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Raspberries in your own garden are a dream for many people. The red fruits with their characteristic aroma can be consumed during the harvest and then processed into a wide variety of products. In order to guarantee high yields, the Rubus idaeus need a climbing aid. This protects the heavy, downward-hanging and fruit-bearing branches from kinking, mold growth or lack of light and also makes pruning and harvesting easier.
climbing aids
Regardless of whether you grow autumn or summer raspberries, the plants depend on the use of a climbing aid. The reason for this is the branches hanging down due to the fruits, which leads to a large number of disadvantages:
- many shoots do not receive enough light
- mold can form
- Susceptibility to disease and pest infestation increases
- Cutting and care measures are made more difficult
The need for climbing aids for the individual varieties of Rubus idaeus is particularly evident during harvest. While a specimen without a trellis or scaffolding can only hold itself up by itself and thus makes collecting the fruit an ordeal, raspberries equipped with climbing aids can be easily picked. The more support the rose (bot. Rosaceae) gets, the easier it is to grow upright, saving you a lot of work. Depending on the space available and the variety, there are various climbing aids that you can use for your specimens:
- node grid
- Wire climbing frame or trellis
- Bamboo trellis
The use of the respective climbing aids depends on the variety that you choose. The varieties are divided into summer and autumn raspberries, which differ in attributes such as growth height and the amount of care required. Exactly these differences can be seen in the selected climbing aids, as they all have a different shape to make it easier for the raspberries to grow and to stabilize the plant. A big advantage of all these variants: Maintenance is uncomplicated and requires little time. Below you will find detailed instructions if you want to build the climbing aids yourself.
tip: If you're growing dwarf varieties of raspberries like 'Little Red Princess' or 'Ruby Beauty', you don't really need a trellis, although a bamboo cane is nice. The reason for this is the low stature, which means that the plants do not bend down as much and can therefore easily do without a trellis or scaffolding.
node grid
A node grid is used exclusively for autumn raspberries used. These grow a maximum of 150 centimeters and benefit little from the trellis described above. Node grids sit significantly lower and also use wires. However, these are arranged in a grid above the plants, which means that the shorter tendrils can easily hold on. Knotted grids have been a typical climbing aid for raspberry cultivation for years and have proven themselves. You will need the following materials and utensils to build this:
- 2 x wooden posts with a length of 200 cm, one more per 150 cm bed
- 1 x wooden strip 50 cm long per post
- stainless steel wire
- nails
- hammer
It is actually quite easy to set up and can even be completed in a short amount of time if you know what you have to do. If your soil is not dense or solid enough, be sure to get suitable ones post sleeves use to drive the posts into the ground. Once you have all the supplies ready, proceed as follows:
Build knot grid: instructions
1. Set post
Measure the bed and use a post every 150cm. It is best to hit this directly into the bed, for which a large hammer or a heavy weight is suitable.
tip: If you want to use post sleeves, simply drive them into the ground with the spikes. Then place the posts in the sleeves and fix them with screws.
2. Attach cross braces
Mark the height of 100 cm on each post. With an average maximum height of 150 cm, the autumn raspberries can easily hold on to the knot lattice and pull themselves upright. The markings are used to attach the cross braces.
Take the wooden strip and nail it to the marking. You can also fix the strip with string or other nails. Repeat for each post.
3. Create wireframe
Use the wire to create a grid. To do this, start at one end of the bed and attach the wire to a cross brace, for example using small hooks that you drive into the wood. After that, run the wire to the next post around the entire bed until you come back to the exit post, making a wire frame.
After the outer wire frame is complete, pull more wires from cross brace to cross brace spaced from 10 centimeters. With each wire, a trellis is formed, which sits on the raspberries. You end up with a total of six wires connecting the cross braces.
You individual wire tracks are now spaced by 10 centimetersinterrupted by wire along the entire length to create a grid. To do this, tie the wire to the wire track on one side, lead it to the next track and also knot it until you have connected all six wire tracks together. At the end you have a finished knot grid as a climbing aid for your raspberries.
tip: If you don't want to use wire as a trellis, you can use a piece of chain link fence as an alternative. This is fixed between the posts instead of the loose wire and can therefore be used effectively as a climbing aid for the autumn raspberries.
Classic trellis
A trellis is one of the typical forms of climbing aids and can be implemented with little effort. In contrast to the node grids, these are used for summer raspberries, as these can reach heights of growth of up to 250 centimeters and therefore need more help. You will need the following items for this climbing aid:
- 2 x wooden posts with a length of 200 cm, one more per 150 cm bed
- stainless steel wire
A climbing frame or trellis for raspberries does not require any additional materials. But you can save yourself some work and for example round hook get one that will make it even easier to attach the wires.
Building a trellis: instructions
1. Set post
Fasten the wooden posts into the ground as described in the instructions above. Make sure that these are really stable in the ground, as summer raspberries weigh significantly more on the climbing frame than autumn raspberries.
Now mark each post at 100 and 160 cm. These two heights are ideal for growing raspberries.
Now you can either hammer hooks into the posts or small notches into the wood, which makes it easier for the wire to be attached and not slip off.
2. Tension the wire
Now, starting from the first post, stretch the wire from one post to the other. Wrap this once around the post to build up enough tension. However, be careful not to put too much pressure on the posts themselves, otherwise they may tip over.
Fix the wire to the last post using a round hook. The knot must be tight so that the wires do not come loose under load.
And the climbing frame is ready. You really don't need more here. The raspberry rods are fixed with hollow cord or bast. To make it easier to cut the raspberries, you should fix the one-year-old raspberry canes on one side of the trellis and the two-year-old ones on the other. This will keep you from getting confused in the following season.
tip: If you want to place your trellis to save space, you can attach it to a wall or the wall of the house, which means you can even do without the wooden struts for attachment. All you have to do is stretch the wires along the wall and attach the rods to them to achieve the same effect as the trellis.
Bamboo trellis
A trellis made of bamboo sticks requires a little more work, as you do not use any wire at all. For this trellis you need a large number of bamboo sticks in the desired length. These are connected to form a grid whose meshes are square and are thus ideal for the raspberry tendrils. The big advantage of this trellis is that it can either be set free-standing in the bed using post sleeves or mounted on a wall. For such a grid, measuring 180 cm x 90 cm, you will need the following materials:
- 6 x bamboo sticks with a length of 180 cm and a diameter of 0.5 cm
- 2 x bamboo sticks with a length of 180 cm and a diameter of 4 to 5 cm
- 14 x bamboo sticks with a length of 90 cm and a diameter of 0.5 cm
- 2 x bamboo sticks with a length of 90 cm and a diameter of 3 to 5 cm
This number of bamboo sticks is sufficient to build a trellis for the raspberries. Due to the height, this variant is well suited for summer raspberries. If you choose a maximum height of 150 centimeters, you can easily grow autumn varieties and grow them on a small scale. Last but not least, you need materials to hold the rods:
- Trellis clips: uncomplicated, but more expensive to buy
- Cable ties: only for very thin bamboo sticks
- Twine or thin rope: should be weather and tear resistant
Screws are not really recommended for this grille, as they tear easily, especially in thinner bamboo cross braces. If the purchase of trellis clips is too expensive for you, it is best to use cords with which you can knot the individual rungs. Therein lies the purpose of these trellises. You only need tools for the frame, the rest of the lattice will be tied or clamped together.
Build bamboo trellis: instructions
- place thicker bamboo sticks as a frame
- wide side can protrude a bit
- drill a self-tapping screw into each corner joint
- this allows the frame to retain its shape
- you can fix it with ropes
- Draw a mark 12 cm apart on a 180 cm long bamboo stick
- Draw a mark 15 cm apart on a 90 cm long bamboo stick
- Markings help to fix the cross braces
- Fasten the cross braces with ropes, cords, cable ties or trellis clips
- orientate yourself on the markings
Depending on the fastening material used, it will take a little longer for the grid to stand up. However, the climbing frame impresses with its natural properties and the fact that it is actually quite quick to set up. If you already have experience with this form of trellis, you can of course easily change the shape and size. The summer raspberries will thank you with a rich harvest.
tip: With a little manual skill, you can easily conjure up a flower pot including a trellis from the bamboo trellis. All you have to do is connect this to a suitable bucket and you can plant the raspberries, which can cling to the grid with their tendrils.