Renae Writes: Raspberries and Perennials

I asked Daniel today as we were harvesting green beans (my favorite crop to harvest) what his favorite crop was to harvest.  Salad mix was at the top of his list followed by raspberries.  Maybe it is the newness of the crop or the fact that we enjoy a berry or two with a sunned blemish on it.  Either way he brought to my attention our raspberry crop and I thought it would be fun to tell you about it.  I'm getting excited for next years’ crop already!  Before I delve too far, I wanted to warn you--we have yet to bring in a big enough harvest for CSA distribution but we have been keeping them stocked at the market. 

First, back to the harvesting of the raspberries:  We harvest them using a harness that clips onto a cherry lug, in which we set the pint containers.  The motion is more efficient as the containers are just above our waist no matter if we have to bend down to get a low berry or stretch up. 

The raspberries were planted last spring, actually the day Rachel and Guy were welcoming Jessie into this world!  A year and a half later, we have healthy berries and a 17 month old that enjoys feasting on the berries on her morning walk with Grandma Jaclyn.  Raspberries are a perennial crop and many of you may attest to perennials being a challenge.  Not only is there invitation to perennial weeds but in our case neglect.  Annual crops are the majority of what we grow on our 2.5 acres.  Annuls, after we harvest them, are simply worked back into the soil.  Perennials need a little more TLC, year after year.  To be honest, seeing the crop that has come from the raspberry patch already makes me even more excited about caring for these new babies.  And maybe even adding some more plants next year? 

We planted a few different varieties in order to maximize the length harvest time.  For example the Joan J and the Prelude are an earlier berry whereas the Encore and Caroline are later.  There is the yellow, my favorite, surprisingly out beating the traditional red raspberries with its sweetness and texture. 

Keep your eyes open for an early spring crop of asparagus straight from the Sunshine fields.  Asparagus is another perennial we planted last spring and 2011 will be its third year.  Hopefully this post is not a tease, but will just spread excitement for the veggies (and berries) to come!