Mulching For Raspberries

Work composted manure into the soil where you’re planning on planting your raspberry patch. Make sure the manure is well worked in, not just placed on top of the soil. This will improve the soil structure and provide good nutrition for the plants. Use about 3 1/2 cubic feet of composted manure to 100 square feet of the garden

Plant red raspberries where they will have good drainage and full sun in early spring. Set the plants in narrow hedgerows, one plant every 2 to 3 feet in rows at least 6 feet apart. Set black and purple raspberries at four feet between plants and 8 to 10 feet between rows.

Pick a mulch. Wood chips and bark resist compacting, don’t blow away and are attractive, but make sure you’re getting properly aged or composted material. Non-aged mulch can be toxic to plants during their decomposition process. Avoid walnut chips or bark. Straw is inexpensive, keeps weeds away, conserves moisture and insulates well, but it isn’t attractive and may contain weed or crop seeds. Sawdust can be used, but it cakes, making it hard to get water to the berry plants, and it robs nitrogen from the soil. Be sure to add extra nitrogen fertilizer to the soil if you use sawdust. Shredded leaves and grass clippings decompose quickly, and layers of newspapers need to be weighed down. All these mulch materials will suppress weeds and conserve water and soil moisture, which is what you’re looking for. Choose the mulch that will work best in your situation and you can afford.

Lay down about 6 to 8 inches of your chosen mulch between rows and around the plants. Use the pitchfork to place mulch in the rows and smooth it with the hand trowel. Keep mulch even, don’t build it up around the plant as the roots need to breathe.

Weed regularly between rows and around plants if you choose not to use mulch. You’ll likely get the best yields from the berries using mulch, but clean cultivation -- keeping the patch free of weeds -- is the next best. Hand weed around the plants and hoe in between the rows.