NOVEMBER the ideal month for planting raspberries, if you don’t count the cold, the wet, the wind and the hard slog.

Rasps are worth the bother, though: they are one of the fruits in which the difference in quality between home-grown and shop-bought is most striking.

It’s also one that gives heavy crops early on in its life, unlike some others which can take years to get going.

You do still need to take note of the weather; don’t try planting if the ground is soggy or frozen.

If possible, have a look round your allotment or garden a few hours after heavy rain has fallen, to see if there are any patches where puddles of water still sit on the surface.

Those areas are not suitable for growing raspberries, which do demand good drainage.

If you’re a long-term planner you might think of running the opposite check in the summer, this time looking for soil that dries out in hot weather.

Like so many garden plants, raspberries do best in a site that is never waterlogged and never bone-dry. Camelot, possibly, would fit the bill.

But on the whole, rasps aren’t a fussy crop. They’ll do best in a sunny spot, but will produce a decent amount of fruit in partial shade.

Protection from frost is rarely a consideration, though they can be damaged by strong winds, so a bit of shelter is useful.

They’ll grow in most soil types, struggling only in very alkaline, chalky ground.

Bear in mind that your raspberry canes could be productive for the next dozen years, should the planet last that long, until they finally succumb to an accumulation of viruses.

If you put them in the wrong place they’re a hell of a job to dig out, so choose their site carefully.

Many gardeners have learned the hard way to avoid planting rasps too near the boundary with the next plot along, or by the fence that separates their garden from their neighbour’s.

This is a plant that spreads by underground runners, and unwanted plants can pop up yards away from the original.

In full growth, the canes will cast a fair amount of shade on nearby beds, which also needs to be taken into account.

Having chosen your spot, the next job is to dig out all the perennial weeds as thoroughly as you possibly can.

Weeding an established raspberry bed is as difficult as it is ineffective, so it’s important to start with a clean soil from which you have removed the roots of things like stinging nettles, bindweed, couch grass, and brambles.

Incorporate as much garden compost or rotted-down manure as you can get hold of into the intended raspberry bed; this helps with drainage, moisture retention, and soil fertility.

If all this sounds rather arduous, remember that the hard work with raspberries is done at the beginning. In subsequent years the most time-consuming task is the delightful one of picking the fruits.