North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Jim Fruth" <jfruth@tds.net>]

   My fall bearing raspberries taste sweet right up to 22 degrees when they 
freeze beyond come-back.  My secret?  My soil gets tested every year and I 
apply whatever fertilizer the soils laboratory recommends.
   When the weatherman predicts an overnight low into the lower twenties, I 
pick all berries (including stems) that have expanded.  So long as the 
peduncle stays in the berry, they will ripen.  After a day or two, they 
ripen fully and taste as good as if they were just picked.

Jim Fruth
Brambleberry Farm
Pequot Lakes, MN  56472
For jams, jellies & syrups:
www.bberryfarm.com
(877)265-6856 [Store]
(218)831-7018 [My Cell]

Here in zone 6/5 Massachusetts, I have some Heritage plants.
To be honest, I neglect them during the year.
Usually they are a bit sour.
This year, I had some extra 10-10-10 so I chucked it in the general area of 
the raspberries.
They not only responded in plant vigor, but the berries actually tasted 
sweeter.
Could have been a coincidence.

Murph