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One sure sign of spring is Asian beetles in my coffee cup, another is Jim Birkholz kicking off our spring series of classes, and the Bonanza. The Asian beetles will be going outside for the summer and Jim's class will be history by the time this article comes out. But the Bonanza is just ahead. The spring Bonanza and Town Country Expo will is Saturday, March 14, 8:30-3 p.m., at the Abundant Life Church outside of North Branch.

Although raspberries are one of the bare root plants we offer for sale through the Chisago County Master Gardeners, we will not offer a class on how to raise them this year. I hope this article will help you in raising raspberries.

Raspberries need full sun and good soil is important, especially when starting raspberries. This is because 90 percent of the root system is in the top inches of soil where the root must take up moisture and nutrients. They will not tolerate poorly drained soil. Even temporary water-saturated soil conditions can cause serious injury. This includes poor cane growth and increased incidents of soil-borne disease and plant death.

Raspberries grow best in soil with a pH between 5.5 and 6.5. They will not grow well in soil with a pH below 5.5 and iron deficiency may occur in soils with a pH above 7.0. They also need good air-movement but also some protection from high winds.

There are two types of raspberries suited for our area. Summer bearing raspberries produce berries once a year, usually the first part of July. After the harvest has ended the canes that produced in July will die back. It is best if those canes can be cut off at ground level and removed before winter. The canes that are green are the ones that will produce next July. Next spring cut the canes back to about four feet. I don't like to cut them lower because of the risk of them just bushing out, and it cuts down production.

For the past few years we have offered Killarney as our summer bearing variety. This year we switched to Boyne for a couple of reasons. One reason is that the canes may be more durable than the Killarney and the fruit may be sweeter. Boyne is an old time favorite for summer bearing raspberries. In fact, if there were raspberries on the place where you grew up or if you moved to a place where they were already established, chances are they are Boyne.

We offer two everbearing raspberries for sale this year. Heritage is a long time favorite that has large sized fruit and is very firm. The canes are tall and vigorous that stand very erect and need no support. The only draw back for Heritage is that they are not in full production until mid-September. If we get an early frost you will lose the main production season. I have been raising and selling Heritage for many years and most years this is not a factor.

However, this is the main reason we also offer the Autumn Britten everbearing. They start producing around mid-August and are in full production by September 1. Autumn Britten has a large sweet berry and as it is with all the plants we sell, it is winter hardy. The berry is not as firm as Heritage, nor are the canes as durable, but for your own use, it is a great choice.

One real advantage of the everbearing raspberry is you can prune it within three to four inches from the ground after the ground freezes, and be done with it.

If you have any questions about raising raspberries or any of the other bare root plants we are selling, you can ask any Master Gardener at the March 14 Bonanza. If you order any bare root plants from us you will receive information when you pick up your plants.

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