Raspberry and Blackberry advice

[SarahJinx]

Hi

When we moved to our house a year or so ago, we acquired a magnificent, mature garden complete with various fruit trees and bushes. We have a raised bed full of raspberries both summer and autumn fruiting (I think) that is now just full of forlorn looking (dead?) Canes. What do I do with them now? Cut the down or does the fruit grow up then again? Sorry for silly questions I am a total novice.

In addition we have two varieties of blackberry (one is thornless) wound together a around a wire fence and pole system that fruited continuously until late September but is massive and needs pruning back. I think.....

We also have a shed full of red wine grapes but that's a whole other thread . I've either eaten, frozen, baked with it made jams and chutneys with every berry so I do want to know how to keep them coming!

I'm very jealous! Raspberries- the autumn fruiting ones you cut right back to the ground when they are done fruiting BUT the summer ones you only take out the canes that had fruit on them this year and leave the canes that haven't fruited as they will then fruit next year. So - you need to know which is which really! Blackberries again cut out the cane that fruited and leave the others to fruit the next year. Can you tell by looking at them? Are then some dried up fruit that would give it away?

My raspberries are a few years old. The first year after fruiting, I cut back 1/3 of the stems to encourage new growth for future fruiting. It's now easy to identify the older darker wood for pruning each year. I do it after fruiting, but you may get away with it before the spring growth season really gets going.