method is almost one hundred percent protection of branches from weather disasters. However, there is a high risk of stem breakage during the binding.

Movable turnstile

With this method, it becomes possible to change the location from horizontal to vertical and vice versa, depending on the stage of growth of the bushes. In addition, the inclination of the transverse supports also changes (within 120 °). The stems in this method are attached to the supports.

The disadvantage of this method is the complex design, the use of hinges.

But there are plenty of advantages. With such a design, you can not remove the stems for the winter, and re-tie up in the spring. The harvesting process is greatly facilitated, because when the trellis is tilted towards the west, the entire crop remains on only one side.

Fan garter method

When using this method, a support with a height of 2 m (post, rail, stake) is installed between adjacent raspberry bushes. Half of the raspberry bush is tied to one left support (each stem separately), and the other to the right. The raspberry bush actually becomes like a fan.

This method is also considered to be quite effective, but rather laborious. It takes a very long time.

Advantages of the method: all stems are evenly illuminated and well ventilated. Shoots of the first year of life have the opportunity to grow freely. The harvesting process is greatly facilitated and the stems do not break.

Raspberry varieties that do not require a garter

In most cases, a raspberry garter is an indispensable component in the process of caring for it. However, there are varieties of this berry that during their life cycle may well exist without it.

These varieties include: White Spirina, Modest, Bulgarian Ruby, Balsam, Coral.

The shoots of these varieties of raspberries grow strictly vertically and are thick enough not to break under the weight of their own weight with the harvest.

During the first year of life, the shoots of such raspberries are given complete freedom of growth, and by the end of summer a real hedge is formed. The next year, the raspberries are thinned out, keeping a distance of 20 cm between adjacent shoots, and 70 cm wide.

Black raspberries also do not require a garter, since their stems are not prone to lodging.

In other cases, in order to avoid the occurrence of various negative consequences, which were mentioned earlier, you should still spend a little time and carry out a much-needed procedure like a garter.

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