Grow Your Own Raspberries

By Patty Howe

Fresh picked raspberries are one of the tastiest treats of summer.  My grandmother grew raspberries in her backyard and made the best raspberry jam I’ve ever tasted.   Her jars of jam were bright red jewels treasured by everyone who tasted them. The few rows of raspberries in her backyard provided so many fresh berries, grandma always had enough to make jam to give to her family and friends. If it was harvest time, there were always empty baskets out on her porch so you could pick yourself some, either to eat fresh, or to give to Grandma in hopes of getting them back as one of her delicious jars of jam. 

You can grow mouth-watering raspberries in your own yard and you don’t need a big backyard to do it.  Here are some ideas for growing raspberries in a different direction, up a support instead of down a row.  Also, here are some tips for growing a great crop of the delectable berries and information on a few of our favorite varieties.

Raspberries don’t need much room
Growing raspberries can take less room in your yard than you might think. If you’ve got a few feet of good ground, in the full sun, you’ve got enough room.  Raspberries don’t need to be grown in long, wide horizontal rows.  You can grow raspberries vertically on a rose column, iron obelisk, or even a wooden ladder trellis.  Any vertical support will work as long as it’s 5 or 6 feet tall (or taller if you want to harvest from a taller trellis).

To plant a raspberry to grow vertically, you’ll need to consider the roots.  Raspberry roots rarely dive under objects, so dig a hole 6-8 inches deep and edge it with a circle of landscape edgers, (the curved concrete type work well).  This will help prevent the raspberry roots from wandering.  Plant your raspberry in the center of the circle and place your column or obelisk over the top.  As the raspberry canes grow, train them up the structure to gain 360 degrees of access to your berries when it’s time to harvest.  This way you can grow delicious fresh raspberries in a relatively small amount of groundspace.

Bradley Weeks, of Weeks Berry Nursery, is a fifth-generation berry farmer and the source of most of the high quality caneberry plants you’ll find at Al’s Garden Centers.  Bradley has a couple of planting tips to help your raspberry plants thrive. When you dig the hole for your raspberry, make sure that the hole is large enough that you don’t have to wad up the roots.    If you take a little extra time and dig the hole large enough you will give the roots plenty of room to spread out.  If you see any white sprouts growing from the crown of your raspberry be sure to cover them with at least 1 ½ inches of soil. Always plant your raspberry in a location with full sun and in soil that drains well.

Types of Raspberries
Raspberries fall into two categories; spring crop and everbearing.  Spring crop raspberries bear fruit on second year canes typically producing a single crop in June. Everbearing raspberries produce crops on old and new canes, which allows them to produce berries in the summer and then continue to produce fruit until first frost. So, depending on whether you want to pick your fresh raspberries all at once, or spread out over the summertime - you can determine what type of raspberry is best for you to grow. 

Here are two of our favorite spring crop raspberries.   Meeker raspberries are large thimble shaped berries that ripen in June and early July.  Meeker raspberries have a high sugar content that makes them great for fresh eating, freezing, canning and for jams.  Meeker raspberries are a good variety to grow in a home garden because they are a long-lived and grow vigorously.  

Willamette raspberries originated in Oregon and are an extremely large berry with dark red fruit that ripens in June.  The berries have a lower sugar content than Meekers, but have a rich flavor. Willamette berries hold their color and shape well and are excellent for fresh eating, freezing and canning. 

If you’d like to pick raspberries all summer long and even into the early fall you’ll want to plant an everbearing variety of raspberry.  Three of our favorite varieties of everbearing raspberries are Heritage, Amity, and Fall Gold. 

Heritage raspberries are large, sweet berries with a mild flavor.  They produce their first crop in July, then more berries September until first frost.  Heritage raspberries are an excellent choice for home gardens.  This superior quality berry is good for fresh eating, freezing, and jams.

Amity raspberries were developed in Corvallis.  They produce large, firm, dark red berries with classic raspberry flavor. Amity raspberries produce in June then again in fall.  This is a great variety for the home garden because of its excellent flavor, and is good for fresh eating, freezing, and jams.

Finally, the sweetest raspberry of all is Fall Gold.  Fall Gold raspberries are large, non-crumbling soft berries that are extremely sweet.  If you don’t mind a raspberry that is not red, but prefer sweetness, this berry is for you.  The plants are vigorous, productive, and adaptable to a wide variety of soils. Fall Gold produces berries in July and again in August until late frost. 

It’s time to plant if you’ve always wanted to grow fresh raspberries in your yard. Whether you like them fresh, or in jams or flavor filled desserts, raspberries are the taste of summer.   Plant your own and get ready to enjoy.