Red raspberries originated in Asia Minor and were distributed throughout Europe by the Romans and later the English. They came to America by the late 1700’s. They are of the genus Rubus, in the Rose Family.

Our method for growing raspberries consists of double-digging a long bed 30" wide, oriented east-west. We add compost or composted manure and top with mulch. Raspberry starts are planted 18"-24" apart. We trellis using steel T-posts of the type used for electric fence, placing them along the edges of the bed about 8-10 feet apart. Then horizontal wires are run at 1, 2,3, and 4 feet off the ground to contain the canes. For multiple rows, we leave 7 foot pathways between rows. We cut out dead canes twice a year and move suckers that get out of the bed into new beds. Our raspberry variety has been quite trouble free as far as pests and diseases.

There is a wealth of information on berry cultivation on the internet. One great all purpose site is www.smallfruits.org where a number of universities and extension services have pooled there resources to post research findings and papers on how to grow berries.

Other resources to learn more about raspberry cultivation:

http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/raspberries/about.html

http://www.uga.edu/fruit/links.html

http://www.nafex.org/

http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/c766-w.html

http://www.uga.edu/fruit/rubus.htm

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-8204.html

More About Raspberries:

Besides being truly delicious, raspberries have excellent nutritional and medicinal qualities. They are rich in vitamin C, contain a potential anti-cancer agent called elegiac acid, and are a source of soluble fiber. They may lower blood cholesterol and slow release of carbohydrates into the bloodstream of diabetics.

Raspberries freeze well (spread out on cookie sheets and freeze, then seal in freezer bags) and can be used in all kinds of recipes. One of our favorites is to heat the frozen berries gently in a saucepan and pour over ice cream. They make great smoothies- stir together in a blender frozen raspberries, banana, apple juice, peaches and strawberries if you have them.

Here are some web pages of interest regarding raspberry nutrition and recipes: