Raspberries are the hardiest of the cane berries,
and perhaps the most worthwhile home garden crop. The thing that makes a raspberry a
raspberry is the fact that it pulls free of it's core when you pick it. Other bramble
fruits take the core with them. One crop (single crop) raspberries produce fruit on
canes that grew the previous year. Two-crop (ever bearing) raspberries produce some
fruit at the top of the current-season canes in fall, and then produce a second crop on
the rest of the cane following planting time for best results.
Set raspberry plants in early spring. Prune
the canes to within six inches of the ground at planting time for best results. For
home garden plantings, a single hedge row at one end or along one side of the garden is
desireable. Space new plants 3-4 feet apart in the row. They will fill into a
solid hedge row when cultivated on both sides of the row.
Raspberry plantings should be cultivated
thoroughly and frequently. If weeds and grasses get a start, they are difficult to
control. Raspberries are extremely hardy, so no special protection is needed except
in the coldest mountain and plains climates. Where winter temperatures stay
extremely low for long periods, and winds add to the chill, you should protect your plants
in the following manner; Lay canes of the current season along the row or trellis, pinning
portions that arch upward. Be careful not to snap them. Where mice are not
likely to be a problem, cover the canes with straw or sawdust to a depth of several
inches, and then cover the mulch with poultry neting to hold it in place. If winter
mouse damage if probable, bury the canes under 2" of earth. In spring, uncover
the canes before they begin to leaf out, just as the buds swell. If the buds break
while still covered, they will be extremely tender to even light frost.
Before planting, examine the root system and prune broken, twisted
and dead roots. Plant the tree with the crown of the plant at ground level.
Spred the roots out and backfill soil, working it between and around the roots with your
fingers. Continue the process until the plant is stable and standing upright.
Continue filling the hole; then build a basin and fill it with water. Most bare-root
evergreen plants are small and do not require staking. When watering evergreens, it
is essentail to soak the soil around the plant as deeply as the plant roots
penetrate. How long you will be able to go between waterings and the amount of water
depends on multiple factors, including the plant, the weather and the soil. Too
little water causes the youngest and tenderest leaves to wilt, then die. If the soil
remains dry for long periods, older leaves or needles die, beginning with the tip or outer
edge. If the plant isn't watered then, it will drop enough leaves so that it will
die. Overwatering can kill plants by reducing oxygen in the soil. Each plant
part must absorb oxygen from its environment. If air can't enter the soil because it
is full of water, the feeder roots die and are unable to take up water even though the
soil is sopping.
Feed your plants with a complete fertilizer. Complete fertilizers
are those that contain the three major plant nutrients: nitrogen, phosphorus and
potassium. Follow application rates on the package label. Fertilizer is best
applied in October and again early to late spring. Fertilizer applied in summer or
early fall may start a new wave of growth that will not have time to harden off by winter.