Seasonal work for October in Kent

LOGANBERRIES, TAYBERRIES & BLACKBERRIES

Loganberries, tayberries, boysenberries and their cousins can be pruned now. Blackberries can be pruned as soon as they have finshed fruiting - for most varieties, that is by now. The advantage of pruning now is that they can then be tied in for next year.

Tying in these fruits is not a nice job on a cold winter's day - much better to do it now while the weather is mild, even if the fact that the leaves are still on the canes makes it a bit less of a neat job.

All the canes that fruited this summer should be cut out right to ground level, and burned (to destroy cane-boring pests and fungal diseases). The new growth can then be tied in neatly on the framework. There are several ways of arranging the long wangly shoots, the main thing is to spread them out and make sure they get as much sun as possible.

Producing all those canes every year is hungry work. Make a note to give the plant a really good feed during the winter or spring. Once the leaves have fallen and the weather cooled own, you can mulch with fresh manure, but don't let it touch the stems and don't do it just yet. After christmas you would need to use well-rotted or bagged manure. Hoof and horn, available from the Trading Store, is also a good long-term feed for these fruits.