Raspberries.

F. C. ERKEL, FRUIT GROWER, ROCKFORD.

Raspberries are so easily grown it is surprising we do not find more farmers and back lot gardeners in the city giving them attention.  I believe more people would raise raspberries if they could be made to realize what great returns they would receive for a little work and care.  As a commercial proposition raspberries are the poor man’s friend, yielding large returns with very small investment and requiring but little land.

I will attempt to give a few essentials in raspberry culture without going into detail, with the hopes that at least a few more patches of raspberries may be planted as a result of my effort.  With the main points of raspberry culture given, there is no reason why any one with ordinary intelligence can not solve the details and meet with success.

Raspberries have a little advantage over strawberries with the man who is not greatly enthused over small fruit culture.  When once established the plantings do not have to be renewed annually but with ordinary care will last several years, in fact they will stand more Junegrass sod and weeds and general neglect and still produce results than anything else I know of unless it is apple trees.

Another point in favor of raspberries over strawberries is that it is not quite so hard on the back to pick them, and when large quantities are grown it is easier to get pickers.

Red raspberries will succeed on most any kind of soil so long as it is kept reasonably well fertilized and supplied with humus.  They prefer a moist loam, and a northern slope is preferable to a southern slope because not so quickly affected by drought.  Good drainage is necessary, and if planted on low ground where water is liable to stand at any time the ground should be tiled or otherwise drained.

Raspberries may be planted either in the fall or spring, or the plants may be dug in the fall, heeled in outside, covered with mulch, or they may be stored in the cellar and planted in spring.

Plants bought from a nursery in the spring should be unpacked immediately on arrival, the roots dipped in thin mud, then heeled in until permanently planted, even if the delay is but a day or two.

The tops of the plants should be cut, leaving but a few inches, and if any blossoms appear the first season it would be better to remove them to prevent fruiting.  It would be expecting too much of a newly transplanted plant to make much of any growth and produce fruit the same season.  If allowed to fruit the first season but little fruit could be expected at best, and it would leave the plant dwarfed if indeed it were not killed outright.

The suckers that come up the first season will produce the next season’s crop, after which they die down and should be removed, other suckers taking their places annually.  Not over two or three suckers should be allowed to each plant the first year; after the first year leave five to eight in each hill, depending on the kind of soil, fertility, etc.