Growing Raspberries

Considering how expensive raspberries are in the grocery store, they're surprisingly easy to grow. The high cost is due to the difficulty in shipping them and their short shelf life, so it makes sense for people to grow them at home. In my experience, they are subject to few pests and diseases and always put out a reliable harvest. There are just two things you need to do to take care of them every year.

The first thing is pruning. Raspberries have a two-year life-cycle. Each year, they bear fruit on the stems that came up the previous spring, and put up a new set of stems that will bear fruit next year. Early in the spring (I did mine yesterday), you need to cut off the old stems, trim the new stems to about 4' tall, and make sure they're enclosed in some sort of trellis or fence so they will stay upright as they develop new growth. It's really easy to tell which stems are which: the old stems are whitish and peeling and look dry and dead, while the new stems are reddish and have spurts of new green growth.

The second thing is pulling up suckers. Raspberries spread underground and will send up new shoots up to 10 feet away from the mother plant. You'll need to keep pulling these up as the season progresses, or you'll end up with raspberries everywhere. They are easy to pull up, so it's not a big deal, but you do have to pay attention. It's best if you can locate your raspberries next to a structure or wall, so they will be bounded on at least one side. They don't need full sun and can cope with a bit of shade.

When the fruits ripen in July, you will need to pick them nearly every day, as the ripe fruits will quickly fall on the ground and be spoiled. Surprisingly, I haven't had much of a problem with birds stealing the fruit. Even 3 plants will give you plenty of berries for your morning cereal, and when the biggest glut hits, I make raspberry vinegar that I can use on my salads for the rest of the year. (I'll try to remember to run that recipe at the appropriate time.)

So if you're looking for a fruit that's easy to grow, give raspberries a try.

Comments

[James Davis]

Thanks, I liked your article on growing raspberries. I'm just starting my second season and had questions regarding pruning. They are really spreading. Right now the patch is about 6' x 3'. I'm considering cutting a swath down the middle in the fall, giving two 1' wide strips, or keeping it at the present size. What do you recommend?

[Leslie Turek]

Hi James! Glad to hear the article was useful. On your specific question, I don't think I would try to cut a path down the middle of a 3' wide patch. You will find that as each stem grows, it will send out leaves and spread out a bit. So I think that they would very quickly spread over a 1' path and make it impossible for you to actually walk down the middle. I would just keep them from spreading any wider by pulling up any suckers and pruning back any stems that some up outside the area you want them. I would not let the row get much wider, or you won't be able to reach in and pick the berries from the stems in the center (I'm assuming you can access them both sides, unlike mine which are against a wall).

[kerry]

Here in zone 6a Heritage (red) raspberries will bear fruit on first year canes. I planted some last spring, cut the canes back to the ground at planting and had fruit last fall. I could have left the canes over winter for another harvest this spring but by cutting them back to the ground I will get a larger harvest this fall from the new canes that have come up this year.

[berrygirl_2008]

What is the best way to keep birds out of my raspberries?