Rogue Raspberry Patch...
Walking through the back pasture, the first fall we moved to the farm, looking for the raspberry patch the previous owner said was here. We came across a huge mounded hedge. It was probably 20 feet wide x 30 feet long.
It was filled with wild Mulberry trees, 5 foot high thistle, wild grapevines, milk weed, poison ivy and a few raspberry canes…lol, but I was so excited anyway!
All I needed to do was clean it out
Winter Study...
The following winter, after Christmas was cleaned up and put away…I started reading articles, watching videos, and listening to pod casts about growing raspberries.
I read there were 2 basic types of red raspberry plants. Summer bearing and fall bearing (also known as everbearing)
Articles were quite confusing, stating summer bearing raspberries are harvested between June-August. Fall bearing are a fall season harvest…BUT depending on how you prune fall bearing plants, you could get a small summer crop and a fall crop.
Are you confused? Me TOO, lol!
Fresh Start...
On a beautiful late winters day, I walked out to take another good look at the raspberry patch.
The weed stalks were broken down from winter, the mulberry trees didn’t have leaves yet, the evil poison ivy was still underground and I could see the twisted raspberry canes were more visible.
But the canes were so thick, I couldn’t even walk in to look, much less prune anything.
If I knew what kind of raspberries I had, I would know where to start…the one thing every article said was, you could always cut everything down to the ground and they would always come back.
Tractor implements 101...
My husband, Ken, had a couple years until retirement. But on the weekends, we would work on projects together, and this one was on “the list”, lol!
We bought a farm tractor and several implements from the previous owner and Ken had only used the tractor a couple times. But he figured out how to hook the 6 foot bush hog and out to the crazy raspberry patch he went.
The patch was easy to see this time of year because the field all around it was still flattened from winter.
Slowly he mowed down the entire patch, sapling trees and all.
Working on removing all the debris, and raking it clean, took some time and wasn’t easy, but now I had a fresh clean patch.
Wishful thinking...
That summer, as things started to grow, I pruned out about half of the raspberry canes, the sapling trees and large stalked weeds…
Wish I had a pretty story for you, lol! But the weeds took over, the Japanese beetles destroyed the leaves and by fall, the raspberry patch looked almost the same as the previous spring…ugh.
Always have a Plan B....
I was determined to learn to make raspberry jam, lol! And to make your own jam, you need to have your own fruit.
Starting a brand new raspberry patch in a new location was the only option…so that is exactly what I did.
Choosing a space close to my garden, with room to grow, I mapped out a 12 x 20 area.
Laying down cardboard to kill the grass, I covered it with about 8 inches of pine mulch.
New beginnings...
As soon as the ground thawed the next winter, I went out to the old raspberry patch to dig up some of the plants from the edge. That was no easy feat! Runners grow underground from the original plants and emerge about a foot away, to create a new plant, they are actually called suckers.
Chopping the root you can dig around the sucker and transplant it. I dug up around 24 plants…farming isn’t for sissies, lol!
I planted those new plants by digging down through the mulch, cutting a hole in the cardboard, filling the hole with loose soil and planting the new plant.
Here’s the first little plants sticking up from the ground.
Plant Support...
Half the problem with the old patch was the canes would lay on the ground, making harvesting difficult.
Following expert advice, I put in metal T posts in the corners and ran thick wire from end to end. This would be used to tie up the canes making harvesting much easier.
Leaving a wide isle down the middle would also help.
That year was a lot of hard work, with trials and errors plenty.
Trials...
By that fall the canes were large and healthy. There were a few raspberries in late, late fall. Almost frost time. I didn’t think much about it though.
Determining I had fall bearing berries and if I cut them all down again, they will be in a good pattern, there would have a nice crop next fall….so I cut them all down. Laying some rotten hay down the middle of the row to help keep the weeds down, I put them to bed for the winter.
The next spring, the canes barely came in. But the weeds sure did! The old hay must of been full of every kind of weed known to mankind! And so did the Japanese beetles…covering the bushes and destroying the leaves. Once again a few raspberries came, but it was November almost winter time.
I was so frustrated, sad and over those raspberry bushes. I just let them go! No weeding them or pruning them, or anything, lol!
They can put themselves to bed for the winter! Stupid raspberries!
More trials...
This brings us to this spring…I decided to move my pumpkin patch to a new location. And use the old pumpkin patch for my tomatoes, cucumbers, and corn.
In the middle of all of this, my husband injured his shoulder and would be out of commission for the entire summer.
It hasn’t rained much in over two months, my new pumpkin field is really struggling…
The almost 30 tomato plants, cucumbers, and corn, that I put in the old pumpkin patch are sky high with weeds, mulberry trees, thistle and horse nettle!
Before Ken had surgery, he was able to use the tractor to dump some pine chips over my garden fence, in hopes of keeping down some of the weeds.
But to tell the truth…having to do all the farm chores by myself. The garden has just gotten away from me this year.
God's encouragement...
Now I’m just keeping it real….my faith runs hot and cold. But sometimes there is no denying God’s presence.
I was feeling tired, overworked and discouraged. Walking out to my new garden area to do some mulching…I looked over at my raspberry patch.
It was absolutely loaded with raspberries!
They weren’t red yet, but it was going to be an incredible “Summer” harvest.
I have “Summer Raspberries”
Summer bearing vs Fall bearing...
So… how summer bearing raspberries are pruned…a green cane grows the first year, with beautiful lime green leaves and some prickly thorns, but no raspberries.
The second year those original canes bear fruit. After bearing fruit they die and can be cut down.
Because I didn’t cut them all down that one fall, they were able to bear fruit this summer.
Now in the fall I will cut down the canes that had fruit on them and leave the bright green ones alone.
We started harvesting raspberries the third week in June.
Ken was able to go out and help for a while…(with Moonie on his lap).
My friend Julie Bliss, came over and helped me the following week. A few days later, my friend Elaine Owen came over and my daughter Abbie helped too.
The grandkids filled their cool whip bowls full eating a few along the way.
Raspberries galore...
Every few days I pick fresh raspberries and line them on a cookie sheet.
Flash freezing them for an hour or so and putting the individually frozen berries in gallon zip lock bags.
I’ve harvested nine bulging gallon zip lock bags of raspberries so far!
We have been harvesting for about 4 straight weeks!
Gardening Joy...
So even though the rest of my garden is a big fat mess, I’m plugging away at it.
It’s encouraging to have a freezer full of raspberries! I’m determined to make my own raspberry jam and am experimenting with a couple recipes as you read this!
So thank you again for staying with me as I learn to garden and tend a farm.
Hopefully soon I will share my “Raspberry Jam” experiences with a possitive result.
See you next time.
Fondly, Sandy
