[Minty]

Thanks to a link from Richyrich I've ordered 30 raspberry canes from J Parkers and would like to get the bed all ready and sorted for their arrival.

What I wanted to know is what sort of space length wise will 10 canes need as I'm going to do the 3 selections(spring,summer,autumn) in 3 separate lines and how's best to prepare the ground?
We have a load of chicken poo pellets and ton's of well rotted guinea pig poo/compost and can also lay my hands on some manure.

Thanks in advance for any help on this one.

[richyrich7]

It's 18" between the canes Minty, I've dug and prepared 3 x 15' rows. Thought it would be better to keep all 3 varieties seperate, makes purning and cropping easier.
I've double dug a 2' wide trench incorporating compost and leaves as I've gone

[Minty]

Thanks Rich.

It just so happens that our lovely city council :shock:  has dumped a load of dead leaf matter next to my plot so I'll dig a load of that in with the compost.

[lobot]

This may sound like a stupid question, but what do you use for your raspberries if you haven't got any well rotted manure or home-made compost?
Will shop bought compost be ok?

[richyrich7]

Yes it's fine if not a little expensive, do you have any used grow bags the compost in them would do fine as a soil conditioner, if you have half decent soil then they would be fine with it just cultivated. They will need a top dressing in the spring with a slow release fertiliser such as Blood fish and bone, hoed lightly in and then a good mulch when the soil is wet/damp just make sure the mulch does not touch the stems .  

[Bombers]

Will shop bought compost be ok?

Absolutely!

[Trillium]

You can also add any leaf matter you can find to add tilth to the soil, as well as add blood, fish and bonemeal. As the berries will be there many years, person them as much good stuff as you can and be sure to weed very well. Once the couch grass gets into the raspberry roots, it's the devil's own job to clear it. Same with bindweed and other 'lovely' plants.