Katie Allen
2/13/18
SOS Food and Agriculture
Week 6: Raspberries
Because of the different varieties of raspberries, there is a great opportunity for farmers to extend their seasons by choosing to grow more than one. This is best exhibited through “summer bearing” and “fall bearing” varieties. Aside, from simply choosing to grow the different varieties of raspberries, you must also employ different training and pruning strategies in order to ensure that your berry season is as long and productive as possible. This can be achieved by ensuring that summer-bearing plants are pruned in a way that allows for as much yield as possible during the summer and by ensuring that fall-bearing plants are pruned in a way that reserves the plant’s energy for a large late summer/early fall crop.
For crops that fruit during early/late summer, it is best to remove floricanes as soon after harvest as possible. This is because they will not fruit again and will instead block light from the growing primocanes and will sap precious energy from the plant. Primocanes should be cut with a heading cut when they are 4 inches over the desired height in order to stiffen the cane and allow for more support. This causes the auxin in the plant to flow downward and encourage lateral growth (at least I think that’s what happens), which leads to more fruit bearing.
Fall-bearing raspberries can bear fruit in both late spring/early summer and late summer/early fall. Floricanes left in place for a second year will bear fruit at the bottom of the plant during the following season. If you wish to focus the plant’s energy on late summer/early fall production, it is best to focus on the primocanes. Allow them to grow during the summer and then harvest the fruit produced at the top of the plant. After harvest, remove the fruited part of the plant to prevent early summer fruiting. This allows for a larger primocane crop later in the season.
For both varieties, it is helpful to trellis the plants in order to protect from wind damage as well as to make harvest much easier. This is particularly helpful in the case of fall-bearing berries grown for primocane crops as their canes will be less sturdy and more susceptible to wind. For these plants, a temporary trellis is best as they are cut back frequently. This way, the trellis can be removed after fall harvest in order to cut back the planting and allow for new growth for the next season.
Carefully planning the care of these two varieties can extend a raspberries season from early summer to late fall. This is crucial for a market farmer as berries are often a hit at the market and can be a huge source of income. Even more specifically, varieties that are used in jam-making are even more helpful for creating a season that is as long as possible.