Daniel's Pacific NW Garden

Saturday, August 05, 2006

Raspberries

This raspberry (Summit) is in its 3rd year. It was included in a shipment from Raintree Nursery, starting with a single 1 foot tall cane.

As an "everbearing" it bears 2 crops - one in May-June, one in Aug-Sept. There were about 2 quarts overall earlier this summer; if last year is an indication there will be a bit more this fall.

These never make it into the kitchen. I eat them off the plant.

I have another variety, Fallgold which is also 'everbearing', and has larger, juicier yellow berries. These are very sweet. I dont know which one I like more - probably, the one that I am eating at the time.

I grow this bramble as a shrub, like a rosebush. I don't need a long row - this "shrub" is enough for two people. The garden "footprint" is about 4 square feet (2 feet by 2 feet). Each year, I add a few inches of compost to the soil surface around the bramble. In early Summer a bark chip mulch is added to the soil surface on top of the compost. They don't get any other fertilizer, and no sprays at all. They are surrounded by an edging to hold in the mulch and provide a slightly raised bed, although some canes have spread beyond the edging. These can be easily removed with a pruning shear.

Maintenance is minimal. Once a cane has completed its crop, it is pruned off at the base (I removed the 2nd crop canes last week). In the fall, when bearing stops, the bearing portion of the cane is removed, leaving the lower portion for next year. That's all for the pruning.

Raspberries were eaten in Troy (Western Turkey) by the ancient Greeks. The Romans spread them through Europe. They were enjoyed by European royalty, and byalso native Amercans prior to the presence of Europeans on this continent. There are varieties native to Europe, Asia, and the Americas.