Grow Raspberries in Your Backyard

I just recently added a couple of raspberry plants to my backyard landscape. With each season I try to add a new perennial fruit to my resume. Two years ago it was grapes, last year it was strawberries and this year it was blueberries and raspberries. I already covered the blueberries in my recent article, “Adding Blueberries to Your Home Vegetable Garden”, so now I wanted to touch on what I am doing for my raspberries.

Through my research I found that raspberries can be broken down into two basic categories, ever-bearing and summer-bearing. Ever-bearing raspberries will produce twice for you, once in the summer and again in the fall. As the name implies, summer-bearing, will produce only in the summer. I chose an ever-bearing variety.

The first thing I wanted to do was get the soil right. Similar to other berries, raspberries like the soil to be a bit more acidic. My research concluded that the variety I chose loves the 5.2 to 6.2 range. I decided to make a nice mix of compost, peat and perlite (all equal parts) as the foundation to my raspberries soil.

I had purchased an already existing plant, about 18 inches in height and pruned by the nursery I purchased it from, so I can get a head start on it this season. When transplanting your new raspberry plant, make sure you give it plenty of water. This is true when you transplant most types of plants, trees, shrubs, etc.

Most of the varieties of raspberries are hardy from zones 5 through 9, but if you do not fall within these growing zones, not to worry, there is something out there for everyone. Such as the ever-bearing August red that is hardy in zone 3 and the Dinkum which is hardy to zone 11. You will be able to find one that is right for your area. The best place to look is at a local garden nursery that sells them.

Many varieties of raspberries can be a bit invasive, meaning, if not cared for and pruned or trimmed back, they can really take over an area. Also, keeping them pruned, according some sources I spoke with, helps yield juicier fruit.

Most varieties of raspberries, when they start producing fruit, can be a bit top heavy, and if you don’t give them any support, will fall over, or at least, slump over. I set up a lattice trellis behind each raspberry plant that stands six feet tall and a little less than 4 feet wide. I will be using these trellises to not only help with the support but also act as a guide for my pruning.

My raspberries are now all set. With regular waterings, and a bi-weekly feeding with an organic soil acidifier that I am using (Green Light Iron & Soil Acidifier), I will have great tasting raspberries in no time.

About the Author
Mike Podlesny is the author of Vegetable Gardening for the Average Person: A Guide to Vegetable Gardening for the rest of us, the moderator for the largest vegetable gardening page on Facebook and creator of the monthly Seeds Club.

Watch the video below to learn more about Mike`s Seeds of the Month Club: