How to Grow Raspberry Varieties

Collect a soil sample from your garden at the location you want to plant the raspberries. Use a clean spoon to scoop soil from several locations in the garden then place the soil in a bowl and mix. Send the soil sample to a local agricultural laboratory for pH, nutrient and organic matter analysis.

Amend the soil as indicated by the soil test results. Raspberries prefer soil with a pH of 5.5 to 6.5 with adequate nutrients and organic matter. Add lime to raise the soil pH or sulfur to lower the pH as necessary. Apply 25 lbs. of 10-10-10 fertilizer for every 1,000 square feet of garden area. If your soil test indicates that one or more of the needed nutrient is low or missing, chose a fertilizer that has an increased concentration of that nutrient. If you soil has less than 3 percent organic matter add organics such as sphagnum peat to the garden. Mix all of the amendments into the garden soil with a tiller.

Plant the raspberries approximately 2 to 4 feet apart in rows that are 8 to 12 feet apart. Red and yellow raspberries will grow root suckers that propagate the plant and fill in the rows. Purple and black raspberries will produce suckers from the base of the plant and will not fill in the rows. If you purchased bare-root raspberries, soak the roots in water overnight before you plant them in the garden.

Spread a 3- to 4-inch layer of mulch around the plants to control weed growth. Materials such as pine wood chips, bark and needles are good raspberry mulches because they help maintain a lower pH in the soil.

Install a trellis system for the raspberries. The trellis system will help to improve the quality of the berries and will make harvesting the fruit easier. For red and yellow raspberries, install trellis system where the end posts form a "T" or "V" shape and a wire wrapped around the outside, approximately 3 1/2 feet off the ground contains the raspberries in hedgerows. For black and purple varieties use a hill system trellis where you install single posts at each plant location and extend wire between the posts approximately 4 feet off the ground. For both systems, tie the plants loosely to the posts or wires with string to encourage spreading along the trellis.

Pull weeds from the raspberry garden as necessary and water the plants weekly if the area does not get adequate rainfall. Raspberry plants need 1 to 2 inches of water each week.

Trim diseased or damaged canes from the plants throughout the year. Cut the used floricanes to ground level after the harvest is complete. New canes will grow the following season. Since raspberry plants ripen at different times, following the pruning instructions for your specific plants closely.

Protect cold-sensitive varieties from harsh winters by laying the canes on the ground and covering them with a layer of soil at the beginning of winter. Uncover the canes in the spring.