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They like to grow in moist soils, so when you’re planning on planting them choose a sunny spot then dig in many compost or organic matter (not horse manure or spent mushroom compost though). This may increasingly help retain moisture in the course of the summer.

Slightly acidic soils work best, but one could try growing them on chalky soil by digging in some ericaceous compost – the kind you mostly buy to grow rhododendrons in pots. You too can grow raspberries in pots if necessary.

Summer-fruiting canes are best grown along wire supports: two wires stretched between posts at 2ft and 5ft (60cm and 1.5m) off the bottom work well, although autumn-fruiting raspberries don’t need support because they don’t grow so tall – and once you don’t mind wading through canes to choose the fruit you don’t should provide any support in any respect.

Always buy virus-free certified canes if you’re planting new canes, because raspberries are at risk of disease, but when your loved ones and friends haven’t had any issues of their raspberries grab any offshoots they don’t want.

The canes must be planted not less than 1ft (30cm) apart, you then should cut them all the way down to about 6ins (15cm) high after they start growing inside the spring.

Summer-fruiting varieties only crop on one-year-old canes, so these would be able to harvest the next summer, but autumn-fruiting varieties will produce raspberries because they fruit on new growth.

Which brings us to pruning: summer-fruiting raspberries will need to have been shrink after being harvested and new shoots tied into the wire supports, but there’s still time to do it now.

Cut this year’s canes down to the floor – they are going to be brown and look dead – and tie in new canes, as a way to have a greenish tinge to them.

Autumn-fruiting raspberries could be left over winter then pruned all the way down to the bottom in about February so that they are able to burst back into life from March.

You can top dress the plants with compost within the spring, to produce extra nutrients and to behave as a mulch.

But don’t use horse manure since it will burn off the hot growth, and mushroom compost is simply too alkaline.

Make sure the canes don’t crowd one another – especially when you haven’t submit supports – as the plants need numerous air circulation to maintain them healthy.

Then all you’ve got to do is get to the raspberries before the birds do.