Grow Your Own How to grow raspberries

Date Published:

12/06/2009

They might be soft and squishy off the plant, but on it these berries are resilient and care-free - as long as you get them off to the right start. Find out how to get started with this raspberry growing guide from Grow Your Own magazine

Preparing the plot

Like most edible crops, raspberries produce a better yield when grown in full sun. However, thanks to their woodland origins, they can be grown in a degree of shade too, as long as they receive at least a few hours of direct sunshine each day. They prefer slightly acidic soils, which is great news for gardeners who struggle to grow plants in these conditions. They like it to be moist as well, so be prepared to water the plants as they establish – but beware of waterlogged winter ground.

Be prepared to put in a bit of effort to get soil conditions just right before planting: thoroughly dig down to a spade’s depth along a row 90cm wide. Turn it over and remove any weeds, especially perennial types (such as bindweed and horsetail) and their roots.

Raspberries are shallow rooted, which means there won’t be much of an opportunity to weed as meticulously once the plants are in place, for fear of damaging their root system. They are also heavy feeders, so for every plant you intend to grow incorporate a bucketful of well-rotted manure or compost while digging, turning it all into the soil. Ideally soil preparation should be complete a month before planting; at the very least you should allow two weeks to give the earth time to settle.

They might play second fiddle to their Wimbledon-associated cousins on shop shelves but on the plot there should be no such bias – raspberry plants crop reliably year-after-year and ask for little in return. They even thrive in partially-shaded areas where few fruit or vegetables would grow. And such is their hardiness that they will produce a bumper crop of their sweet, mildly acidic fruits even in disappointing summers – a valuable trait given the last few we’ve experienced. They’re a great choice for those gardening in cooler, northern climates – as they flower late in the spring there is little danger of them being damaged by unexpected late frosts.

There are two types of raspberry available to the kitchen gardener. Summer-fruiting varieties will crop at any time from the beginning of July to early August on stems of last season’s growth; autumn-fruiters bear their berries over a longer period - from mid-August to the first frosts - on the current season’s growth. Both are similarly easy to care for but require slightly different pruning techniques. As long as you know how to wield your secateurs around them there is little mystery to growing these accommodating fruits and their length of service - up to 12 years - means they give a lot back in return.

Grow your own tip

If you only intend to grow a few plants you can do away with a complete post and wire system and simply position up to two plants at the base of a single post for support. As the stems grow upwards, tie them loosely to the post using garden string.