NEIGHBORHOOD GARDEN FOR MAY 28, 2016

NEIGHBORHOOD GARDEN FOR MAY 28, 2016

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GROWING RASPBERRIES PART #2

BY GEORGE EDGAR

GROWING summer bearing raspberries:

Plant the same way as the everbearing Raspberries.

1. Prepare planting bed by adding lots of compost, or “Humus and Manure”, or composted manure. Transplant canes, or plant new canes in the spring, 2 feet to 3 feet apart, in a bed that drains very well. Raspberries require full sun.

2. At the time of planting or for an established bed in early spring, fertilize with a slow release 10-10-10 fertilizer.

3. Both red and black summer bearing Raspberry canes live only two years. The first year is vegetative. The next February or early March they need to be topped. I cut mine off at the top of the fence or support. Then the second year the side or lateral shoots grow and bear the fruit. After the early summer harvest, the canes that have turned brown need to be pruned clear to the ground. This opens up the bed so the new green canes can grow and then bear fruit the next year.

4. When the new green canes come out of the ground in the late spring, tie them to your fence for support or weave them in the fence as needed during the growing season. For a while in the late spring you will have both the older brown canes and the new green canes growing side by side.

5. If you want new plants so you can expand your bed or to give to friends, don’t prune the old canes but bend some of the long canes back down and root them into the soil. You may have to peg them or I usually dig a shallow hole and cover the tip with soil then secure them with a plant pin or brick. At the end of the summer or preferably the next spring, cut the new plant off from mother leaving as much as possible on each piece. Early spring is the best time to plant and transplant.

6. The summer bearing raspberries start to bear in the late spring or early summer.

“FALL GOLD” EVERBEARING RASPBERRIES:

Five or six years ago I purchased some “Fall Gold” everbearing Raspberries and put in a 30 foot row next door. The first year they grew but not a great deal as the energy went to the roots, which is typical and desirable for most new plants. The second year they grew and I had a few berries in the fall. From then on I have had good harvests. A couple years ago the rabbits during the winter really pruned my all my Raspberries for me and I did not have a spring crop but did have a large fall crop. Now I prune my everbearing raspberries to the ground in March and have a large fall crop.

The “Fall Gold” Raspberries are very sweet and taste like candy. They have become my favorite for eating while working in the garden, or fresh on cereal or ice cream. They are very good for eating fresh but not as good as the red and black for sauce, jam, or Raspberry pie.

For more information about Raspberries contact your local county extension office.