Do raspberries have special needs?

I was just in touch with a woman on Craigslist who is taking out a section of her raspberry patch.... I'm going to pick up several plants tomorrow afternoon. They're golden raspberries - she didn't know the specific variety - and they sound yummy!

I've already started a berry patch in one corner of my yard.... one blackberry plant and two red raspberries. I'm not using SFG for this, but I am amending the soil with a 'sort-of' version of Mel's mix.

Does anyone have any advice for me?

No advice. I am trying a berry area also. I see them growing wild under terrible conditions so I am not worrying about them. I have some I thought were dead that went through a major weed pulling and herbicide episode and there they are, growing from roots I expect and looking very happy.

I am also trying blueberries. I used to pick those wild at a camp in the Poconos and it isn't a flavor you ever forget. I doubt my warm weather blueberries will ever match it.

I want to start a berry patch too. Right now the best place would be along a chain link fence between our side yard and the neighbors back yard. When I talked to the old neighbor lady she didn't seem happy about the idea of berry bushes growing over the fence into her yard (even though they'd be completely out of her way and since my son has been mowing her lawn she wouldn't have to deal with them any way). Go figure, she has a nasty little apricot tree that dumps tons of unwanted apricots in our front yard... (Can you tell I don't like apricots?) LOL. So I'm brain storming where else they'd fit. Only other free spot I have is along the pasture fence but no way am I going to take a chance of the horses or steer getting a hold of them... think think think... Maybe I'd just have to prune anything on her side of the fence weekly to keep them back, but that sounds wasteful too.

I would take those unwanted apricots off your hands, LOL! But at least you can compost them.

You'll want to be able to get to those bramble plants from all sides.

Ohhh yeah.. I'm with JuneQuilt on the apricots!

It really is important to be able to access all sides of the bramble - They say it's best to cut the canes after three years, and you could get awfully scratched up trying to get in there with access only from one side. (Not to mention trying to gather the fruit.)

I'm putting my patch at the back corner of my yard along the alley. I don't have a fence there, but I know I'll need to be careful to keep the brambles from over-running their proper place. So I'm setting the six new golden raspberry plants in a staggered line about 5-6 feet in from the alley, and moving the two red raspberries to that area as well. I believe blackberries do well with the same conditions, and I have one blackberry plant there, as well. I'm spacing them about three feet apart, so these ten plants will form a natural barrier across about half the back of my yard. (I don't like fences... )

Oh... and I've got two blueberry bushes too... just getting started with them... I understand that they can handle partial shade, so I'm putting them across the other side of the yard at the back alley where they will get dappled sun/shade all day long.

I was just thinking if I planted them on the fence I'd be able to care for them from my yard and hers... Maybe I will have to extend my garden plot and claim a 10x10 patch of the pasture for berries and grapes... makes me go hummmm....

I love blackberries! We had a huge blackberry bush on our farm where I grew up, it seems like it was thornless but I can't remember for sure.

We also had a raspberry patch that had to of been nearly a quarter acre big (we had a 30 acre farm). I remember it was so over grown that only us little kids could harvest it. We had tunnels through out the whole bush system that we'd crawl through and have spots we could pop up in the middle of everything. It seems like it wasn't unusual to be covered in thorn scratches, but I don't remember it bothering any of us. I think I always ate more then I brought to the house. LOL, O the good 'ol days. Now I am craving my Mom's frozen raspberry pie, YUMMY!

I'd also like to try for a few blueberries and I really want a grape vine too. I also envy my sisters strawberry patch she has up in Oregon, it is HUGE too. The more I think about it the more I think I'm just going to have to expand my current garden plot into the pasture. Wouldn't take much to set a few new posts and refence a small section of the pasture. My garden plot is already bordering the pasture any way. Dreamin big now for plans of expansion next year! We'll see how my veges go this year, since it is my first year I guess I shouldn't test my limits to fast. LOL

We also have a dairy steer we've raise since he was 2 days old. I'd like to expand with a chicken coop for eggs. I don't think I will ever raise a pig (dispite my husbands disire to do so). And I hate the idea of being tied down with a milk cow or goat... But it just feels good to get back to at least a partially organic life style and menu. I'll need to invest in a pretty good sized freezer by harvest time.

I am planning on putting in a raspberry bed. We've made the box, 4' x 12', and 11" high. I was just wondering if I can plant them one in every square foot, or do they need to be further apart? Does anyone know? Thanks
Arlis

Arlis, glad to "meet" you. This seems to be your first post, even though you have been a member for several weeks.

Sorry I cannot provide any help with Raspberries, but I do hope somone with knowlege will come along soon.

Keep us posted on your progress and share pictures when you can.

In a bed that size I would plant them every 2 feet in all directions. They seem like they can be close together when you put them in but by late July of their 2nd year they become impressive in space taking size.

The canes for the following year come from the roots and they will need room to spread. You probably know this but you will be cutting out the canes you plant this year and only growing the soft canes for fruit next year. I do not think you will be at all sorry that you gave them space.

I am moving into a new home that, as luck would have it, has one large veggie garden and one established Raspberry garden. The house has been empty a full year and they were not harvested last year but, my question is how do I care for these? I have never dealt with raspberries before and have no clue when to start doing anything with them and what to do. i do live in northern Illinois and it being February I know have time but, I don't want to miss the optimal time to begin working on them. Also im not sure if not harvesting them last year hurt them in anyway? any information would be so helpful thanks!

I think I'm going to try some raspberries in my boxes, just to keep them contained and organized. (They're growing around the property here, but are a little scattered, hard to get to, and out of control.) (With any luck, I'll be able to transplant some of the wild ones into my boxes.)

Do they use the same MM as everything else, or do some things, like berries, need different amendments?

Mmm.... Raspberries! Love them and am hoping to finally get a crop this summer.

Based upon what little I've read, they may need a slightly more acidic growing medium. You might want to try mixing in a bit of azalea/gardenia/camellia planting mix or possibly some oak leaf mold. I don't believe, however, that they require soil as acidic as do blueberries.

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong about this.

Also, I'd recommend dedicating one or more boxes to the berries alone. They're quite invasive and probably would choke out anything else you planted.

Best of luck! Please post pictures of your future crop.

We have tried to move the wild berries and grapes to a better location, where we could cultivate,etc. We had dismal results. Wild ones do not like tame situations, never did bear fruit again.

Jo

We found a berry cane growing in the empty lot behind our house...our neighbor next door to that lot has a raspberry operation and I'm wondering if this little guy was a "volunteer" from their yard. Would that be ok to transplant to my garden? It's a tiny thing, with two little berries starting to turn red on it.

givvmistamps wrote:We found a berry cane growing in the empty lot behind our house...our neighbor next door to that lot has a raspberry operation and I'm wondering if this little guy was a "volunteer" from their yard. Would that be ok to transplant to my garden? It's a tiny thing, with two little berries starting to turn red on it.

Much more likley that the seed for the raspberry cane came out of a birds butt end or dropped from its beak .

Though raspberries do send out suckers but usually they are within a foot of the host plant.

You can always give it a try. But, plantoid is probably right.

I just thought since this little guy is possibly off of the neighbor's plant, it might take to moving better...though I'd have to find a spot for it, since I'm NOT putting it in one of my squares to take over the joint.

Usually raspberry canes are best grown from the suikers not seeds . For the sucker is almost a clone of the original whereas the seed is a new plant that may not have the same prolific fruiting quality of it's parent .

I'd be happy to sink a deeep bottomless pot by a fence and bung it in there adding a bit of compost and giving it plenty of water till it is well and truly established.

Oh bummer; we're not on great terms with this neighbor right now or I'd ask if I could set a pot out to root a sucker. (Their dog pooped right in the play zone of our yard yesterday. My husband bagged it and carried it over to hand to the dog's daddy. Next big job: A FENCE to keep their !$#@ dog out!!!)

More on raspberries...

University of Maine Coop Extension Raspberries with videos

University of Illinois Extension Raspberries and More

According to the University of Maine, raspberries prefer a 5.6 - 6.2 pH, which is well below that of a typical Mel's Mix (mine usually measures 6.8 - 7.0).

You know Michelle, I think it would be worth a try, what would be the harm?
I always figure that volunteers are gifts.