When we want inspiration for what we should be doing in the garden right now, it’s Monty Don we turn to for ideas. Between his Insta feed, broadcasting, and his books, there’s always something to motivate us to get out into our plots.
And when Monty Don showed the raspberry plants he just added to his garden on Insta recently, it got us dreaming of harvesting these delicious fruits. What could be tastier than a dessert made with sweet homegrown raspberries (possibly with added chocolate), or simply a bowl of these wonderful berries?
Just scroll down for Monty’s tips on planting raspberries, and get more decorative garden ideas and inspiration in our feature.
How to plant raspberries: Monty Don’s top tips
1. Raspberries can be summer or autumn-fruiting. Monty has chosen two autumn-fruiting raspberries for his garden. Autumn Bliss will produce berries between August and October. The raspberries are ideal for freezing as well as eating fresh.
Polka can be harvested from July to October, and is celebrated for its large and flavour-packed fruit.
2. Monty chose to plant now, and it’s a great time of year for raspberry planting so long as the soil isn’t waterlogged nor frozen.
3. Monty showed how to plant bare-root raspberries on Gardeners’ World (opens in new tab). What do they need? Good drainage, and plenty of moisture, he says. They can grow in some shade and they don’t mind coolness, Monty advises.
4. All you need to do when you’re putting raspberries in is scrape away soil in your prepared bed, then put the plants a little below the surface and firm in, Monty says.
5. Spacing raspberries out is important, as they spread and you need to give them enough room to do so, Monty explains. Put your plants a minimum of 45cm apart.
6. Mulching is important when growing raspberries, Monty advises, to feed raspberries and keep weeds down. It will also keep the roots cool when the sun is hot. What can you use? Anything except mushroom compost, Monty says.
More gardening ideas:
- How to grow pumpkins
- How to grow sweet peas
- A gardener’s calendar – what to do month by month
