How To Get Black Raspberries?

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

If you lack a little blackberry acidity in regular raspberries, then try Cumberland. This type of black raspberry first appeared in the United States and has been pleasing domestic gardeners for many years. In addition, such a raspberry feels great in central Russia. She is rather uncharitable, prolific and original both in taste and in appearance

Can color compote

Cumberland is by no means the only black raspberry variety. Most and most varied of all, it is represented on the lands of America and Canada. For our strip, the varieties Povorot, Black Pearl, Ugolyok and Cumberland itself are good - the most popular in Russian gardens. It is revered for its yield and frost resistance. One Cumberland bush is able to "thank" the owners for worthy care with six kilograms of berries and delight with its fertility up to 15 years.

During the ripening period, Cumberland berries are very reminiscent of red raspberries. But the finally ripe fruits turn black with a slight blue tint, but the juice emit a bright red. The taste of the berries is close to the blackberry, but a little sweeter. They are used both raw (which is much more useful), and they boil jams, spin compotes, fruit drinks, make marshmallows, marmalades and other preparations. Some of the gardeners are using berries as a dye to give a beautiful raspberry shade to apple or pear compotes.

Covered with tenacious thorns

The semi-shrub of this black raspberry looks somewhat different from the usual raspberry: it has more voluminous and longer shoots (2-3m), dotted with tenacious thorns. Cumberland has no root shoots, which makes it easier to care for the plant and is an obvious advantage over red raspberries. Cumberland blooms late and for a long time - in early to mid-June. This will protect it from the spring frost.

Treat like regular raspberries

Despite the fact that the Cumberland is not picky about the soil, it is better to prefer light, loamy chernozem and gray forest lands for it. I am very grateful to the mineral and organic feeding. Under the condition of regular watering, the berries are larger and less likely to crumble. The plant requires more water during the period of fruit ripening. But at the same time, wet stagnation at the roots is not permissible.

Cumberland is planted in the same way as raspberries. The best time for this is autumn or spring. Freshly planted shrubs must be protected and supported with pillars and a wire trellis, which is stretched at different heights, starting from 1m. and adding 30cm each.

Black-fruited raspberries reproduce both by seeds and by layering. The latter method is the most effective: in the middle of summer, young shoots need to be bent to the soil and secured - this way they will gradually take root. And in the fall you will receive a seedling with good roots, which can be separated from the bush and transplanted to a place prepared for it in advance. It is better to leave immature seedlings for the winter and arrange for them to move only next spring.

Seed method - for the most patient

Having decided to propagate the Cumberland with seeds, you need to be patient. Having collected the harvest, they immediately prepare the seeds and sow them into light, fertile soil, deepening them by 2-3 cm and covering them with thin mulch (peat, sawdust). Then you need to moisten the soil and wait for the arrival of spring. Then about 30-40% of the seeds will hatch.

Let's say the spring sowing of Cumberland, but before it the seeds must be stratified (hold in a weak potassium permanganate for about two hours, mix with pre-calcined sand, moisten to lumps and put on the door shelves of the refrigerator (at 1-4 C) for 20-25 days, stirring occasionally and moisturizing). Those seeds that hatch before spring should be buried quite deep in the snow. And the seeds, ripe in time, are first planted in boxes, and the sprouts are planted in the heated spring soil.

Don't let loose

It is difficult for Cumberland to do without the formation of bushes. His fertility suffers from this. Most gardeners tie the fruit-bearing shoots to the lower trellis. Young summer stems are fixed at the upper level, and in the fall they are pressed to the ground, removing old branches at the root. In the spring they are released and returned to the trellises.

Someone prefers to cut off young shoots (1.5 meters) in the middle of summer, so that fresh lateral stems of the same length are formed. However, they are also shortened to half a meter. It is easier to care for such neat, low shrubs. However, with both the first and second pruning methods, you must not miss the right time, otherwise the Cumberland will go AWOL. In early summer, the tops of the plant (like raspberries) are usually disposed of in order to get side shoots sooner. Repeat this procedure closer to winter (in early November, before frost). Shoots with a height of more than 1.5 m are cut to 40 cm.