In the Garden

Written By: Bob and Linda Larson  |  Posted: Tuesday, August 17th, 2010

"How sweet are thy words unto my taste! Yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!" - Psalm 119:103

Raspberries grow best in any good garden soil, provided it is well drained to a depth of 3 feet and can hold moisture. A pH range of 5.8 to 6 is recommended but raspberries will grow well almost anywhere if you keep the weeds down and add some lawn clippings or rotten leaves to keep organic matter in the soil. You can also add 10-10-10 commercial fertilizer to the soil if you wish.
Because raspberries are susceptible to plant diseases which I will discuss later, it is important to select plants that are free from diseases. You can buy plants from a nursery catalog or store (usually shipped as bare root plants), or transplant them from a neighbor's garden.
Soak bare root plants in a bucket of water for about two hours before planting, and leave them there until you put them in the ground. The hole for your plant should be about one and a half times larger than the root mass. Fan out the roots, then set the plant in the hole and add more soil to keep the plant in place. Add loose soil mixed with organic matter up to the level the plant was at originally.

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