Anyway, let down by absence of string, I moved on and pruned the autumn-fruiting raspberries (Joan J) and in the process gained a stonking pile of pea sticks from the prunings.
Frugal or what? The raspers will look better once they've been weeded so you can wait for a picture of those!
Then there's a load of work to do around the summer-fruiting raspers (Glen Summat-or-other). They didn't deliver many rasps last year but had their best-ever season in terms of actual growth, which means (hopefully) a good crop this year. But they too need a better support system, done early and with wire into which they can be tied. That'll make a radical change; they're normally done [too] late and with yet more string because they've degenerated into a floppy mess because they weren't done early enough. This year I'm determined to get on top of them early enough!
And finally, I've started to coppice the hazel again. I last did this about five years ago and although I got some decent poles off it they were a bit too gnarly & lumpy to be much use, so they've sat around in various spots being not much use at all. Think I'll probably end up burning them. But the ones I've been working on today are altogether different. This is coppicing as it should be done - the poles are long and straight, ideal for bean poles and/or sweet peas. Here's a before,
in progress,
and 'poles' view of the hazel clump. Neat!
2 comments:
Your blackberry is a similar size to ours which I still have to tackle - you don't fancy doing another do you.
But my summer raspberries are all tied in.
I too have hazels that need coppicing this year.
I'll pass on that kind offer Sue! Best of luck with it.
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