How to Grow Raspberries in Your Home Garden

Raspberries are the highlight of summer for many berry lovers! Their rich, sweet, and juicy flavor is a favorite in jams, fruit salads and ice cream toppings! A raspberry patch is fairly simple to grow and will produce berries for years to come!

The first thing you need to do is pick and prepare a site for the patch. You will want to choose an area that recieves a minimum of 8 hours of sun a day. You will also want to be sure to pick a location where the raspberries can spread without crowding out other plants. Generally you will want an area away from any other garden areas, or you will be struggling with you growing raspberry patch! Once you have decided on the site for the raspberry patch, you will need to prepare the soil. The soil will need to be tilled and clean of weeds and other material. Amend the soil with some compost to create a fertile growing environment. Properly preparation of the site will allow for earlier planting in the spring. Ideally you will want to prepare the future raspberry patch in the late summer or fall of the previous year.

Raspberry plants may be purchased as bare root stock. Be sure to buy your plants from a reputable nursery that will guarantee the plants are disease free. Raspberry plants that suffer from a virus may look healthy, but will grow poorly and not produce many berries. If you are not able to plant the stock immediately, be sure to moisten the roots and place the plants in a cool, dark area such as a storage room in the basement.

When planting the raspberry plants, you will want to space them 2-3 feet apart to allow for adequete spacing and room for growth. A berry patch can become crowded very easily. You will want to plant them in rows, and leave 6-8 feet between each row. The best time to plant your raspberries is in the early spring, between March and April. You may want to harden off your plants a few days before planting by placing them outside during the day. This will help them adjust to the outdoor living conditions. If the roots of the stock are dry, soak them in water prior to planting. Dig the hole so that the stem of the plant will be burried just below the level that the nursery had planted it at. Be sure to spread out the plants roots in the hole, and then proceed to cover the roots completely with soil. Press the soil down and follow up with a generous watering of the plants. After you have finished planting, prune the canes down so that only about 2-3 inches are above ground. If you haven't fertilized the soil prior to planting, you can apply the fertilizer now.

Pruning the raspberries is very important. If a patch is left alone, the vines will grow into a round patch. You will need to maintain separate rows for a healthy patch. Tilling between the rows can help prevent growth from overcoming the pathways. Black and Purple raspberry plants should not be allowed to grow higher than 3 feet tall. Prune the tips at that level each year. Red raspberries can be pruned completely in the spring so that new growth can shoot up. Some raspberries grow so heavy that you will need to provide a supportive structure for them. You can simply tie the raspberry canes to a trellis or stakes for extra support.

Once your raspberry patch is established you can have berries for years! Your raspberries will spread and you can have plants to sell or give away to friends. No backyard is complete without a nice raspberry patch to enjoy year after year!