New Issue: Grow Magazine

Raspberries: An Affordable Luxury in Tough Times

comments (3) March 25th, 2009     
Ruth Ruth Dobsevage, editor
4 users recommend

Photo by Marko_K under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 License.
The raspberry patch is to the west of my kitchen garden.
Photo by Marko_K under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 License.

Photo by Marko_K under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 License.


Your 401k is tanking? Join the club. With prospects for a quick economic turnaround looking dim, now might be the time to consider a different kind of investment, one that offers reliable returns in the second year and thereafter without much risk. Think raspberries.

Raspberries are pricey at the store because they have a very short shelf life. Fortunately they are not hard to grow. My patch has an interesting history. One year I bought a few plants for my parents. About five years later, I decided it would be nice to have some too, so I dug up some canes and brought them home, where they thrived and spread.

Here in southwestern Connecticut, we enjoy fresh-picked raspbberries in the first half of July. They're yummy on granola or as a simple dessert, and sometimes they even find their way into jam.

Learn more:

Reliable Raspberries
Berries!
Bare-root raspberry canes are widely available, and early spring is the time to plant them. Summer-bearing and ever-bearing varieties are offered. I'd suggest starting with just a few plants, say five to seven. You'll have a big patch in just a few years.


posted in: berries

Comments (3)

Ruth writes: My raspberries are pretty close to the house. The deer seem happier chomping on the black raspberries (berries and canes) that are out in the back field. Actually, it's my dog that likes to grab a raspberry or two as we pass through the patch on our frequent walks. I used to net the raspberries to protect them from birds, but that was cumbersome and not essential. We now just share the crop, and we get most of it.
Posted: 2:04 pm on July 8th
rabbieag writes: Don't the deer eat the raspberries?
Posted: 1:11 pm on July 8th
ShirleyBovshow writes: I've got my raspberries growing on a beautiful dead tree! The structure of the tree is nice and the tree did not die of a disease, so I am using it to support my berries. I will post a photo soon. The vine is growing up the trunk and around the branches, creating a "fountain" and cascading effect!
Shirley
Posted: 4:00 am on March 31st
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