hello all..... a quick question, as i unable to find the answer anywhere....

we have these raspberry bushes and they are well managed.... at least i think
they are well managed, but every year, the berries seem to be getting smaller
and smaller.
i trim off the dead parts every spring, and they get watered and fed as my
memory allows me.
we have lots of new spikes come up and i trim out the older ones, but still the
berries are getting smaller and smaller......

i could care less about the berries, but my wife loves them right off the bush
on her morning ceral and mixed with strawberries.
any help would be appreciated.

Where do you live? What kinds of raspberry do you have (varieties?)? What
kind of soil do you have? Are there any nearby plants suffering the same
type of problem (stunted growth, yellowing leaves, poor fruit production)?
"WARRENRN1" wrote in message
...
hello all..... a quick question, as i unable to find the answer
anywhere....

we have these raspberry bushes and they are well managed.... at least i
think
they are well managed, but every year, the berries seem to be getting
smaller
and smaller.
i trim off the dead parts every spring, and they get watered and fed as my
memory allows me.
we have lots of new spikes come up and i trim out the older ones, but
still the
berries are getting smaller and smaller......

i could care less about the berries, but my wife loves them right off the
bush
on her morning ceral and mixed with strawberries.
any help would be appreciated.

Some need to be cut back to about 6" above the ground in the fall.

Where do you live? What kinds of raspberry do you have (varieties?)? What
kind of soil do you have? Are there any nearby plants suffering the same
type of problem (stunted growth, yellowing leaves, poor fruit production)?

i live in the midwest by chicago... and the nearby plants seem to be
thriving.... all the fruit trees produce a fairly large amount of fruit, the
climbing rose next to the raspberry looks as though King Kong could smell it,
and the climatis is growing very well....
as for variety... the plants have been there for 10 yrs... in when we bought
the home and still produce a large amount fo fruit, just very small berries....
soil is well drained but i have never *improved the soil* but it does get an
occassional *miracle grow* watering and food.....

Try cutting them all back to about 6-12" in the fall.

Also try using some organic fertilizer. Miracle Grow to plants is like
vitamins to us. They give you what you need, but you really can't live on
that alone.

All you need is a small compost pile. Throw your grass clippings, leaves,
kitchen scraps (no meat), twigs, and manure into a pile and let it rot for 6
months- 1 yr. stirring occasionally. When it's good and rotted spread it
around your berry patch, and work it into the soil as best you can. This is
like a steak dinner to the plants.

--
Rob Smith, NY
www.allwoodwork.com
Woodworking, Home, & Garden Community



"WARRENRN1" wrote in message
...
Where do you live? What kinds of raspberry do you have (varieties?)? What
kind of soil do you have? Are there any nearby plants suffering the same
type of problem (stunted growth, yellowing leaves, poor fruit
production)?

i live in the midwest by chicago... and the nearby plants seem to be
thriving.... all the fruit trees produce a fairly large amount of fruit,
the
climbing rose next to the raspberry looks as though King Kong could smell
it,
and the climatis is growing very well....
as for variety... the plants have been there for 10 yrs... in when we
bought
the home and still produce a large amount fo fruit, just very small
berries....
soil is well drained but i have never *improved the soil* but it does get
an
occassional *miracle grow* watering and food.....