[daffodil]

I have allotment in north yorkshire and need to replace raspberry canes.  What variety would you recommend for highish yield, good taste, easy keep canes and mid season harvesting?  Many thanks, Gillian

[drdave]

How about tullameen? I am thinking Polka too, but seem to remember they are later....

[daffodil]

 :)Many thanks - have looked at them on Victoriana Nursery site and Tulameen looks like it could be a good option.  Am very new to  this game and need all the help anyone has to give!

[viettaclark]

I've got Polka (Ken Muir) and they're really good...lots of huge, sweet fruit, canes don't need support unless really windy or heavy with fruit and they put out plenty of new canes. Mine are fruiting now (yum yum) so that might be too late for you. You CAN let them fruit on last year's canes instead of cutting down in winter to begin a cycle of summer fruiting or have both going if you've got enough room. Raspberries from June to October!

[daffodil]

Brilliant - i like the idea of not cutting back and getting earlier crop as well.  Thank you

[tode]

In my experience, when growing rasps with a double crop you should cut off the part that's fruited (about a foot), so that they crop well the following Summer. After the Summer (2nd) fruiting, you cut them down to ground level as usual.

[DD.]

Sounds like a lot of messing - you've still got to cut the old canes out  leave the new(er) ones.

You're missing out on the big advantage of autumn fruiting ones, in my opinion, in that you can whip through a heck of a lot of canes with a pair of secateurs in double quick time without having to think "leave or chop".

[tode]

Yeah, but you get 2 crops       

[DD.]

I get two crops by growing summer & autumn fruiting, so double  

[tode]

Yeah, but you need 2 patches of rasps     

[DD.]

Two half patches.

Simples.

[tode]

No no no no no no no no no no no no no no

Two patches with two crops each ! ! !

Greedy greedy

    +       =         

(I was waitin' for yer, there DD  )

[DD.]

My time's too valuable to mess about deciding which canes to cut out of autumn raspberries. It's a quick skinhead hair cut for the lot of them.

[daffodil]

Many thanks for all your help - i think I will stick with Tullameen and Polka and not cut back, so that get mid season and then autumn as separate and easier to prune.m  Sorry to have started a disagreement!

[tode]

No probs: everyone has their own way of doing things, and you have to adapt to your particular situation. Its always fun trying out new ideas.
Good gardening and don't forget the cream with the raspberries.