Today, I will give you a few tricks on how to grow raspberries. Raspberries are sweet treats that everyone likes. Therefore, they should be in every garden. Raspberries are very modest in their demands. They do like the sun, but need little care otherwise. However, one can ensure a greater harvest than normally if they are planted on a hill.

Here are a few tips and tricks for great raspberries:

Raspberry plants have an approximate life expectancy of about 10-12 years. Sometimes, hobby gardeners like to exchange plants. Even though this is a nice gesture from your friend or neighbor, I would not recommend accepting established berry plants as they frequently develop diseases. My suggestion is to get newly developed seedlings or plants from your local garden center or nursery.

Raspberries love deep, humus-rich soils with a pH value between 5 and 6.5, to ensure a steady water supply at the highest possible volume of air in the soil. A problem is if the soil becomes too compact. This may block the circulation and drainage of water. During long-lasting rain storms water clogging can easily build up in the ground, which can cause root diseases especially for this kind of berry plant.

Best planting time is in fall. Keep the plants about 2 feet apart to allow room to expand and enough light for the fruits. In an area that gets plenty of sunlight, dig up the ground to about 6-12 inches deep, and about 1 – 1½ feet in diameter.

Mix the excavated soil well with mature compost. If you don’t have compost dirt available, you can use mulch instead or get some pre-mixed soil with fertilizer at your garden center. Now pile the mixture to about 1 feet high at the point where you dug the ground.

An important note: Make sure that the roots of your plant have not dried out. If this is the case, put the root(s) in water and let them soak for two to three hours before planting. Plant the roots (you can also try growing them from seeds, but you will have a better chance of developing growing plants from seedlings) about 6 inches deep into the soil pile. Put a layer of mulch on top to keep the moisture in the ground for a better development of the plants.

A 5-6 feet trellis will help support the growth of the plants.

Water the raspberry plants enough to keep the soil moist during the summer season. In mid to late summer, you will be able to start picking raspberries, and sometimes all the way to late fall.

Keep the ground moist outside of the growing season to assure the roots won’t dry out. Add some fresh compost soil around the plant once a year, and you will keep having great raspberries every year.