When Do Rasberries Get Ripe?

Checking for Ripeness

• The first ripe raspberries will begin to appear at the beginning of June. Ripe raspberries will be plump, a deep shade of red and will come off the vine with little resistance. If the berries are slightly discolored or hard to pull off their vine, they are not ripe. Raspberries do not ripen after they have been picked, so if they don't look ripe to begin with, do not pick them.

Summer Harvest

• The first summer raspberry harvest will occur in June, when temperatures just start warming. Most berries will ripen within days of each other, so it is important to pick at harvest time when all the raspberries have turned a deep red. A good rule of thumb is to look at individual clusters of raspberries, and if 60 percent or more are ripe, it is time to harvest.

Fall Harvest

• The fall harvest will happen around the end of August and will last a little longer than the summer harvest. While the summer harvest lasts only one to two weeks, the fall harvest will keep producing berries until the year's first frost. The big difference is that while the summer harvest will produce lots of berries at once, the fall harvest will produce a moderate amount of berries that will ripen to varying degrees over several weeks.

Keeping Raspberries Post-Harvest

• Once ripe raspberries are harvested, it is very important to use them as soon as possible. Fresh raspberries generally keep for three to seven days in a refrigerator. If you end up with a lot of extra raspberries, they can be frozen for up to one month. Once thawed, raspberries will be viable for three to seven days before they go bad.