I don't know about you, but I love raspberries. The biggest problem with buying them is that they spoil very, very quickly. So, it's time for a solution and the best one I can think of is growing your own raspberry bush!
Raspberries are high in fiber, minerals and antioxidants. They're also a super versatile fruit that you can add into salads and desserts! The biggest plus.. they're a perennial! Which means if you plant it once, it will keep coming back for a yearly harvest.
There are two types of raspberry bushes:
(1) summer fruiting: which will produce enough for one harvest for season, and
(2) ever-bearing: which will produce continuously throughout the season.
After choosing which variety you plan to grow, keep the following points in mind to ensure you have a happy, healthy raspberry bush:
A raspberry bush will need full sun to thrive: meaning it will need 6-10 hours of direct sun for best results,
raspberries will tolerate sand and clay soils as long as they drain well, they prefer a pH level of 5.5-6.5,
when preparing the planting site, dig at least 12 inches deep to loosen soil and remove rocks so your raspberry bush will stay healthy for plenty of years to come,
soak the roots for about one hour prior to planting,
a raspberry bush need 1 inch of water per week,
its recommended you use mulch to conserve moisture and deter weeds,
harvest raspberries on sunny days, you'll know they're ready when they easily come off their vine, and don't forget
pick a few raspberries every couple of days to keep the plant healthy and promote new growth.
Since a raspberry bush will keep producing for at least 15 years, its important you're taking good care of it. When planting you'll want to plant in early spring after the threat of frost has passed. The plant won't produce until it's second season and it needs to be pruned.
Raspberry branches are known as 'canes.' Each cane will only produce for two years, each year you'll have to prune back the dead canes so your plant can continue to grow. An easy way to do this is, once you've harvested, cut the cane that produced the fruit back down to the ground, this will allow the plant to focus on growing new canes rather than replenishing the old ones!
You now have all the information you'll need to start growing your raspberry bushes! Don't forget to subscribe to receive our latest posts!
Happy planting!
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