Why is raspberry garter needed and how is it performed

Raspberries are a fairly easy crop to grow, but to get the sweetest and largest berries, you need to know a few tricks, one of which is the garter. The operation solves the problem of shading, dampness, insufficient ventilation, and even acts as a prevention of infections.

Why tie up raspberries?

To begin with, young raspberry stalks, hung with large, mouth-watering berries, may simply not withstand strong gusts of wind and break, leaving the summer resident without the harvest he hoped for. Prolonged rainfall further increases the likelihood of this outcome. This is especially true for raspberry varieties that grow to a great height - two meters, and sometimes even higher.

How does a garter affect the size and sweetness of the berries? A tall shrub bends under its own weight, the result is that the berries are shaded by dense foliage. Because of this, the fruits do not fully ripen.

Finally, if you tie up raspberries in a timely manner so that they do not fall or bend, then the collection of berries is greatly simplified. You do not need to lift each stem in search of berries - just walk along the tied rows and easily pick the fruits.

Do all varieties need a garter? It turns out not. There are several varieties of red and yellow raspberries that do just fine without such care:

• Modest;
• Balm;
• Coral;
• Spirina is white;
• Bulgarian ruby.

Shoots of small height are characteristic of these varieties - rarely more than one and a half meters. At the same time, the trunks are quite solid, which makes it easy to do without a garter.

Most popular ways

There are several proven ways to tie raspberries correctly.

Kolovy method

The method got its name from a two-meter stake, which plays the role of a support. The garter is quick and easy:

1. A 2-meter pole is stuck in the middle of a group of six to seven stems.
2. They are tied to a support at a height of about 1.5 meters.
3. If the shoots are very tall, but not lignified, then the tops can be bent in an arc, also fixing on a support - so that the berries receive the maximum amount of light and are not shaded by foliage.

It is advisable to carry out the garter procedure in the spring, before flowering.

This method, as the simplest, is also the most common among novice summer residents, especially when it comes to small raspberries.

Advice
A support made of an iron pipe or reinforced concrete pillar will last longer. To prevent the wooden stake from rotting in the first two years, pre-paint its bottom or cover it with tar.

However, the stake method has certain disadvantages:

• uneven lighting of shoots;
• little protection of branches from physical exertion and, as a result, damage;
• ovary on shoots inside the bush develops more slowly;
• thickened planting increases the risk of pests and diseases.

Fan way

This method has a different tying system. It also uses high - about two meters - stakes. But about half of the shoots from one bush on the left and the same amount on the right are attached to each of them. As a result, each bush is split in half.

After the end of the garter, the shoots are a kind of fan, due to which this method received such an unusual name. The main advantage of this method is that in the summer the stems receive the maximum amount of light and air, even with a fairly dense planting.

Tapestry method

Here, not a wooden stake is used as a support, but several posts, between which a wire is stretched, a synthetic non-stretching cord or a rope with a plastic casing and a metal core.

It is he who has been gaining the greatest popularity in recent years. It is not surprising, because if the trellis garter is made correctly, it looks very beautiful and provides protection from the wind, excellent illumination of plants, and free air circulation. And the result is bountiful harvests. And picking berries with this approach is much easier.

Subtypes of the trellis method

Various options for a trellis garter have been developed, but they are all carried out by hand, without special materials and specific tools.

Single garter

The simplest type of trellis garter. It will be a good solution for small raspberries, in which the bushes are planted in even rows.

How to tie:

1. At a distance of about 4-5 m from each other, supports (metal pipes, wooden stakes or concrete pillars) are dug in. The main thing is that the length is at least two meters. Each column is deepened by 40 cm.
2. A wire is stretched between the supports - in three rows, at a height of 60, 100 and 160 cm.
3. Now you just need not to miss the moment when the young raspberries grow to the appropriate height and tie them up in time - it is best to use narrow strips of rags (any old clothes will do), bandages or soft synthetic rope.

Important
Threads and wires are categorically unsuitable for tying - they will cut into the stems and injure them.

The narrow landing strip provides especially good air ventilation, and there will be practically no shaded areas here. Harvesting turns into a sheer pleasure - no need to climb into a stuffy raspberry tree, risking breaking shoots and getting scratched on thorns.

Double garter

If you want to get an especially rich harvest, then it is better to make a double garter. It looks like a single one, but only in part - the tapestries in this case have a different scheme and dimensions:

1. Initially, two-meter pillars are also dug in.
2. However, no wire is tied to them - instead, transverse slats are fixed on the posts. The optimal length is half a meter. The lower one is located at a height of 90 centimeters, and the upper one is about one and a half meters above the ground.
3. A wire is already tied to them. As a result, a small fence is formed, behind which quite a lot of raspberry bushes can be placed. Accordingly, the yield increases significantly.

True, there are some drawbacks here. Still, due to a denser planting, the illumination worsens, and the harvest is somewhat more difficult.

Scandinavian garter

A Scandinavian garter is almost the same as a double one. True, not two supports with two crossbars each are used here. Instead, four supports are used. Two are dug in at a distance of four to five meters from each other, and next to them, only half a meter, one more support is added. The near ones are connected with a wooden crossbar, and between the far ones a wire or rope is pulled - in one row, at a height of about a meter. It turns out a kind of fence that supports the raspberry bushes.

A raspberry garter is a prerequisite for a good harvest and easy harvesting. You can use one of the popular methods or come up with your own way to support the raspberry stalks so that they do not break and shade each other and the berries.