An afternoon of berry picking is a fond memory many of us have from childhood. It can be so much fun to walk around exploring these delicious little nuggets of sweetness like a candy treasure hunt! In adulthood, many gardeners will try to repeat this experience in their own yard, kitchen, or patio garden! For gardeners looking to repeat their childhood joy in freshly picked raspberries, consider installing a raspberry raised bed. An afternoon's installation brings years of ease and convenience!
Growing in an elevated garden allows you to naturally produce raspberries, but also offers the gardener himself some additional benefits. People with back problems can better reach and care for their plants, and keep pests from getting away with your delicious bounty!
Raspberries are a small fruit that grows on long and often thorny bushes. While the actual sticks of most raspberry bushes only live two years (with the exception of the perennial varieties), the roots of the raspberry plant are perennial and continue to grow outwards under the ground and keep pushing out new raspberry stalks as they crawl. This is how raspberries can spread and become invasive. While the site of an old stone house covered in raspberry blackberries can be very beautiful, the reality of having your own backyard can be a nightmare!
For people who want to successfully grow these in their own garden, raised beds may be the perfect solution to some of the difficulties that may be associated with this plant. Install 3-4 planters and you have your own raspberry patch! Raspberry plants do well for zones 4 through 8, and there are certain varieties that do well for zones 9 and 10. Anyone can grow and enjoy this delicious fruit easily!
Why a raspberry raised bed?
A raspberry raised bed is a great way to keep your berry bed in check. Source: outdoorPDK
While raspberries grow quite well in nature, a raised bed has many advantages that can make the difference to a more productive and efficient home garden.
Gardeners with mobility issues may have difficulty reaching fruit as well as tending to sticks, runners, and weeds. Planting a few feet above the ground brings fruit and soil within reach. Entering a keyhole garden of established raspberries can provide the same experience as a wooded raspberry straw, only without a sore back or long drive. Increasing the height of the planting above the ground can also decrease the number of weeds that can crowd out your plants and steal nutrients.
Installing these in a part of the yard that was previously non-productive can open up a world of possibilities. For growers with a sunny space who have stone, clay, or concrete on the floor, a bed will enliven the area and make it an inviting and fertile addition to their garden.
A raised bed also means you are responsible for the soil and nutrition that you plant in. You can provide healthier soil with plenty of organic matter specially conditioned for growing raspberries, improving your harvest. This is important as raspberries grow best with a soil pH between 6.0 and 6.2. You can also make sure the raised bed is adequately drained as the soil may be too damp. Add a drip irrigation system to water deep into your soil and you'll be growing raspberries even on vacation!
A homemade raised bed against a stone wall. Source: Steve Rawley
Raspberry plants spread by sending their roots sideways and shooting new sticks. In the back yard this can be a bit of a problem as the raspberries fight for space. A raised bed, especially one that is at least 2 feet above the ground, provides a natural barrier to keep raspberry roots from invading your valuable vegetables and other nearby plants.
Lifting your raspberry plants off the ground creates an added benefit – early warmth. Due to the solar radiation from the raised beds, the soil around the raspberry roots warms up earlier than if it were only in the soil. Brick and galvanized steel planters take in the heat of the sun and keep it on a cool night. This means an earlier harvest! For gardeners in very northern climates, this also provides a window big enough to even have raspberries!
Using a planter above the ground means that many pests will no longer be able to attack the base of your plants. You can also put hardware wipes on the bottom of your planter to keep rodents out. Whether gophers or other pests chasing your plants, a planter with smooth sides can be an effective deterrent.
Raspberry plants are perennials. It's best to plant raspberries in an area separate from annuals because their needs are so different during the growing season.
Raspberry spacing in raised beds
Young raspberries planted in a raised bed. Source: tlhowes2012
You can usually find raspberries for sale as bare-root plants or the occasional pots for easy planting. When planting bare-rooted rhizome, remember that the roots will adhere to the cane about an inch below the ground and plant at the suggested depth. Use caution when planting potted berries to bring the roots to the same depth of soil as they were in their pot. Don't plant too deep or the plant will struggle.
If you are planting several together, place them about 3 feet apart in beds. Make sure your planters are at least three feet wide. These need sufficient width to spread further year after year. This gives plenty of space for new sticks and fruit.
Tips for growing raspberries in raised beds
Lush red raspberries ready to be picked. Source: I am not a dog
Setting up a trellis system for your raspberries will make care a lot easier in the long run. Not only does a trellis provide year-round support for raspberry canes, it also makes it easier to block out pests by placing a row cover over your plants. Build a trellis with wooden beams that extend a foot above the sticks. You can easily drape a row cover without it getting caught in thorns. This can keep away many of the pests that would eat or lay eggs on your bushes.
When the canes are in bloom, make sure the row cover is removed. The berries will not be pollinated without the help of our pollinator friends! Alternatively, the same trellis can support a shaded cloth during the summer heat when high temperatures can damage or kill your plants.
In regions with a snowy winter, it is much easier to build a cold frame around a raised bed than around a floor bed. This cold frame will help give your floor a kickstart in the spring so the sticks can start wearing out at the beginning of the season. If you build the cooling frame to a height of only 6 inches, which is higher than what you want the raspberry stalks to be, you can easily gauge where you will be pruning in the fall. A cold frame can protect against a surprising final frost. The frame keeps snow away from early developing buds that won't turn into raspberries if damaged.
Once your raspberries are firm and start bearing year after year, it's time to mulch well, especially in the summer. By mulching, you prevent weeds and hold back water. Try adding 2 to 3 inches of organic matter to the soil in early summer. This mulch can be dried leaves, pine needles, or wood shavings. Raspberries do well for infrequent deep watering, which is made easier by applying mulch every six months.
There are some plants that grow well with raspberries and can even discourage pests. Garlic, chives, onions, and chamomiles work well when grown in the same garden bed as raspberries, and offer a greater premium to cost-saving growers who are reluctant to spend a bed on a single harvest. Conversely, keep certain plants away from raspberries such as tomatoes, eggplant, strawberries, and potatoes.
Here is a rough planting plan for an annual raspberry season:
- Late winter / early spring: Buy and plant out so that each plant has at least 3 feet of space to spread. Apply a resting spray to control the spread of fungal diseases.
- Late spring / early summer: Cut back fruit sticks from previous years if you haven't already. Fertilize with a balanced 10-10-10 fertilizer. Start watering regularly. Apply 2-3 inches of mulch to improve water retention.
- Summer: Continue to monitor soil moisture and adjust watering as needed. Apply a shady cloth if necessary. Monitor for pests. Harvest depending on the variety.
- Late summer: Continue to monitor for pests, soil moisture, and crops.
- Fall: Harvest fall-bearing berries and apply 1 to 2 inches of mulch to the base of the plants.
- Early winter: Plan to prune fertile canes before the first frost. Depending on the zone, cover the plants with a cold frame.
The green fingers behind this article:
