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Growing Raspberries

12/6/2016

5 Comments

 
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Who doesn’t love the sweet flavour and melt-in-your-mouth texture of  raspberries?

Silly question.....everyone does!

Thanks to their delightful taste and easy growing nature, raspberries are very  common to northern gardens.

Raspberries are vigorous, sprawling plants with few disease and pest problems. Their flowers are also an important nectar source for honeybees and other pollinating insects.

Red raspberries are the most commonly cultivated but yellow, black and purple types are available. Yellow raspberries are genetically identical to red raspberries except that they lack the red color pigment. Black and purple raspberries are an entirely different story. This article specifically covers red and yellow raspberries.  ​
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RASPBERRIES
At a Glance

SUNLIGHT NEEDS            6+ hours daily
SOIL NEEDS                       Organic, moist, well-drained
MATURE PLANT SIZE       3-6’ tall and 2-3’ wide, depending on variety
SPACING                               2-3' between plants; 8-10' between rows
GROWTH RATE                   Fast
LIFE SPAN                              10 years or more
FRUITING TIME                    July through September depending on the variety
EXPECTED YIELDS             Varies widely; around 2-3 lbs per bush

POLLINATION NEEDS       Self-pollinating
PRUNING REQUIRED       Annually

PROVEN PERFORMER   Nova, Boyne, Killarney, Latham
VARIETIES
Before You Plant - Choosing and Preparing the Planting Site

Select a planting site that receives 6+ hours of daily sun.
 
Raspberries are best planted in rows with open space for berry picking on both sides. Against a fence or a building is the second best option. Each plant needs 2-3 feet of space within the row. If you want multiple rows, leave 8-10 feet between rows.

Like most fruits, soil quality largely determines the resulting berry flavour, yields, and general plant health. Raspberries like sandy, moist, and fertile soil. Plants grown in clay soils tend to suffer root rot and contract diseases that shorten their life span.

​If your soil doesn't fit the ideal profile, don't despair! Some basic soil amending is all that is needed. Incorporate two to six inches of compost or manure to improve soil fertility and help retain water. Peat moss is another useful soil conditioner, as it regulates moisture in both sandy and clay soils.
 
If you have heavy clay soil, consider growing raspberries in a raised or mounded bed.
​
Ask your local garden centre if you have any specific concerns regarding your garden soil.


​When to Plant
​Raspberry canes are usually available as early as mid-April. For the first few weeks, either

1.  Keep them in a greenhouse, or
2.  "Harden them off" (put them outside during the day but bring them inside at night)
​
By early May, it is normally safe to leave them outside.  Keep some frost cover or old sheets at the ready just in case a heavy frost or snow is expected.
​
Potted raspberry bushes are often available throughout the growing season.
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Buying Raspberry Bushes
Before buying raspberry bushes, consider what features are most important to you. Is it berry flavour? Proven cold hardiness? High yields? Harvest time? Whatever features are most important to you will guide you to your ideal variety choice.

At this point, it’s also useful to understand how summer-bearing and everbearing (fall-bearing) varieties differ.
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Summer-bearing vs. Everbearing Raspberries

With raspberries, the roots and crowns are perennial but their shoots (above ground growth) may be annual or biennial.

All summer-bearing raspberries are biennial: they need two seasons to complete their life cycle (to grow, fruit, and then die). ​Without getting into further complexities, suffice to say that this produces one large raspberry crop in early summer. Summer-bearers usually fruit for a few weeks.

All everbearing raspberries have a mixture of biennial and annual canes. The earliest shoots to emerge in spring will fruit that same fall; the later emerging shoots won't produce fruit until the following summer. The result is two crops of raspberries: a small crop in early summer and a large crop in fall.
​
The drawback to everbearing raspberries is that the larger crop usually ripens in late summer, when frost may damage the harvest. Therefore the yields are often smaller versus summer-bearers. However, their advantage is that they fruit for longer duration.

​​Raspberry Varieties

Berry production, fruit quality, hardiness and ripening time can greatly vary between cultivars. To extend the harvest period, consider getting a few varieties with different ripening times.

Also see the Proven Performer Varieties listed at the top of the page, in the Growing Raspberries Overview section.

​
Summer-bearing Varieties to Consider
Summer-bearing raspberries produce fruit over several weeks, starting in July. Here are some summer-bearing varieties to consider:
  • Boyne: A productive early to mid-season variety. Berries are soft, medium sized, and pleasantly tart. Fair quality for processing and excellent for freezing

  • Killarney: A productive early to mid-season variety with good disease resistance. Firm, sweet berries ripen over 4-5 weeks. Not ideal for preserving as they tend to discolor

  • Latham: A classic mid-season variety with good disease resistance. Yields plenty of sweet, medium to large sized berries
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Everbearing Varieties to Consider

Everbearing varieties generally fruit later than summer-bearing varieties. They can potentially producing a summer crop and a fall crop BUT in our climate, they are best treated just as a late season producer  (see #5 on the Post-Planting Care, below,  for more details).  

Here are some everbearing varieties to consider:

  • Nova: A productive mid-season variety, yielding large, firm berries with great flavour. Fewer spines than some other raspberries.  Excellent for freezing

  • Joan J: A hardy, nearly thornless, high-yielding variety. Berries are firm, large and sweet flavoured

  • Red River: A Manitoba-bred variety with fewer spines. Produces medium-sized, sweet berries that ripen in August and September. The first crop is produced early in the season
    ​
  • Fall Gold: A yellow variety that produces firm, large berries with excellent flavour. Good for fresh eating, freezing or preserving
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Golden Raspberry Variety
Planting Time

Note* - 
If you’re buying bare-root raspberries, there may be additional instructions, such as soaking the roots before planting.

Now that you've prepared the planting site and got your raspberry bushes (refer back to the Before You Plant section if needed), lay out your plants.

Water the raspberry plants and planting holes deeply. Add a handful of bone meal or other similar fertilizer. Once the canes are in the ground, consider adding 2" of bark mulch, sawdust, leaves or lawn clippings around the base of the plants. This helps to retain moisture while suppressing weeds. Water the plants once more.

Install support posts or stakes at this time to avoid disturbing the root system later. Check out gardening books or online sources for support ideas; there are dozens of variations.
Post-Planting Care

Raspberries grow with such incredible vigour that it’s hard to believe that they need any attention. However, you’ll notice huge differences in berry quality, production and general plant health with just a bit of routine care.

  1. Water deeply and infrequently - about once per week. Watering is most critical during the  fruit development stages (bloom time to harvest).

  2. Eliminate competition - Keep weeds away from the base of plants by mulching and/or weeding

  3. Feed annually - With a granular berry fertilizer, all-purpose fertilizer or other balanced fertilizer

  4. Enrich soil - Add organic matter (compost or manure) annually or as needed to maintain soil fertility

  5. Prune - Raspberries require yearly pruning to prevent disease and keep growth in check. In fall, prune out all canes that bore fruit (to a few inches above ground level). In spring, thin the canes so that there are 4-6 canes per linear foot. Remove any weak or dead cane tips. Do not allow rows to grow beyond 12-18” wide.
Eating the Harvest 

Raspberries are excellent for fresh eating, freezing, or preserving. Here are some serving suggestions:
​
  • Sprinkle fresh raspberries on top of salads, yogurt, ice cream, or chocolate desserts
  • Add frozen raspberries to smoothies (freeze on cookie sheets before bagging)
  • Cook into jams or syrups
  • Make juice
Summary

With their rapid growth and reliable production, raspberries are one of the most rewarding fruit crops to grow. If you have the space, be sure to include at least a few raspberry bushes in your garden, both for yourself and the bees.
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5 Comments
peat moss link
5/5/2020 03:54:46 am

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10/8/2021 02:42:31 am

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10/23/2021 04:07:29 am

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