Pruning Raspberry, Gooseberry, and Currant Bushes
Another important chore that can be done during winter - pruning the berry bushes.
I love growing all kinds of berries and have been growing them for many years. I currently have large patches of red raspberries, golden raspberries, black raspberries, currants, gooseberries, blueberries, blackberries, and strawberries. For the best yields from these plants it's crucial that some berry bushes be pruned regularly. Pruning produces larger berries in greater volumes and helps to control diseases that might otherwise spread. My gardeners pruned many of the berry bushes last week - trimming the old canes and branches back to get them ready for next season.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
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- Fresh, homegrown berries are so delicious. I’ve been growing my own berries for years and am fortunate that all my bushes are so prolific. We harvest trays and boxes of berries every summer. These are black raspberries.
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- Here’s a box of red raspberries freshly picked with a sweet, tangy, and slightly tart taste. Many berries are best eaten raw, but they can be used in a variety of ways – as ingredients in jams and jellies, pies and tarts, and delicious summer juices.
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- One raspberry plant can produce several hundred berries in a season. I cook with them and share them with family and friends.
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- The currant bushes are also prolific. White currants are sweet and tart with floral undertones. Although the fruits are the primary source of food from the plant, the leaves, and tender, young shoots are also edible.
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- These are called champagne currants. These fruits are blushed with pink, but currants also come in dark purple, bright ruby red, and the white. Currants are still largely unknown here in the United States. They are well-loved in many other countries, and here in the US, they are slowly gaining popularity, especially because of the high antioxidant content. They are now more prevalent at local farms and home gardens.
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- The color of gooseberries depends on the variety. It can range from red and purple to yellow and green.
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- These fruits typically start ripening in late June into July. I check the bushes almost every day during these months for ready to pick berries.
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- But now that it’s winter and all the bushes are bare it’s a good time to prune and groom them in preparation for the next growing season.
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- When pruning, my gardeners and outdoor grounds crew first cut all the dead, diseased, damaged, or deranged branches.
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- My crew always uses sharp tools, so they leave behind nice, clean cuts. If the pruners cut messily through the stems, the wounds won’t heal as quickly or as neatly.
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- This is where a dead branch was cut – it’s brown and woody.
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- Adan also thins out the center of the currant bush, so light and air can circulate properly.
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- And any crisscrossing branches are also removed.
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- Nearby, my raspberry bushes – red, golden, and black – are also pruned. These raspberries are located outside my main greenhouse where they get full sun.
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- Just like the currants and gooseberries, the raspberry canes cut first are those that are dead, diseased, damaged or deranged.
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- Black raspberries are identifiable by their purple canes. Raspberries are unique because their roots and crowns are perennial, while their stems or canes are biennial. A raspberry bush can produce fruit for many years.
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- Here at my farm, they are all supported at row ends by these antique Chinese granite posts I purchased. I use them for these berries as well as for my long pergola, and to hold up my apple and pear espaliers.
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- The heavy gauge copper wire laced through them keeps the canes up. The wire can be tightened or loosened depending on the need.
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- The canes are lined up along the wire to train them where to grow. Raspberry plants spread by suckers and will spread out far and wide if allowed. Unpruned raspberry bushes will still grow, but won’t yield more berries. Leaving them unpruned also makes them more prone to disease.
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- Most raspberry plants also have small thorns, or prickles, along their stems and canes – they are part of the rose family.
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- Raspberries bear fruit on two-year old canes, the canes that sprouted last season. Here, they look much better after pruning.
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- Here is a bed of currants after pruning. Once they are trimmed, everything looks uniform and level.
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- All the cut branches and canes are driven to the compost pile where they will be made into mulch. There is a lot of work to do around this busy farm all year round, but one by one the tasks are well completed.
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