If I could grow only one fruit, it would be raspberries. They're my
favorite to eat, and unaffordable in the markets, even during berry season.
Fortunately they're very easy to grow in hot climate, and for the most part
they're trouble-free. If I lived in the south where raspberries do less well,
I'd grow some gorgeous fat blackberries, which like hot climates. Raspberries
and blackberries are known as "bramble fruits" because they are so
thorny surely a deliberate move on nature's part to make them harder to pick.
Like roses, they are an exquisite prize that you earn only by putting up with a
little aggravation.
Bramble fruits are perennial plants that bear on biennial canes. This
means that the roots live indefinitely and send up canes each year that
generally fruit the second season, and then die. By removing dead canes that
have finished fruiting and letting the new ones grow, you can maintain a berry
patch for many years. Since the patch is a permanent planting. It's worth
spending some time at the beginning to figure out just which berries you should
grow. Red raspberries appear in early summer, usually in July although there are
some fall-blooming varieties.
They bear for a few blissful weeks during which you gobble as many fresh
raspberries as you possibly can. Since they don't keep well, then freeze the
rest or make them into jam. You can stretch this early-summer Nirvana to a month
or more by planting several varieties that ripen at slightly different times.
Yellow raspberries are excellent for home growing too.
They are very sweet but not quite as appealing to birds as the red ones
are. You rarely find yellows for sale in markets, since they don't ship well. So
they make a special home-grown treat to serve alone or mixed with red and black
raspberries. They grow exactly like red raspberries, on sturdy, erect plants,
and many are hardy even in Zone 3.
Both red and yellow raspberries send up new canes from the crowns and
also from the roots as suckers. So even if you plant only a few you will soon
have many. Raspberries and other brambles are self-fertile, so you need only
one variety to ensure pollination though some growers maintain that their yield
is greater if they grow two.
Black raspberries, also called "black caps," are quite
different from red ones. Their canes are arching or trailing and send out
vigorous fruiting side branches. Although red raspberries are borne mainly on
the long and slender canes and black raspberries don't produce the multitude of
suckers that red raspberries do. Most are hardy only to Zone 5 or 6, but unlike
the red ones, black raspberries will tolerate a fair amount of heat. Their
flavor is also a bit more tart and rich, making them a superb choice for baking,
for ice cream or for jams. Purple raspberries, a cross between black and red,
grow much like the black ones, though they are often more hardy.
You can also plant ever-bearing raspberries for a fall harvest. These
don't really bear all summer; rather, they have two crops, one borne on
second-year canes at the usual time, and another borne in fall on the tips of
new canes produced that season. If you cut these back after the fall harvest
you will sacrifice the summer crop, but this means that the fall one will be
bigger. I prefer to grow them this way, for a big fall crop. I can always plant
a standard summer-bearing variety for the early crop. Ever-bearing varieties
can be the red or yellow.
Blackberries are larger than raspberries and a bit less sweet. They are
also less cold-hardy and do best in moderate or warm climates. The plants are
extremely vigorous and vary as to their growth habits: some have strong, erect
canes; others are trailing and will lie on the ground unless supported; still
others are semi trailing. Some varieties are thorn less. Boysenberries and
loganberries—both of which are large and wine colored, growing on trailing
plants—are simply blackberry varieties.
Site for Raspberries and Blackberries
The best site for bramble fruits is a slightly sloping, sunny hillside
where cold air drains away. They will take a bit more shade than other fruits,
but a sunny location will provide a better yield, especially in cool climates.
Avoid sites where any of the Solanaceae have grown in recent years (page 184),
since these all share with brambles a susceptibility to the verticillium wilt
virus. It is also best to separate red and black raspberries by 300 feet, if
possible, since seemingly healthy red plants can transmit diseases to the
less-resistant blacks. Wild raspberries and blackberries can also transmit
diseases, so it is wise to eradicate any you have on the property. Be sure to
pick a well-drained site; none of the bramble fruits will grow where it's
mucky.
Soil for
Raspberries and Blackberries
Most soil types will grow bramble fruits as long as drainage is good.
Moderate fertility is sufficient, though the plants will appreciate sonic bone
meal and some rotted manure or compost worked into the soil. The more organic
matter 10 the soil, the better; it will help the soil to hold moisture.
The soil should be slightly acid about 6.0 is ideal, but a range of 5.5
to 7.0 is acceptable. Remember that this is a permanent bed, and all weeds,
rocks and other obstacles to good growth must be removed at the beginning. The
soil should be enriched, lightened and well tilled throughout the bed before
you do your planting.
Planting Raspberries and Blackberries
It is very important to buy certified virus-free plants. Your neighbors
will tempt you with offers of free raspberry plants when it's time to weed out
the suckers between their rows. Turn them down, or there's a chance you'll
start out with diseases you'll never get rid of. Root nematodes can also get
started in your garden this way, and the nursery you buy from should be able to
guaran¬tee their stock to be free of these, too.
Planting time is early spring, except in Zone 6 and southward, where fall
or even late-winter planting is possible. You don't have to buy very many
plants of each variety, especially red raspberries. Keep in mind that in a few
years you'll be throwing out extras. A dozen plants, spaced 3 feet apart, will
soon give you a large harvest, with each foot of row producing about a quart of
berries. Hence, plant blackberries and black raspberries about 4 feet apart,
trailing blackberries 5-6 feet apart.
If I'm planting more than one row I make sure that the rows are pretty
far apart a good 10 feet is best. When I'm pruning or picking I like to be sure
that no wayward canes will reach out and grab me from behind. If you are using
a trellis system you can space the rows more closely. Make sure that the roots
do not dry out between the times of buy them and the time you put them in the
ground.
And moisten your plant holes. Moreover, plant raspberries a few inches
deeper than they were growing in the nursery, blackberries at about the same
level. Cut red raspberries and blackberries back to 6 inches, but cut black
raspberries back to ground level as a precaution against disease. Then water
the plants some more.
Growing for
Raspberries and Blackberries
It is very important to give all bramble fruits a constant water supply
while they are growing and especially when they are forming fruit. A good thick
mulch of an organic material such as salt hay will help a lot. It will also
keep weeds from working their way into the berry plants' root systems. In
addition, mulch will keep you from having to cultivate the soil. This is an
important advantage, as cultivating can nick the plants' shallow roots. Which
in the case of red raspberries can promote excess suckering?
But even with mulch, you should watch soil moisture. If it's dry weather
and a crop is ripening, laying a soaker hose along the rows will definitely increase
your yield. Top dress each year in early spring with at least a shovelful of
compost or rotted manure for every foot of row, or apply a handful of commercial
fertilizer such as 10-10-10 to the same area. The most important job in growing
bramble fruits is keeping the plants properly pruned so that the bed does not
become an impenetrable tangle of thorny canes. Each berry type has a different
way of run rampant, but fill rampant it will.
Red and yellow raspberries, doesn’t branch much but they do send up lots
of canes. Every year in early spring you should go out to the raspberry patch,
wearing a long-sleeved shirt and leather gloves, and prune out any winterkilled
canes at ground level. Then cut hack all the remaining canes in about chest
height. You will see what remains of the little berry clusters after the
herrios have been removed. Stole let the job go until winter or early spring,
you'll still be able to distinguish the old canes because they are darker, with
peeling bark. Any part of the plant that looks diseased should be removed at
whatever time you spot it.
1 don't bother to use any kind of a trellising system with red or yellow
raspberries, because the stiff canes support themselves so Well. I use the
hedge-mw method, just letting the row fill in with new plants until it gets
about I V: to 2 feet wide. Any wider than that, and it's hard to match and
pick. Every spring, I pull up all the suckers that come between the rows and
later in the season too, as they appear. It is also a good idea to thin the
plants within the rows, pulling up some of the new canes so that the remaining
canes are about 6 inches apart.
Some gardeners do use a trellis sys-tem for raspberries, either because
they find them easier to pick this way, or because they're short of space.
Trellised rows can be as close together as 5 feet. Keep in mind, though, that
the farther apart they are the better the air circulation, and the less chance
of disease. You can use a system similar to the four-arm system for grapes. Or
you can box the vines by running wires on either side of a thick wooden post,
trapping the vines between the wires. Also nail 2-foot crosspieces to the
posts, as on a telephone pole, to make a wider box. You can also just place
metal stakes 2 feet apart and string wires along those. Brace the end posts to
keep them front bending.
Black raspberries don’t sucker freely. Their way of running amok is to
bend over their long canes so that the tips root in the soil between your rows.
If you let them do this, pretty soon you won't have any rows, just solid berry
bushes. Cut off the new canes to about 2 feet tall in midsummer. They will
cause them to form lateral branches, which will bear fruit next year. In early
spring cut back each of those lateral branches to about 12 inches long.
Then after harvest cut back the canes that have fruited, just as you do
with red raspberries. If you prune them this way you can keep the plants fairly
short and erect, so you shouldn't need to trellis them. Thin the rows as
needed, and pull up any plants growing between them.
Ever-bearing raspberries bear the first year, in fall, at the tips of the
canes. It you want a second crop, cut off the tips after harvest. Then the
following season they'll bear on the uncut portion in early summer. Then cut
back the whole cane after it finishes fruiting. Both crops will be smaller than
that produced by ordinary summer-bearing raspberries. To get one big fall crop
instead and simplify your pruning job as well cut all the canes back to the
ground after the fall harvest.
If you're growing blackberries, then cut the first-year canes hack to 3
feet in midsummer to encourage lateral branches, which will bear fruit. The In
late winter or early spring cut each lateral branch to about half its length. So,
after harvesting and cut back at soil level canes that have borne fruit. Thin
the new canes so that they are about 6 inches apart. Whether or not you trellis
black berries depends on what type they are. If they have erect canes and you
prune them well, they can stand alone like raspberries.
If they are trailing or semi trailing, they’ll need some kind of support.
You can bunch the canes together and tie them to stout stakes. But they'll enjoy better air circulation if
you train them on wires. Either use the four-armed system mentioned for grapes.
And also trying a number of canes to each wire and letting a few trails along
the ground as well. You can also use the box system. With trailing varieties
you'll have to tie the canes to whatever support you use.
Propagating new bramble plants is easy. Do it at the time you would normally
plant them in your area. For red raspberries just dig up some suckers and
replant them. For black raspberries bend a cane over and bury the tip in a
pocket of enriched soil, anchoring the tip with a rock or a bent wire just as
you do with a stem you are layering. Blackberries can be propagated by
replanting suckers, by rooting the tips of canes. Or by digging up some roots
on the edge of an established clump and replanting them. With all these
methods, cut the stems back to the appropriate height when you replant.
Pests and Diseases
There is a long list of diseases of bramble fruits, though yours may
escape all of them, especially in cool climates. Fortunately there are a number
of things you can do to keep berries healthy, even in areas where diseases are
common. First, buy new, clean stock. Remove all plant debris winterkilled
stems, canes that have home fruit, and any diseased parts of the plant as
promptly as possible, and either burn the debris or cart it away. Don't leave
it lying around the property, even in the compost heap.
Remove all wild bramble plants from the property. Try to provide the
plants with good air circulation by choosing the right site, pruning and
thinning the canes, and trellising them if necessary. Provide good water
drainage for the roots. Feed, water and mulch as needed to keep the plants
vigorous, but avoid giving them excessive nitrogen. Finally, seek out varieties
that resist specific diseases that are prevalent where you live.
Some diseases to watch for are mosaic, which makes leaves yellow and mottled.
Botrytis cane wilt which makes new canes wilt, verticillium wilt, which causes
canes to wilt suddenly in hot, dry weather. Anthracnose produces purplish spots
on the leaves then grayish growth on the stems powdery mildew. It covers the
leaves with whitish powder; orange rust shows up as bright orange pustules on the
undersides of the leaves. Leaf curlvirus makes the leaves dark green and
tightly curled; and spur blight, which produces brown spots on the canes.
Foil hungry birds with plastic netting if they're getting too much of
your crop. If you have lots of berries and pick often you may not find birds a big
problem. The netting can be draped over the plants, but it is hard to remove for
pruning and picking that way. So you may want to erect a lightweight wooden or
metal frame to support it. This can be either box-shaped or constructed like a frame
house.
Japanese beetles bother raspberries, pick them off or use milky spore
disease Hose off aphids, or spray them with insecticidal soap they can transmit
diseases. Prune out canes infested with borers and remove plants with galls that
indicate crown borers, Fruit worms. Which eat the buds and the berries, can be
sprayed with rotenone; the soil should then be cultivated around the plants in
late summer and early fall to keep the worms from overwintering there as pupae.
A few raspberry varieties, such as 'Purple Royalty,' are insect resistant.
Harvest Raspberries
and Blackberries
Pick berries only when they are ripe, but don't let them sit on the bush
too long. Pick at least twice a week when they are bearing. Be careful not to
squeeze the berries; just pull them off the stem gently. (Raspberry cores will
stay on the stems.) Keep your pail or basket in the shade as you pick, and
don't let the berries get more than a few inches deep in the container or
they'll squash. Put in the refrigerator until you're ready to use them.
Varieties of Raspberries and Blackberries
For summer-bearing red raspberries, the old standby 'Latham' is fine, but
there are other good choices too. 'Newburgh' is vigorous, hardy, productive and
disease resistant, with a big berry. 'Canby' and the very large 'Thornless Red
Mammoth' have practically no thorns, for easy picking `Reveille,' Sunrise' and the
huge 'Titan' arc extra early.
'Taylor' is hardy, vigorous and especially fine tasting. 'Willamette,' a
large, dark red berry, is recommended for the west coast, and the vigorous
'Dorman Red' is the one to grow in the south. The ever bearing ‘Fallgold’ is
the most popular yellow variety. Of the ever-bearing reds, 'Heritage' is the
most universally grown, but the hardy, disease resistant ‘Fall Red' is well
worth trying. 'Scepter' and 'Indian Summer' also have good disease resistance.
Popular black raspberries include the vigorous, upright standby 'Bristol' and
'Black Hawk,' which is both disease and heat resistant.
Especially cold hardy varieties are the large `Cumberland,' John
Robertson' and the disease-resistant `Jewel.' Allen' is sweeter than most. For
purples try the large, sweet 'Royalty,' which is hardy and both insect and
disease resistant. ‘BrandyWine’ is a good, fairly hardy, tart variety that
people favor for jams.
`Lowden Sweet Purple' is anthracnose resistant
and almost seedless. Good erect blackberries for the south include 'Cheyenne'
and the sweet early ‘Rosborough’. ‘Darrow' and oily King' are hardy upright
varieties. ‘Boysenberry’ ‘Loganberry' and 'Lucretia Dewberry' are tasty
trailing varieties. Among the thorn less blackberries `Chester' and 'Hull’ are
especially hardy, and Black Satin and `Thorn free' especially disease
resistant. Moreover also try Thornless Boysenberry. Also Read: Why You Need to Eat More Vegetables?
