Red Raspberries are a fun nutritional add-on to any meal. Our family joins in with the care and helps manage the growth of these summer bearing plants.
Our two thornless red raspberry patches are set up in areas that are slightly elevated and away from any buildings or areas that these plants might invade. The patches have been in place for more than 10 years; they are well established and love their sunny location. We have a system set up to water the plants during times of little or no rainfall as they need about 1 to 2 inches of rain per week. The plants are set up on trellises to help with air flow and keep them upright when they are burdened with fruit, this also makes picking much easier.
In the spring of the year we like to grab soil samples from both patches and have them tested to determine the pH or acidity of the soil, we then make the needed amendments to bring the pH to a range the plants prefer, which is approx. 5.8 – 6.5. Check with your local plant center or farm store to determine where and when they do their testing, the local extension service will sometimes offer free testing at various locations as well. Once you get the results back the testing the service will also recommend the proper amendments your soil may need.
I love the sweet heady smell of a hand full of freshly picked sun warmed raspberries. Not popping them into your mouth as fast as they can be picked is a hard task but it must be done if they are to be shared with others.
In the spring of the year we also clean out the beds of any old or broken canes then remove any weeds with gentle hand cultivation to avoid disturbing the root system. ( First year canes are called primocanes and second year canes are called floricanes, of course third year canes are called old or dead canes which are removed.) Ours are summer berries are not everbearing so we prune the plants to about 5 feet tall around late March early April. Once the plants are done producing, in mid summer, you can also remove all the second year canes or floricanes leaving only the primocanes to continue growing.
We always have a lot of organic mulch material available in the form of either compost, well-rotted manure, sawdust, pine needles or rotted leaves that we prepared the previous fall and have in piles composing in the back of the yard, this is applied after the cleanup process has been completed and after any soil amendments added. We don’t use commercial fertilizers but do like to add composted manure to the soil in the spring just as the plants start to bloom to stimulate berry growth then again after they finished producing to encourage nice cane growth.
Once plants are established the care of upkeep is relatively easy and well worth the effort. There is nothing nicer than walking out to the garden and picking handfuls of berries to share with family and friends during a meal or afternoon stroll. Enjoy..
Nutrition Facts and Information about Raspberries: Raspberries are rich in potassium and have good amount of calcium, magnesium and phosphorus. They also have a small amount of copper, iron, manganese, zinc and selenium.
Vitamin Content of Raspberries: Raspberries are rich in Vitamin C with good amount of Vitamin A and small amounts of thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, Vitamin B6, folate and pantothenic acid.
Calorie Content of Raspberries: 100g of raspberries has 180 calories. Calories from fat are 18.
Health Benefits of Raspberries: Raspberries are good for those suffering from inflammation and pain. It helps prevent cancer, inhibit the growth of cancer cells, prevents damage to cell membranes and the formation of a tumor in various parts of body including the colon. It reduces the risk of heart diseases and delays the effect of aging. Raspberries protect the body tissue from oxygen related damage.
