Avoid planting raspberries near nightshade vegetable crops (tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, eggplant). Mulch your planting heavily. Some gardeners lay black plastic, landscape fabric, or cardboard between the rows, then cover them with mulch to prevent weed and raspberry sucker problems. dried or 10 bu. Pick into shallow containers as the fruit crushes easily. Hardy, but less so than some. “In Europe and New Zealand, some of these horticultural meccas, they don’t grow any kind of bramble or bush crop planting over an acre without a windbreak,” Handley noted. Remove these canes every year, otherwise the plants will decline rapidly. Growing raspberries in high tunnels can extend the growing season by several weeks, increasing yields and profits (and labor requirements) and enabling growers to raise varieties that aren’t winter hardy otherwise. This soil-borne bacterial disease has no cure, so plant resistant cultivars. Raspberries do not like wet roots or droughty soils. Yellow raspberries harbor more disease. Illustration from "Growing Raspberries and Blackberries in Maine," by David T. Handley, University of Maine Cooperative Extension. State U. addressed the potentially high yields of raspberries grown in high tunnels. Latham – fair fruit quality, one of the hardiest; disease susceptible, so buy clean plants. A household of four planning to put up some berries should start with 50 plants, which should yield 80 to 100 pints of berries. Publications \ The Maine Organic Farmer & Gardener \ Spring 2005 \ Raspberries, PO Box 170, Unity, Maine 04988 Mission: The Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association is a broad-based community that educates about and advocates for organic agriculture, illuminating its interdependence with a healthy environment, local food production, and thriving communities. Photo courtesy of Pennsylvania grower Wayne Breisch. Select disease and virus-free plants from a reputable nursery. Irrigation is important for good plant growth during dry periods and can improve fruit size and yield. Fax: 207-568-4141 Mission: The Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association is a broad-based community that educates about and advocates for organic agriculture, illuminating its interdependence with a healthy environment, local food production, and thriving communities. Newly set plants should be watered every three days for four weeks, unless it rains heavily. Email: [email protected], Physical Address: Pruned canes should be burned or removed from the area, since they can harbor next year’s crop of insects. 294 Crosby Brook Road, Unity, Maine. Do you want to freeze berries, make jam, sell the fruits, or just have a few for breakfast? The minimum pot size would be one that is 50cm (20”) wide, which has a volume of approximately 70 litres (18 US gallons), filled with a premium potting mix. Set raspberries 2 to 3 feet apart within rows with at least 6 feet between rows. Avoid low areas that remain wet late into the spring, but select a site with access to a water supply. Root or crown gall – fleshy, wartlike growth on roots. Pruned plants will establish strong roots and plenty of strong canes for future berry crops. Lime-sulfur spray when leaves are 1/4- to 1/2-inch long is also effective. Plants often come bare-root. Good air circulation and a well pruned patch is your best prevention. Fax: 207-568-4141 They also provide fruit of several flavors and colors. A rich soil, free of weed competition, is imperative for productive, long-lived plants. You will need to provide some means of support to keep your raspberry canes upright. Depending on the variety, raspberries supply a summer or fall harvest. Chill and process them immediately. Once contracted, destroy plants and establish a new patch with resistant cultivars. Boyne – dark red fruit, heavy bearer, vigorous. Young plants must have water. Taylor – excellent flavor, large fruit, midseason, heavy bearer. Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, The New Organic Grower: A Master's Manual of Tools and Techniques for the Home and Market Gardener, Russell Libby Agricultural Scholar Awards. Apply a second round of fertilizer later in the year. At the Farmer to Farmer Conference, Jean Hay Bright (left) talked about the raspberry planting that she and David Bright have established in Dixmont, Maine; and Kathleen Demchak from Penn. Food is our common ground, a universal experience. Rusts – occur more on black and purple varieties, appear as orange powdery spores on the underside of leaves. Annual applications of two inches of compost in the spring and some fish emulsion when flowers appear will do wonders. Raspberries are heavy feeders. Prepare your soil as thoroughly as you would for a vegetable garden. After fruiting, the floricanes die and can be removed. In fall or winter, thin these canes to the strongest, allowing 6 inches between canes (see sidebar). The only insect of consequence in home gardens is the cane borer. PO Box 170, Unity, Maine 04988 Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, Russell Libby Agricultural Scholar Awards. Phone: 207-568-4142 In preparing a site, planting weed smothering cover crops the previous year is ideal. Soak the soil thoroughly with water or a mild fish emulsion solution, making sure that no air pockets are around the roots. Photo courtesy of Pennsylvania grower Wayne Breisch. Of the cultivars available, Goldie is most promising, with high yielding, 6-foot canes and golden orange berries. Open the cane and you will find a larva. If left unchecked the larva will bore down through the cane, kill it and move on to another, with increasing damage to your patch as years go on. Otherwise the, berries will be small and few. Open the package and soak the roots for a few hours before planting. Yields in 2002, the year after planting, were: Profit Sensitivity (per 17- x 96-foot tunnel), MOFGA members receive our quarterly newspaper, Copyright © 2020 Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association. 294 Crosby Brook Road, Unity, Maine. At the time of planting, mix one-half cup of all-purpose organic fertilizer into the soil. Chose clean stock. Mosaic and other viruses – leaves are marbled or mottled with yellow. Illustration from "Growing Raspberries and Blackberries in Maine," by David T. Handley, University of Maine Cooperative Extension. Remove and destroy affected plants. As raspberries send out lateral roots for 2 to 4 feet, choose a site where you can contain their spreading habit. For those preparing to make the leap out of the tomato patch and go beyond cucumbers, raspberries are an easy choice: You can be eating freshly picked berries in just a few years. Reveille – good flavor, early season, soft fruit. The size of your patch will depend on your needs. 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