Raspberry
Production Tips
The Delicate, Unique
Flavor of the Raspberry
Legend has it that when the Greek gods went to Mt. Ida in Turkey they returned with raspberries. Thus, the basis for the scientific name of the red raspberry Rubus Idaeus. The delicate unique flavor with the fragrant bouquet still make raspberries a favorite with fruit lovers today. For most growers, no fruit is easier to sell than raspberries as u-pick or at roadside stands. The short shelf life makes it an easy berry to sell to even large groceries from local production fields.
Raspberries should be planted on deep, well drained loamy soils. They can be grown on sandy soils if irrigation and mulch are utilized to reduce moisture stress. Ninety per cent of the raspberry root system is in the top 20 inches of the soil--so proper fertilizer and an ample supply of water is important. Heavy or poorly drained soil should be avoided as raspberry roots cannot tolerate a water saturated soil condition. Even areas which pond after it rains should be avoided as the super saturated condition will reduce vigor, increase disease problems and even cause death of the plant. Your site should also receive full sun and have good air drainage. To avoid getting diseases from wild brambles, all wild brambles within 600 feet of your planting should be removed.
You should prepare your raspberry site at least one year prior to planting. Work to build up organic matter and eliminate perennial weeds. A PH of 5.5 to 6.5 is desirable and the PH should not be below 5.5 or above 7 as serious problems will arise. Contact a local fertilizer supplier or your County Extension office for testing procedures, as well as the best way to amend your soil.
Irrigation
Ample amounts of water are needed for a healthy raspberry planting, but never standing water. Newly planted plants should be watered in well. Producing fields need up to two inches of water per week. This is especially true during fruit development and up to harvest. The use of mulch can help maintain and moderate fluctuations in available moisture, but may increase your chances of developing root diseases.
Selecting A Planting Site & Pruning
Site selection and preparation for black raspberries is essentially the same as for red raspberries. However, pruning is very different.
Summer Topping: An essential step in the production of these brambles is summer topping. Topping consists of removing, by snapping off with the fingers or cutting with a pair of shears, the top 3" or 4" of the new shoots as they develop. Topping should be done with black raspberries when the shoots are about 24" high and with purple ones when they reach 30", if they are grown without supports. When with supports, the shoots many be allowed to grow 6" to 8" more. Plantings need to be topped a number of times as new canes arise over a period of several weeks. In most seasons this operation will, in part, coincide with harvest.
Summer topping encourages the development of strong fruitful laterals. It also produces stronger, stockier plants better able to support their crops and to resist wind damage. Simply pinching out the tips or removing large segments of shoots has not proved to be as beneficial.
Removal of Fruited Canes: Characteristically, the canes of bramble fruits die shortly after they have produced a crop. These canes can be removed after the harvest season. They should be cut off immediately after harvest.
Spring Pruning: Spring pruning is best done after the danger of severe freeze is past and before the buds begin to swell. To improve accessibility to the plants and reduce pruning labor costs, many commercial bramble growers now use some type of mechanical hedging equipment to trim the top and sides of hedgerow plantings. More precise control of length of laterals with mechanical pruning is obtained by summer topping plants the previous season at a uniform height. Additional pruning consists of removing all dead, severely damaged, or weak canes, and the shortening of some laterals. With the black raspberry, best yields can be expected when 8 to 12 buds per lateral or 6" to 10" of growth are left.
Experimental results show that shortening the laterals as indicated will not affect the total yield and will assure production of larger berries. If laterals are left too long, berries will be smaller. The stronger laterals may be allowed to carry more buds than those of smaller diameter. Very small spindly laterals, as well as any laterals close to the soil surface, should be removed. Usually there is no need to thin out or reduce the number of canes per plant. Each plant needs at least 4 or 5 large canes for good yields. NOTE: Purple raspberry cultivars are handled similarly to the blacks. Because of their vigor, they many be allowed to carry 3 or 4 more buds per lateral.
Selecting Planting Material
Indiana Berry & Plant Company offers two types of bramble plants: Bare Root (BR) and Nursery Matured (NM). All of our stock is from virus indexed mother stock and is produced to meet the highest standards. (BR) plants are the traditional method for selling brambles. These plants are field grown, dug in fall and winter, and delivered dormant. (NM) are Tissue Culture (TC) plants that have been held by the nursery for at least part of the growing season and then allowed to go dormant. These are delivered in a dormant stage and are larger and tougher than (TC). Indiana Berry offers TC Plants on a special order basis.
The Advantages of
Raised Raspberry Beds
Medium to heavy soils often lack the proper drainage needed to successfully grow raspberry varieties. As Phytophthora Root Rot, a soil borne fungus is commonly associated with poorly drained locations, raised beds can be a positive cultural step for control of the disease. Results of experiments show an 87% increase in yields on raised raspberry beds.
Raised bed production has long been considered an important cultural method for improving soil drainage. Even efforts for an 8-10" bed will be worth the investment. Research has shown, raised beds are an important step for increasing yields in Phytophthora susceptible raspberry varieties.
Summer Bearing Red Raspberries before and
after late winter/early spring pruning.
How to Grow
Fallbearing Raspberries
These varieties produce fruit on the tip of the primocane each season. Grow for fall crop only for:
HIGHEST YIELD--The farther north you are it is suggested that you plant early maturing cultivars, such as Autumn Bliss and Redwing. Fruit will ripen till hard frost. Season can be extended with solid set (irrigation) frost protection.
LOWEST MAINTENANCE--Mowing off plants right to the ground, or as low as possible, eliminates pruning as associated with summer bearing raspberries. A rotary, or a bush hog, type mower or flail mower works well. If you go slow the mower will have more time to chop the old canes and they can be left in the field. Wait till plants are fully dormant before mowing. They'll catch snow for needed early spring moisture. We mow ours in the early spring just after the snow melts, but while the ground is still frozen.
DISEASE CONTROL--The fungal diseases anthracnose, spur blight and cane blight should not be a problem in this system. If there were a problem, an application of lime sulfur over the top of the mowed canes will help to interrupt the disease cycle.
Plants should be allowed to sucker out to about 18" wide. Rows can be kept this wide by either mowing or rotovating.
If you plant a ground cover between rows be sure it will not creep into your rows of raspberry plants.
Trellis requirements vary from area to area. Heritage and Ruby stand up best. Autumn Bliss and Redwing benefit most from trellising.
How to Plant Your Raspberries
Set your plants in holes large enough to contain the roots without crowding. Set red raspberries one inch deeper than they were in the nursery, and set black, purple and yellow raspberries about one inch deeper. You can determine this nursery depth by the dark brown color line on the cane.
Be sure to press dirt firmly about the plant roots. Do this by stepping around the plant, watering well to prevent air pockets. If the weather is dry put on a light mulch. Red raspberry plants should be cut back to eight to 12 inches after planting. The canes of black and purple raspberries should be cut off at ground level, removed from the planting and burned.
If there are any wild brambles growing around or near your new planting, they should be dug up and destroyed to prevent the possibility of their carrying diseases.
RASPBERRY
(COMMON SPACINGS)
12 ft. x 24" = 1,815
12 ft. x 36" = 1,210
12 ft. x 48" = 908
10 ft. x 24" = 2,178
10 ft. x 36" = 1,452
10 ft. x 48" = 1,089
8 ft. x 24" = 2,723
8 ft. x 36" = 1,815
8 ft. x 48" = 1,361
6 ft. x 24" = 3,630
6 ft. x 36" = 2,420
6 ft. x 48" = 1,815
The need to mow these down yearly does not allow for a permanent system. Consequently, the ease of installation and removal of the trellis is of major concern. Primocane rows, allowed to sucker to a width of 15 to 18 inches at the base, are tucked between two strands of trellising twine. Canes are not individually ties or secured in anyway. Two parallel strands of twine confine the brambles to the width of the trellis. Holds two strands of twine which contain bramble primocane for cleaner fields and easier picking. Posts are 5 ft. tall, make of steel (rebar) and painted to inhibit rust. Shipping weight is 4 lbs. each. Complete plans with each order.
EconoTrellis
Trellising Posts PRICES & SHIPPING:
1 to 10 / $21.00 ea.
Shipped UPS add 20% for shipping.
11 or more / $19.50 ea.
Shipped freight collect via
commercial freight.
Trellising Twine
If you're tired of berries on the ground!
If you're tired of berries on the ground or using wire to trellis, try Bridon's large diameter twine. At 1¢ per linear foot and 4,000 feet per bale, trellising is profitable. Order twine now for the coming season. (Weight is 21 lbs. per bale.)
PRICES:
1 to 9 Bales / $47.00 ea.
10 Bales or more / $44.50 ea.
1 to 9 Bales / $47.00 ea.
10 Bales or more / $44.50 ea.