Raspberry Crop - 2021

This will be the fifth year for my large Raspberry Crop (see posts on First, Second, Third, and Fourth).  I have 4 32x2 foot raised beds and am growing 4 different variety of Raspberry (Prelude, Joan J, TulaMagic, and Nova).  Having 4 varieties is very nice since they all fruit at different times and have different flavor profile.

Last year I put in a lot of effort on these beds.  I dug out around them, built a concrete border and filled the void around them with sand, landscape fabric, and gravel.  I also put in water spigots next to each bed.  The weeds have been pretty well controlled with this - I do have some coming up from the gravel but they haven't been able to make any real purchase and are easily pulled.  I've done very little to take care of the beds as a result.  I would call this setup a major success compared with having this on the lawn.  

I did have an issue with the water - turns out I didn't adequately drain the system and had an above ground part of the pipe burst (hopefully that's the only problem.  Once I've fixed that I intend to put in timers and a drip irrigation system this year.

Also on the agenda near term is to use as much of last year's raspberries as I can.  I probably have close to 100 lbs in my freezer still and anticipate I'll need space for about 100 lbs more this year (based on the last couple).  Nice problem to have.

The plants started to put out growth at the beginning of April and it looks like they'll be coming back pretty strong.  Will be excited to see how this year's crop goes.  I will post monthly photo updates and status

9/12/21 - R to L - Prelude, Joan J, Tula Magic, and Nova

7/3/21 - R to L - Prelude, Joan J, Tula Magic, and Nova

6/7/21 - R to L - Prelude, Joan J, Tula Magic, and Nova

5/23/21 - R to L - Prelude, Joan J, Tula Magic, and Nova

4/19/21 - R to L - Prelude, Joan J, Tula Magic, and Nova

4/7/21 - R to L - Prelude, Joan J, Tula Magic, and Nova

Raspberry Picking Tracker:

• 6/9/21 - 13 oz
• 6/10/21 - 1 lb 4 oz
• 6/11/21 - 1 lb 14 oz
• 6/12/21 - 2 lb 8 oz
• 6/13/21 - 2 lb 7 oz
• 6/14/21 - 3 lb 10 oz 
• 6/15/21 - 3 lbs 5 oz
• 6/16/21 - 2 lbs 3 oz
• 6/17/21 - 1 lb 15 oz
• 6/18/21 - 1 lb 6 oz
• 6/19/21 - 1 lb 10 oz
• 6/20/21 - 2 lb 7 oz
• 6/21/21 - 1 lb 8 oz
• 6/22/21 - 2 lb 14 oz
• 6/23/21 - 4 lb 9 oz
• 6/24/21 - 3 lb 14 oz
• 6/25/21 - 2 lb 9 oz
• 6/26/21 - 4 lb 13 oz
• 6/27/21 - 2 lb 6 oz
• 6/28/21 - 3 lb 10 oz
• 6/29/21 - 2 lb 15 oz
• 6/30/21 - 3 lb 5 oz
• 7/1/21 - 3 lb 2 oz
• 7/2/21 - 4 lb 6 oz
• 7/3/21 - 4 lb 7 oz
• 7/4/21 - 4 lb 10 oz
• 7/5/21 - 4 lb 6 oz
• 7/6/21 - 2 lb 9 oz
• 7/7/21 - 11 oz
• 7/8/21 - 10 oz
• 7/9/21 - DNP
• 7/10/21 - 1 lb 4 oz
• 7/11/21 - DNP
• 7/12/21 - 1 lb 14 oz
• 7/13/21 - DNP
• 7/14/21 - DNP
• 7/15/21 - 12 oz

• Total:  86 lb 8 oz

Raspberry Growing Log:

• 4/7/21 - Plants getting started.  Have quite a bit of cleanup work ahead of me:

Weeds to be picked

Pipe to fix

• 4/19/21 - Fixed all the facets - turned out 3 were cracked.  Lesson learned for the end of the year - drain the system better.
• 5/16/21 -Installed a drip system using soaker hose.  I put in sprinkler timers and built a little regulator pipe system with a valve to allow me to set the right flow rate once and never have to find it again (as opposed to using the main facet).  We're looking at 2 weeks with no rain so I got this in as an urgent thing

• 5/22/21 - I gave the plants a good watering.  I think 2 hrs is about right.  I'm working to cover all these soaker hoses with a layer of compost which should protect the pipes from UV and also ensure less water is lost to evaporation (hopefully it will also encourage the water to be wicked more evenly across the entire bed
• 5/1/22 - Read about the 2022 crop here