Many of you have expressed an interest on Facebook about learning how to start and maintain a raspberry patch so here I am with some information that’ll help you get started!

Raspberries are considered easy and quick to grow as long as you provide them the proper care. Many people’s mistakes are limiting themselves to just red raspberries; it is said that you should try growing the purple ones as well. There are two different types of raspberries; ones that are summer-bearers that only provide one crop per season(summer) and ever-bearers which bear two crops (summer and fall).

PLANTING

 

So to begin, plant the raspberries in the early spring or late winter. Make sure you prepare your soil a couple weeks in advance and plant away from wild growing berries, if you have any. Research showed that raspberries do best in moisture so soak the roots for an hour before planting. Space the plants 3 feet apart in rows that are 8 feet apart and cut their canes after planting leaving 8 to 10 inches. Sometimes support is needed so be sure to take this into consideration.

 

CARE

 

Since raspberries love moisture, mulching is important; so keep a thick layer surrounding the plants and water them about an inch every week. Be sure to prune away the majority of the canes (which are the shoots from the roots) so that way it can produce the most berries. Ever-bearers require less care than summer-bearers. Mow them to the ground in the fall after you have finished
picking, clean up debris and pruning is not required.  Summer-bearers you must prune in the fall and leave 6 of the strongest green canes. Keep the plant contained to a 19-inch wide space since the plant is left without care all summer, the neat rows will become thickets. Also cut off canes that grow sideways. Older canes should be pruned but the newer ones should not.  Finally, watch out for powdery mildew and cane borers but raspberries are one of the few fruits that are rarely affected by diseases and pests. Black raspberries are more often affected than red or purple raspberries.

 

I hope this information helps in getting your raspberry patch started whether you start this year or next and that it helps you maintain it for when you do!

(Sources: http://www.almanac.com/plant/raspberries , http://transitiontownmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Madical-properties-of-raspberries.jpg , http://www.extension.umn.edu/agriculture/cropdiseases/images/soybean/pmild1_600px.jpg ,
http://transitiontownmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/raspberries-1.jpg )