Loganberry & Tayberry cultivation guide

These require identical treatment to Blackberries and grow in much the same way.
The Tayberry is a cross between a Blackberry and a Raspberry. It has quickly attained great popularity with it's large, long Logan type fruiuts which have a powerful, rich flavour. Capable of very heavy crops and ideal for dessert, freezing, pies etc. The original Medana strain remains best. If you have an aversion to thorns then a new thornfree variety 'Buckingham' has recently been released.
Despite long-time popularity the Loganberry remains underserved by varieties and there are still only two. The universally grown thorn free LY654 [no-one got around to naming it properly!] and the older thorny LY59 which would seem to have been relegated to the pointless.

General cultivation notes
Easy to grow in all soils, the biggest and most juicy fruits will come from good soil to which manure and compost has been added. Plant to same depth as lifted at the nursery making sure the roots are well spread out.
Blackberries will tolerate shade well but best results from Loganberries and Hybrids will be achieved in a sunny position. Space 8ft apart down the row, Hybrid berries 6ft apart, immediately after planting cut the canes back to a strong bud 6 to 9 inches above the soil. A mulch of compost after the first year will maintain fertility.

FEEDING. Sulphate of Potash in early Spring at 2oz per plant, this improves the quality of fruit and builds up a hardier plant better able to withstand the cold winds. Avoid the use of Nitrogen unless absolutely essential as this causes soft growth, excessive vigour, and makes the canes more prone to disease.

SUPPORT SYSTEMS. The canes must be kept off the ground for easy picking and to ensure a tidy and easy-to-pick crop. They can be supported against a fence or a wall or in the open garden where a wire fence should be erected. Stout posts should be erected 6 feet out of the ground and 18 inches below, every 10 feet of the row. The end posts should be further supported by buttress posts to give strong support. Treat all untreated wood or posts with Cuprinol before erecting. Three wires should then be attached to the posts at 3 feet, 4 feet and 5 feet from the ground. Use gauge 8 or 10 wire. Twist the wire round the end posts and fix along the length with staples or, better still use straining bolts so that you can tighten the wire.
If planting against a wall, 2 inch square wooden posts should be fixed to the fence or masonry wall to hold the wire straining bolts. Between the end posts, 4 inch wall nails with eyes should be fixed to hold the wires.

Tighten the wires with the straining bolts before driving firm your fixing staples. The use of a wall or fence is ideal where space is limited and has many advantages to comment it. They are easy to net against birds, the wall or fence gives shelter and warmth and more light is reflected. Please remember, however, that the soil against these walls is often dryer and will need more watering.

TRAINING. The canes are lifted up from the ground and trained along your support wires, tying as necessary. They can be spread into a fan, woven through the wires in an up-and-down manner (the one we prefer) or simply tied along each wire to their full length. It is always best when training to leave a small gap on the wires above the growing plant so that as your new canes grow during the fruiting season, these can be loosely tied onto the support system up and above your fruiting canes. This will keep them away from your feet and avoid damage during the harvesting of your crop.

PRUNING. After fruiting or during the following Winter the old canes that have fruited should be cut at ground level. The new canes can then be trained in their place for the following years crop. It is often advisable, especially in the colder areas, to leave the new canes on the ground during the cold Winter months to avoid severe frost or freezing wind damage. These are then trained in during the early Spring just before bud break.