Olives
Olive trees make beautiful specimen trees, screening plants or as a feature in a pot. The pickled fruits are delicious and are used in various dishes.
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Imagine picking fresh raspberries from your backyard then creating delicious fresh desserts, jam or jelly – that is, if they even make it past the back door!
Winter is a good season to think about planting raspberries because packaged raspberry canes appear in the shops at this time of year. Raspberries do best in areas with cool winters, where they’ll grow happily in full sun. In warmer places, raspberry plants prefer a little bit of protection from the hot afternoon sun.
How to grow Raspberries in a garden
- Choose a sunny spot with well drained soil.
- Enrich the soil with Yates Dynamic Lifter Organic Plant Food and Yates Natures Way Organic Compost & Soil Improver. If the soil is clay based, improve soil structure by adding gypsum and forking in well
- If planting more than one plant, set out canes 1.5m apart and in rows 2m apart.
- Install a double-wire trellis to help support plant growth. You can do this by driving two 2m tall star pickets on both sides of the plant and running wire between them – one at 1m high and the other at 1.4m high.
- Planting:
- If planting potted plants, dig the planting hole twice as wide and to the same depth as the root-ball. Remove the plant from the container, gently tease the roots and cut away any circled or tangled roots.
- If planting bare-rooted plants, gently remove the packing material from the roots and soak in a bucket of water for a few hours before planting. - Position in hole and backfill with soil, gently firming down.
- Form a raised doughnut shaped ring of soil around the outer edge of the plant's root zone. This helps keep water where it's needed. Always water in well after planting to settle the soil around the roots and keep the soil moist for several weeks while the new plant establishes.
- Mulch around the base with organic mulch like woodchip or pea straw, keeping it away from the base of the plant.
- Water deeply, once or twice a week, depending on weather conditions.
- During the growing and flowering/fruiting season, feed with Yates Thrive Citrus & Fruit Granular Plant Food. TIP: for an added boost during the flowering/fruiting season, apply Yates Thrive Strawberry & Berry Fruit Liquid Plant Food.
- As the canes grow, bundle them together loosely with twine and train them to grow over the top wire and down to the second wire.
- Harvest when fruit is ripe and well-coloured. The receptacle or ‘stem’ attached to the fruit should easily come away from the fruit.
- In winter, cut back any old and weak canes to ground level. Leave new shoots and loosely tie into bundles with twine.
Growing tips
- Raspberries grow best in cool temperature or cold climates. Districts where apples or cherries do well are ideal.
- Fruit can get spoilt from extreme heat and sunshine. During these conditions cover with shadecloth to protect the fruit.
- Soil should be deep, well drained with lots of organic matter.
- Fruit is ripe when it’s well coloured and separates from the receptacle or ‘stem’.
- Best planted in Winter.
More Plants
Grapefruit
Red or yellow and sometimes even pink, grapefruit are a great addition to your garden and plate. An excellent source of vitamin C and super tasty too!
Grapes
Grapes are easy to grow, provided you have space and a support to grow on. Eat them either fresh, dried, or frozen and blended into an icy drink.
Pear
Pear trees are superb fruit-bearing feature trees (up to 6m). Dwarf forms (up to 2m) are also available which are great for small gardens and pots.
Yates Thrive Citrus & Fruit Granular Plant Food
Fast acting, gradual feeding plant food specially formulated to grow citrus & fruit trees, with high potassium for more abundant fruit & added magnesium to help prevent leaf yellowing.
Yates Thrive Strawberry & Berry Fruit Liquid Plant Food
Provides plants with the balanced nutrition they need to produce juicy, luscious berries and healthy green foliage.
Yates Dynamic Lifter Organic Plant Food
Releases nutrients slowly, improves the structure and moisture retention of the soil and encourages earthworms and beneficial soil micro-organisms.
Yates Nature's Way Organic Compost & Soil Improver
Transform soil into a healthy nutrient-rich base for your gardens and lawns with Yates Nature’s Way Organic Compost & Soil Improver.
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