Poor quality raspberries

Some years ago I bought a bunch of raspberry canes from a reputable source - I think they might have been Glen Clova. They survived a move from one allotment to another but have never done all that well. Last year they produced loads of canes and healthy foliage, but the fruit, though plentiful, was small and hardly worth picking. in fact no better than the wild raspberries invading the other end of our allotment. This year looks like being the same.

Is there anything I can do to improve fruit size, or should I just accept these canes are useless and replace them? I feel that Glen Clova should be doing much better than this and am wondering if , over time, they revert to a wild form?

They are in a sunny spot but are never watered - not that that was a problem last summer. They were also put into manured ground about 4/5 years ago.

Any comment gratefully received!

 

Hello!!

Im a new gardener, but I have just planted some new raspberry cane's in my garden. I was advised on this forum that raspberries require a slighty acid soil. I was advised to water them with Sequestered Iron that will help if your soil has alkaline pH. Maybe this could be a cause of your problem.

Kind Regards

Claire:D

 

Hi Madahhlia,
Raspberries can be affected by lots of different pests and deseases. The presence of wild raspberries close by means that they could be hosts to these which have now spread to yours.

Also, if they have been moved to a new allotment, the pathogens may well have been in the soil already.
Here is a helpful site to try and identify what the problem might be.
http://www.essentialgardenguide.com/garden-fruits-problems/35/Raspberries/

 

Two things, a slightly acid soil so feed with sequested Iron.

The second is to regularly water the canes as soon as the flowers set

 

Raspberries succumb to virus, over time. If you are going to replant the, my advice would be to replace the soil at that time too, and get certified virus free plants.