North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Diane Porter <dporter@lisco.com>]

This is good advice, tfb.

I guess we really don't care about the raspberries' color. What we  
want is sweet berries, some spread out over the summer for as much  
fresh eating as possible, and a big crop for making jam, not for  
selling.

We have good Iowa soil that has been fallow (and weedy) for five years  
and was horse pasture for five years before that. And probably corn  
before that. We thought we'd get a truckload of composted cow manure  
to spread thickly on the ground, then cover with cardboard, mulch  
heavily with straw, and plant the raspberries in holes cut though the  
cardboard.

That's the way we established our vegetable garden, without ever  
tilling the ground, and it's worked well.  The first year we plant big  
rough plants like squash and tomatoes. The second year the soil under  
the mulch is soft and friable, and after that it's like chocolate  
cake. I'm hoping that raspberries will take to this treatment as well  
as the veges have.

I guess we should get an everbearer like Caroline. I haven't seen it  
in a catalog, but I'll look soe more.

Taylor sounds good too. I don't think I've heard of it before.

Thanks again,


Diane Porter
dporter@birdwatching.com
Birdwatching Dot Com
http://www.birdwatching.com
Birdwatching is your lifetime ticket to the theater of nature.



On Feb 16, 2009, at 1:43 PM, fuwa fuwa usagi wrote:

> It was so queried:
>
> I'm in zone 5. We're looking at a red raspberry and a purple one, and
> maybe a golden one. We haven't decided exactly which yet. Maybe
> Heritage  and Royalty, and possibly Anne.
>
> My reply:
>
> In evaluating raspberries you want to consider soil type,  
> management, and ripening time in conjunction with zone.  I am not  
> sure why color matters unless you intend to have 3 varieties that  
> ripen at the same time.  Normally, a home grower (perhaps that is  
> the key, maybe this is for a commercial endeavor?) you attempt to  
> spread your harvest over a on period of time, unless you want a  
> freezing variety in which case you double or triple up on a variety  
> for that season.
>
> As a rule everbearers are much easier to handle(if managed as mono- 
> croppers) but they are late in the season relative to most varieties.
>
> You might wish to strongly look at Caroline as an everbearer that  
> has had success in many soil type s and locations.  Heritage is also  
> a very proven Everbearer that has much to recommend it.  But once  
> again consider soil types and management.  I think at this point if  
> I had to chose, given yoru zone I would take Caroline over Heritage  
> for an everbearer.
>
> Taylor is an awesome late season raspberry that I would recommend  
> everyone grow who has decent soil and can deal with the hassle of a  
> summerbearer.  I have let my land go fallow for 5 years now, while I  
> wait to replant Taylor.  We have missed it, but I have only so much  
> land.
>
> The reality is my summer bearers tend to burn out in 7-10 years, I  
> have never had that problem with an everbearer and mine are going on  
> 15 years or so.  But I manage the everbearers as mono-croppers.  I  
> have heard tales of 25 years with Heritage from homegrowers.
>
> If you have rich soil (maybe in dappled shade) I like Fall Gold.   
> Once again an everbearer.
>
> tfb
>
>
>
>
>
>
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