[Willow_Warren]

Hi,

I've not been on here for ages, I still have a very small veg patch in my garden, just 4 and a half 6ft x 3ft raised beds!  I don't grown much just a few bits of this and that in the beds and in containers/greenhouse.

Normally dedicate 1 bed to peas - I don't get loads - but a few, I enjoy growing them.  However apart from a few raw I don't eat them.  My boyfriend usually does, but since has now left for a more exciting life elsewhere I was about to sow the peas and wondered why.  I'm also wondering why I have so many chilli plant seedlings, but hey ho...

So that got me to wondering about what I actually likes eating!  I love fruit... I have one bed dedicated to strawberries and quite a few pots in addition.  I also love  raspberries.  Is it possible to grow raspberries in a raised bed??  If there's not enough space for canes has any one tried growing ruby beauty in a raised bed??  I always find raspberries confusing with the different seasons, not even sure I'd get crop this year (I'm a bit of an impatient gardener) given the time of year now etc...  I would defiantly need to net them...

Either that or i might dedicate it to flowers (although none of my cosmos seeds germinated this year, not sure what I did differently to last year )

Many thanks

Hananh

[Goosegirl]

I've grown raspberries in a raised bed for years and have just replaced them with some new canes planted in another raised bed. They grow very well and the wooden edges prevent most of the runners escaping. Though a few shoot up in the grass paths between the beds, they are easily mown off or pulled out. The only thing about raised beds is that they can easily dry out, so a good mulch helps to avoid this. I got Paris which has a very good review. It is self-supporting (not here it won't with the winds), fruits in autumn and I don't have to worry about which canes fruited last year when I didn't get round to cutting them down afterwards because I just cut them all down in February.

[Willow_Warren]

Thank you that is very encouraging!

Do you mind me asking how many canes you would have in a 6x4 area?  I'm guessing I'd have to get them in pretty quickly now (given we're almost the end of April!)

I'll have to have a look around on line or garden centre to see what they have..

Thanks

[Goosegirl]

My new bed is 4' wide by about 8' long and I've got 6 canes in it. They will eventually spread out into the spaces between them but I think you could get away with 5-6 canes, depending on how many are sold in a bundle.