Blog of The Organic Gardener

Autumn Raspberries:
Autumn raspberries are a wonderful end to the gardening season. I'm growing the variety All Gold from Suttons Seeds - in U.K. - which has attractive gold coloured fruits.

These attractive autumn fruiting varieties produce fruit in the first year. At this time of year I can't expect loads but, they are a welcome addition to my breakfast cereal. But the season has lasted from 25 August pictured right to the 8 November (left) and still going.


On picking raspberries:
Most gardeners advise that the whole fruit be gently lifted off the central cone or hull when it's ready. But you may notice that the remaining cone shaped receptacle tissue stays fleshy and damp. Soon it begins to go brown. It seems like an open invitation to fungal infection. So after picking the fruit I cut these off with scissors. May be it's unnecessary. May be I'm too fussy. But fruit left too long on the cane or after picking can go creamy pale, soft and squashy. I haven't yet seen significant amounts of botrytis spores.