Black Raspberries

I remember as a child a long row or two of raspberries in my Grandpa’s garden. If I remember correctly, he had black and red raspberries.  I recall how the row had T-posts at each end and along the strip every so often. In between there was string tided at two levels to support the shoots and keep them from falling over.  I do not recall being a big fan of the fruit eat fresh, but I always enjoyed the black raspberry jelly made and canned by my Grandma.  I remember eating that yummy jelly with butter on bread. 

As I have slowed down the last couple years and given attention to what is happening on this 11 acres, I discovered black raspberries growing freely.  I enjoyed a bowl of fresh fruit a few seasons.  In the fall of 2017 my Dad helped me transplant 7-9 plants that were growing along the house. We may have removed half of what was growing there.  The crazy thing to me is that I did not plant them.  Actually that area had been more or less let go and the black raspberries had come up on their own. I had decided to plant my own little patch in the intended garden location.  We dug up the sod, drove fence posts and planted the pruned black raspberries. 

Fast forward to last summer, 2018.  I had begun attending a local farmer’s market in Bremen, Indiana.  Giving thought to what other items I had to sell at the market, I decided to begin picking the black raspberries growing on the property. I knew they seemed to thrive along the woods. I found two spots where the plants were abundant. One spot in particular produced the largest, sweetest berries.  The few plants my Dad and I had transplanted a couple years past were only a drop in the bucket compared to all the plants available to pick from last summer.

I did in fact take some berries to market to sell. I spent a bit of time sharing the company of my parents as we picked one afternoon and enjoyed sending them home with the bounty.  I even froze a few small containers of them to savor at a later date.  They proved to be a delicious treat in the heat of August, pulling out whole frozen black raspberries to cool down on a hot, humid day.  I stretched out eating of the last container of them well into January. 

As you can see, over the last year black raspberries have made a delightful impression on me.  I observed where the larges berries developed.  I remembered hearing my grandfather speaking of pruning black raspberries.  I researched information as to how exactly this pruning is to be conducted. I learned that pruning black raspberries takes place in March and April.  As side note: Black Raspberries and Red Raspberries are pruned differently.  Red Raspberries can produce 2 times a year based on how they are cared for.  These past couple weeks I begin the process of pruning Black Raspberries here on CG Heartbeats Farm.

A black raspberry plant grows at its tips and grows ‘branches’ as these extend, they fall back down to the ground.  They will grow roots where they hit the ground.  A wonderful creation of continued life.  I am conducting a bit of a trial to see how this works going forward.

I trimmed the canes and removed dead ones.  A black raspberry cane lives only 2 years.  I am experimenting as I said. I left the shoots that had fallen to the ground and grew roots. I am hoping these will form new plants to be transplanted this fall. 

I am looking forward to picking black raspberries, having fresh fruit and taking their bounty to the farmers market. But I might be even more excited to eat frozen ones in the heat of summer. I was dreaming of eating delicious black raspberries, along with memories of days gone by, I pruned black raspberries.