How to tie raspberries to the trellis correctly in spring and summer?

It is necessary to tie up raspberries in the process of growth in order to protect them from diseases, improve fruiting, and avoid breaking off branches. The garter can be done in a variety of ways, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. The correct time should be chosen for the procedure.

Why are raspberries tied up?

Raspberry bushes can grow without a garter, but if this procedure is abandoned, the summer resident will expect some difficulties. An unkempt, disheveled bush will hurt more often, bear fruit worse, and more difficult to care for.

By tying raspberries, you can get the following benefits:

• The bush will be protected from strong winds, showers, snowfalls. In all unfavorable weather conditions, breaking off of shoots can be avoided.
• Tied up shoots will not touch the ground, which means that the risk of damage by pests and fungal diseases will decrease.
• The volume of the harvest and the quality of berries will increase, because the tied up shoots will be able to receive more sunlight.
• It is more convenient to harvest from such a bush, while spending a minimum of time.
• The garter will help keep tall varieties up to 2 m upright.
• The process of pollination by insects will improve.
• The garter will ensure correct growth of the young shoots in the center of the bush.

A garter is required for most varieties. The exceptions are varieties with upright powerful stems. It is not necessary to tie up black raspberries, since their stems are not prone to lodging during the growth process, however, correct pruning of a young bush is important for this variety.

Bushes are most often tied up with a stake, fan or trellis method. Strips of synthetic fabric or thick twine are used as tying materials. You can use a special stapler from a gardening store, which fixes the stems with nylon tape fastened with staples.

It is forbidden to use thin wire for a garter: it can damage the shoots.

Metal rods, wooden stakes and slats, pipes of a suitable diameter are used for the supports. The supporting structure can be any, the main thing is that it is stable and corresponds to the size of the bush.

In the year of planting, raspberries should grow freely. Pruning and trimming of bushes is carried out starting from the next season.

Garter timing

Traditionally, raspberries are tied up in early spring and late autumn. In spring, you need to be in time before the buds bloom. Pre-pruning of shoots.

In autumn, the garter has a protective function, as it helps to protect the shrubs from gusty winds, heavy snowfall, severe frosts in winter. This work must be done before the onset of frost, because due to frost, the branches become less flexible and may break. With an autumn garter, the bush is tied at a height of 20 cm from the ground.

Repaired raspberries, which give thin long shoots that cannot withstand the severity of the harvest, are additionally tied up in the summer, before the second wave of fruiting. It is better to tie one-year-old and two-year-old shoots separately. After fruiting, the brown two-year-old branches are cut off completely, and the one-year growth is shortened by 15–20 cm.

Kolovaya method

One of the easiest ways to tie a raspberry garter is a stake, or bunch.As a support, a stake about 2 m high is driven into the center of the bush (a thin rail, a piece of pipe, a metal rod is also suitable). Then the shoots of the bush are collected in a bunch around the stake at a height of 1.5 m and fixed with a garter material. The tops of the shoots are directed to the side.

This method is popular due to the fact that the manipulation is carried out easily and quickly. Such a garter does not require special skills and installation of a complex structure. But this option has a number of significant disadvantages:

• raspberry stems are unevenly illuminated by the sun;
• on the part of the shoots that faces the center of the bush, the formation of ovaries slows down;
• the blowing capacity of the bush worsens, which can lead to the development of fungal diseases, especially in rainy weather;
• the thickened crown attracts pests, and it will be difficult to detect them immediately.

This method can be borne in mind by busy summer residents who do not have much time. After all, it is still necessary to carry out a raspberry garter.

Fan way

You can tie up raspberries so that they do not fall, in a fan-like fashion. In this case, two-meter metal or wooden supports are used, located on both sides of the bush. Raspberry stalks are divided into two parts. The right half of the bush is tied to the support on the right, and the left half to the support on the left.

Shoots are tied up at different heights, spreading evenly in the form of a fan. It looks nice and neat. Thanks to such a garter, the bush will be evenly illuminated and well ventilated. Properly distributed branches will not interfere with the growth of young shoots. Collecting berries from such a bush is a pleasure: the collection will be quick and easy.

The disadvantages of the method include its laboriousness and the fact that the shrub in this form occupies a significant area. The work requires painstaking and patience, it takes a lot of time.

Tapestry method

If you are going to use the trellis, you should plant the raspberries in advance where access to it will be easier, so that it is convenient to carry out work on the installation of the structure. You can tie a shrub to a trellis in different ways.

Double garter (pistol)

The tapestry is a structure of two 2 m high supports installed at a distance of 4 m from each other. Two rows of wire are pulled between the supports. The lower level should be 1 meter from the ground, a second wire is pulled half a meter higher. Raspberry branches are evenly distributed and tied to the upper and lower tier, directing to the sides.

This technology for fixing shoots has a positive effect on productivity, as it promotes the formation of a large number of young branches. In this case, the stems will be well lit.

The disadvantages of this option include the requirements for structural reliability. The supports must be carefully secured. For the wire, a guy is made to prevent the trellis from sagging under the weight of branches with fruits. Sometimes the shoots can break off, and the harvest will have to be harvested with gloves.

Scandinavian way

The Scandinavian method involves the use of a double trellis structure. A wire is pulled between the high supports at a height of 1 and 2 m. The method makes it possible to do without the garter material. The stems are not fixed with a garter material, but they braid the wire so that the bush takes on a v-shape.

The technology allows new shoots to develop freely, the plant is well ventilated, and harvesting is greatly facilitated. The disadvantages include the fact that sometimes when using this garter option, raspberries get sick with fungal diseases.

Movable turnstile

The name of this garter variant speaks for itself. When using the design, it will be possible to change the direction of growth of shoots, placing them alternately in a vertical, then in a horizontal plane and vice versa. This changes the angle of inclination of the bars used in the structure.

This is the most difficult garter option.The stems must be securely attached to the supports. The disadvantage of this method is that not everyone can make the turnstile on their own, the device requires the use of hinges. But with such a design, raspberries can not be removed for wintering. The inclined arrangement of the turnstile greatly simplifies harvesting.

Single way

A single garter requires a significant investment of time and effort to install the structure and fix the stems, therefore it is usually used when there are only a few raspberry bushes on the site. With this technology, pillars with a height of more than 2 m, installed at a distance of 3–3.5 m from each other, are used as supports. The supports must be dug into the ground for 0.5 m. After that, 2-3 rows of metal or reinforced plastic wire are pulled between the posts.

Each stem is fixed individually, not allowing the crown to rise above the wire more than 20 cm. If the stem is too long, it is bent down and tied up again. The method is advisable to apply in the area where gusty winds often blow. However, this increases the risk of stem breakage during garter work.

The raspberry garter will undoubtedly require some time and effort. Nevertheless, it is not worth giving up this agrotechnical technique. A shrub growing on a trellis will require less time to care and harvest later. The berries will stay clean and dry, which means they won't spoil. When using a garter, you can choose any method convenient for you.