Raspberries are delicious right out of the garden.
Raspberries never taste sweeter than when eaten fresh from your own garden. Raspberries are relatively easy to grow and can produce enough fruit each year for the whole family to enjoy. Most raspberry plants have sharp spikes, but some varieties are thornless or nearly thornless. Red raspberries tolerate cold best and produce the largest fruit. Summer-bearing raspberries produce only one crop annually. Everbearing raspberries produce one crop in the summer and a second in autumn. Nova thornless raspberries do not produce fruit until their second year.
Thornless Raspberry Varieties
Breeders develop new cultivars every year. Look for the latest varieties to buy, because newer cultivars tend to have better disease resistance, larger berries and good flavor. Thornless Canby is a high-yield plant that grows in USDA hardiness zones 5 through 8. Canby grows 4 to 6 feet tall and has a spread of 3 to 5 feet. Reveille is a red raspberry that, while not quite thornless, has very small spines. The plant produces massive crops of fruit in June and a smaller crop in late fall. Reveille has slender canes and needs a trellis for support. Also virtually thornless, Nova produces bright red raspberries early in the summer. Mammoth Red grows in zones 4 through 8 and produces red berries. Caroline is a fall-bearing red raspberry, suitable for growing in zones 4 through 9.
When to Plant
Plant thornless raspberries any time from late winter to early spring. Plant the raspberries 6 feet apart in rows 12 feet apart. Plant thornless raspberries on a hill or raised planting bed and provide a high trellis for the plant to climb on for support.
Cultivation
Raspberries are tolerant of different soil types, but produce the best growth and tastiest fruit when you grow them in sandy, loamy soil mixed liberally with organic matter. The soil pH should be between 5.8 and 6.5. If your soil is not well drained, plant the raspberries in a raised bed. Make sure the site receives at least six hours of sunlight each day. Raspberries do not get along with wild blackberry or raspberry, and do not care for soil that previously held tomato, eggplant or potato crops. Keep weeds out of the raspberry patch and mulch the plants with straw or sawdust to prevent weeds and conserve water.
Pruning
Thornless raspberries start life trailing along the ground. During the first year, if canes are less than 4 feet long, prune them back in late winter to force more vigorous growth in spring and greater fruit production. Once the canes are 4 to 6 feet long and healthy, carefully tie them to a trellis. Caroline and Nova thornless raspberry plants may be pruned during the summer and may not need a trellis. Prune old, damaged or weak canes once all the raspberries are harvested.
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