Soil for raspberries: acidity, looseness and other indicators

The right soil for raspberries is one of the most important conditions for a bountiful harvest and a healthy berry crop. But even if initially the soil for the shrub was chosen incorrectly, the gardener has a chance to correct its composition and structure. Let's figure out which soil the favorite summer berry prefers and how to prepare the site for growing this plant.

What kind of soil does raspberry love

First of all, the soil in the garden should be well-drained, loose, airy. A rich organic composition is welcomed, this promotes the development of beneficial microorganisms that improve the earth.

The best soils for raspberries:

1. Loam - loose and moderately nutritious soil. It is easy to identify by its appearance: it is coarse-grained, and easily breaks into pieces when wet. If the wet soil is plastic and solid, then this indicates an excess of the amount of clay. For raspberries, this is no longer very good.
2. Sandy loam soil - also loose, lumps worse than loam.

What is definitely not suitable for growing raspberries and other horticultural crops is heavy clay soils. In them, the root system is deprived of oxygen, air penetrates into the deep layers is extremely difficult. Clay also interferes with the rapid evaporation of moisture. Roots in such conditions prey and quickly become ill with fungus or viruses.

Sandstones are also not recommended: nutrients are not retained in the upper layers of such soils.

Sour or alkaline?

What soil does raspberry like: acidic or alkaline? The healthy development of the shrub depends on the pH level. For raspberry bushes, try to prepare slightly acidic soil, in the range of 5.5-6.5 pH.

What determines the acidity of the soil? Bacteria have the strongest effect on the indicator: when they break down sugars, they release carbon dioxide and acids. The gardener himself can change the state of the soil by combining nitrogen and other mineral fertilizers. Herbicides, insecticides and other potent preparations for the emergency treatment of plantings are unambiguously reflected on the acidity. They destroy not only pathogenic microflora, but also beneficial microorganisms, thereby upsetting the balance.

It should be understood that the acidity of the soil is constantly changing. Measure this indicator annually.

Advice
The looseness and fertility of the land depends on earthworms. They produce humus useful for garden plantings.

How to determine acidity

The acidity of the soil is determined by simple methods.

Test strips

A litmus paper tester is an inexpensive and quick way to test soil. These strips react to acids and color depending on the pH level:

• high degree - red,
• medium - orange,
• weak - yellow,

Green means alkaline soil, light green means neutral. Always compare the result with the scale on the package.

How to test:

1. Fill a 1L jar with garden soil about a quarter full.
2. Top up with clean water up to the neck.
3. Stir and wait for a precipitate to appear.
4. Dip the litmus tester in water.
5. Wait for staining. The soil that is optimal for raspberries will give a yellow color.

Special device

The pH meter is designed to determine the acidity of soils. The probe of the device is immersed in the soil, the result is displayed on the screen. When testing, do not touch the probe and the ground with your hands. What the numbers say:

• less than 4.5 - strongly acidic;
• 5.0-6.0 - medium acidity;
• 6.0-6.5 - slightly acidic;
• 7.0 - neutral;
• 7.5-8.0 - slightly alkaline;
• above 8.0 - strongly alkaline.

Natural indicators of acidity

Pay attention to herbaceous plants. These are some tips for the gardener:

1. On acidic soils, buttercups, horse sorrel, and horsetail usually grow.
2. Wormwood, coltsfoot, feather grass and quinoa take root well on highly alkaline soils.

Notes to the gardener
There are plants that indicate soil moisture. On poor, dry sandy soils, creeping thyme, saxifrage, and young are found. Reeds, willow, cinquefoil goose, hemlock, alder feel good on wet ground.

Planting soil: getting ready

For raspberries, frequent transplants are not required. In order for berry bushes to grow for a long time in one place, the gardener must take care of the soil in advance, that is, several months before planting. Often, plantation owners add purchased fertile soil to a 50 × 50 cm planting pit.

Advice to the gardener
Follow the crop rotation rules so that crop yields and crop health are not a concern.

Best Precursors for Raspberries:

• parsley,
• dill,
• various legumes,
• onion and garlic.

After nightshade, it is better not to plant a shrub. Also, do not place young bushes if a culture disease was previously noticed in this place. And — a new raspberry tree is placed in the old place no earlier than 6 years later.

Reception if the soil is excessively clayey

The soil in the garden has been prepared since summer. First, plant siderates - wheat, oats. Thanks to these plants, at the beginning of autumn, just in time for planting raspberries, the soil will become loose, its mineral composition will replenish.

Heavy soil method

An easy way to make garden soil looser is to dig it up and add river sand, peat, and leaf compost. A simple test for heavy soil: after watering, a hard crust forms on it.

With damp ground

Swampy soils need a good drainage system more than others. Use expanded clay, pebbles, broken brick.

A way against too loose soil

Sandstones are corrected by the addition of clay, organic matter, freshwater silt. The soil is dug up with the addition of these components.

Additives: types and timing of application

When growing raspberries, fertilization cannot be ruled out. Their number and frequency of introduction depend on the composition of the soil, variety, region.

If the soil in the garden is initially acidic, it can be easily corrected by adding the following additives:

1. Dolomite flour. The soil will become less acidic, enriched with calcium and magnesium.
2. Wood ash in the amount of 100 g per 1 m² - a simple and affordable alkalization method.
3. Lime - a glass under a bush.
4. Eggshell and chalk - 200 g per 1 m².

If necessary, the soil can be acidified. To do this, add rotten needles, leaf compost, organic matter to it. Manure in the amount of 5 kg per 1 m² stimulates the activity of bacteria that saturate the soil with acids.

What else do raspberries need for good growth and fruiting?

Pay attention not only to the condition of the garden land, but also to the seedlings themselves. Choose strong, young, healthy shrubs with a closed root system.

The areas should be well lit. In the shade, raspberries bear fruit weaker. In spring, plantings need abundant moisture, especially in the first years of life.

Fertilizers are applied when planting seedlings. If the soil is optimal, then further fertilizing begins from the third year of cultivation. What raspberries love:

1. In spring, nitrogen will be useful for the growth of green mass.
2. In summer, fruiting is stimulated by potash and phosphorus complexes.
3. Organic - for poor sandy soils, it is applied annually in the fall.

Another important procedure is the regular loosening of the soil while preserving the mulch.

Plant the bushes at intervals as they grow a lot. Spread multiple varieties on the plot for cross-pollination. Tie up bushes, cut off old branches.It's easy to care for raspberries if you draw up a schedule and gain a little experience.

About mulching

It should be borne in mind that the cultivation of raspberries and other crops on heavy soils requires constant correction of the soil composition. Loose elements are washed out by rains into deep layers. To slow down these processes, do not forget about the mulching procedure.

Mulch - a layer of peat, straw, sawdust, grass cuttings and tree bark protects the soil from rapid evaporation of moisture, keeps the roots from overheating on hot days and enriches the upper soil layers with microelements. Mulching also prevents weeds from growing.

Raspberries are grown everywhere, there is even a wild variety of shrubs, but this does not mean that the crop will produce the best harvest on poor or heavy soils with high acidity and without the supervision of a gardener. Take care of your growing conditions in advance so that you can enjoy a bountiful, sweet and healthy harvest every year for ten years.