Randy Nelson Clay County Extension
Renovate summer-bearing raspberries
Raspberries are an easy to grow fruit that is well suited for the home garden. At this time, fruit harvest is nearly complete for summer-bearing raspberries while the fall-bearing varieties have a few more weeks before harvest begins. Now is the perfect time to renovate your summer-bearing raspberries. Renovating will help ensure a good crop of easy to harvest berries for next summer.
Left unchecked, a summer-bearing raspberry patch can become an unproductive, unattractive thicket in a short time. In addition, the decreased sunlight and air circulation that results from overcrowding increases the likelihood of disease and insect damage.
To renovate, start by removing all canes that have produced fruit by cutting them off at ground level. Next, remove all broken or weak first year canes. Once completed, thin out the remaining canes so they are spaced approximately six to eight inches apart.
After thinning, check your row width. Raspberry rows should be no wider than 24 inches in order to maximize light penetration and air circulation. Remove canes that are growing outside of the row to keep the plants healthy and easy to harvest.
With a little care you will have healthy and fruitful raspberry plants next summer. If you have questions about raspberries please call me at the University of Minnesota Extension office, Clay County at 218-299-7338 or by email nels1657@umn.edu. Check out our website at https://local.extension.umn.edu/local/clay More information about raspberry care can be found at: https://z.umn.edu/raspberrycare
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