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Raspberries are tasteless!

FlinsterFlinster Posts: 883
edited August 2020 in Fruit & veg
Hiya, I planted autumn raspberries (Polka) last season and had a small handful ofF the canes. They were tasty enough.

This year, the canes have taken off and have lots of raspberries forming and a handful at a time ripening, but they are tasteless! Watery, just no flavour! They are fed with tomato feed once a week/10 days and are growing well- most canes are over 1.5m.

any ideas? I have increased the watering recently, just because we have had some hot days, although they didn’t look stressed - I wonder if I should hold off on that a bit? Do they prefer to be grown hard?
thanks

Posts

  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    I've got a similar story @Flinster
    Last autumn I planted 10 Joan J canes.
    I'm just getting the first fruits now. They look lovely and dark red but like yours are completely tasteless. There's a hint of sweetness and acidity but that's it.
    I've not fed mine since the spring but have given seaweed ext. 2-3 times

    I was hoping it was just because this is their first year.
    Plenty of flowers still forming on the little canes, so maybe they'll improve.
    They'd better up their game for next year or else..

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • FlinsterFlinster Posts: 883
    Glad it’s not just me! I did wonder if it was just the early ones and perhaps the later fruit would be better. Mine are in a slightly raised bed but the underlying soil is slightly alkaline so also wondered if that had any input as I know they prefer slightly acid- but they are such rampant plants, I’m not sure it would affect them that way! 
    Other than the odd burst of heat/sun lately we have had a lot of cool days, or warm but very overcast... maybe the sun will cheer them up!

    As you say they had better up their game as space is a premium here!

    My salads and cucumbers have also struggled this year for some reason.... 
  • PlashingPlashing Posts: 328
    I planted polka last year and let them fruit because they are what they call primo canes meaning you can get two crops of them per year this year the canes are over 1.5m high and are starting too fruit plenty of blossom on them the ones that are ripe they taste lovely,I keep watering them every other day.
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    We'll have to have another taste test in a couple of weeks :)
    I'm on slightly acid clay here and we've a decent amount of sun and almost no rain in ages, but I have watered them.
    The friend who recommended Joan J and grows them and said they have a really good flavour, so fingers crossed for later in the season or next year.

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • cornellycornelly Posts: 970
    I don't feed our raspberries, they get a layer of garden compost in the autumn and nothing else, I believe you have over fed. 
  • FlinsterFlinster Posts: 883
    Thanks Cornelly will hold off on the feed.
    the underlying soil isnt great so have perhaps over compensated.
  • PlashingPlashing Posts: 328
    I forgot to add we have been picking them since June,what I did was cut some of the canes down to soil level and left some to fruit in the summer which I found as paid dividends,I have already picked getting on for 4 kilos of raspberries.
  • FlinsterFlinster Posts: 883
    that’s go that’s good to know, thanks, as I was intending to do that next year. If I’d known just how much they were going to grow this year compared to last I’d have done it this year!
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