Rhubarb under soft fruit

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Mal
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Rhubarb under soft fruit

Post: # 131241Post Mal »

Is there a reason I shouldn't grow my raspberries and plant something like black~, logan~ or tayberries to grow above them? Would that work as a space saver, or will they cancel each other out, like matter and anti-matter? Okay, maybe not exactly like that.
"If you want to catch a loon, you have to think like a loon"

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Odsox
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Re: Rhubarb under soft fruit

Post: # 131323Post Odsox »

Can't see any reason why not, although it might be a pain to keep them trained and separate.
Also summer fruiting raspberries and loganberries both ripen about the same time and look very similar, except red (unripe) loganberries are VERY sour, which could make for interesting fresh fruit salads :pukeright: :lol:

Can't see the significance of rhubarb though :scratch:
Tony

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Mal
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Re: Rhubarb under soft fruit

Post: # 131350Post Mal »

Ah, didn't explain myself very well. I wanted to use the same bed for both things, have the rhubarb growing at the bottom, have the berries trained along wires along the top, above the 'barb.

Possibly I just don't know enough about how the berries will actually grow - I know they're not canes like raspberries, but will they grow up and allow themselves to be trained or will they just ramble around and take over the bed?

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Re: Rhubarb under soft fruit

Post: # 131355Post Odsox »

Hmm, not too sure I would want rhubarb growing underneath, or in amongst the roots of raspberries, or even within about 6 feet of raspberries.
Raspberries tend to throw up lots of shoots up to several feet away from the row. If you don't stop them they will soon make a raspberry thicket, and as rhubarb is a permanent crop it would be next to impossible to weed them out.
By far the easiest way to grow raspberries is to have grass/lawn either side of the row and then mow off the stray shoots. Even a concrete path won't stop them, they just tunnel underneath and pop up the other side.

Loganberries would probably behave themselves, they grow long shoots up to 10 feet long that can be easily trained to go anywhere you want, so above a raspberry row would be OK is space is short.
Blackberries would probably be the same although I have no experience of cultivated ones, too many wild ones about to mess about growing tame ones.
Tony

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shell
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Re: Rhubarb under soft fruit

Post: # 131413Post shell »

sorry to butt in but do the shoots also have fruit? interested as i have planted rasberry,and planting rubarb is perminant?that wass something i want to plant too when the time is right, :flower:

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Re: Rhubarb under soft fruit

Post: # 131419Post Odsox »

shell wrote:sorry to butt in but do the shoots also have fruit?
Yes they do, they are very suitable for replacement plants or if you want to start another row. You dig them up with a piece of root attached (in the winter) and away you go.
If you leave them where they are though, you will end up with a jungle ... ultimately a 12 foot wide row.
shell wrote:and planting rubarb is perminant?
Relatively permanent, as you're not supposed to pull any sticks the first year they are planted out (although I'm sure others will disagree).
Then they will produce for at least 10 years, if not longer.

No problems butting in at all. :bom:
Tony

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Mal
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Re: Rhubarb under soft fruit

Post: # 131532Post Mal »

The 5th time I read this, I finally saw the confusion I had caused! Not too bright, me! Anyway, when I said:
Is there a reason I shouldn't grow my raspberries and plant something like black~, logan~ or tayberries to grow above them?
What I meant (and this will suddenly make a bit more sense, hopefully) was:

Is there a reason I shouldn't grow my rhubarb and plant something like black~, logan~ or tayberries to grow above them?

Duh!

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Odsox
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Re: Rhubarb under soft fruit

Post: # 131538Post Odsox »

Mal wrote:The 5th time I read this, I finally saw the confusion I had caused! Not too bright, me! Anyway, when I said:
Is there a reason I shouldn't grow my raspberries and plant something like black~, logan~ or tayberries to grow above them?
What I meant (and this will suddenly make a bit more sense, hopefully) was:

Is there a reason I shouldn't grow my rhubarb and plant something like black~, logan~ or tayberries to grow above them?

Duh!
Well that completes all the combinations of the 3 different plantings :lol:
Rhubarb with black or logan berries sounds OK to me.
Rhubarb is very deep rooted so should not compete with the other choice or vice versa.
Can't comment on Tayberries as I've never grown them, but by now you probably get the idea to steer away from raspberries in this situation.
Tony

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