Raising Raspberries (landscaping/drainage question)

[makattak]

So, while perusing tractor supply company, we discovered they had some raspberry bushes for sale. My wife fell in love with the idea.

Having grown up in the midwest, I remembered raspberries as growing wild without the slightest bit of cultivation, so I was interested as well. We didn't purchase them at the time as there was still snow on the ground and wouldn't be able to plant this weekend anyway.

Researching more, raspberries like soil with good drainage. We have a thick clay soil- not so hot drainage.

SO, to alleviate this, I'm thinking to dig down about 6-12", add a layer of gravel/rock for drainage, refill with soil and then add a raised bed above that (12") with a topsoil/compost mixture into which the bushes would be planted.

Am I missing something that I should be concerned about?

For example, would that gravel bed just provide a place for the surrounding soil to dump water into, negating the drainage of the soil above?

[mtnbkr]

I'm not sure I'd even go with the gravel, just dig your hole and backfill with topsoil.  I don't know how different they are, but I see blackberries growing in the worst conditions and still putting out lots of berries.  Hell, anything to control their growth is probably worthwhile.

Chris

[brimic]

I had some nice raspberries growing at my last house- in thick, heavy clay soil, in a low spot in my yard, with terrible drainage.
Edit: I plan on planting some at my new house this spring along my back lot line.

[Kingcreek]

Raised bed with black dirt and a little compost = well drained.
forget digging and gravel. Keep it simple. 6-8" sides above ground level will work just fine.

[zxcvbob]

And learn how to prune them.  I suspect you cut all the one-year-old canes off after they bear, and leave the new growth to bear next year.

[roo_ster]

Raised bed or raised linear mound.

We grew blackberries in the nastiest, rockiest clay soil you could imagine.  The big determinant of berry harvest and sweetness was the amount of water they got.  Little water = few sour berries.

[zxcvbob]

So, while perusing tractor supply company, we discovered they had some raspberry bushes for sale. My wife fell in love with the idea.

Do they have baby chicks yet?  They are sooo cute; your wife NEEDS a bunch of them.  And maybe a baby duck...   

(especially if you live in the city) 

[41magsnub]

I had a section of useless yard covered in old landscape fabric and river rock.  I just cut holes and moved a few rocks to get raspberries and blackberries in there.  They get overspray from the lawn sprinklers and have done great for 2 years now.  Under the fabric is maybe 3 inches of decent dirt and then clay.

[charby]

Lots of sunlight, raspberries love sun.

Raspberries are a pioneer plant species, just plant them in your yard, add some compost if you want.

[tokugawa]

Got room in the freezer? You will be knee deep in berries. And get used to picking in a cloud of honey bees.... 

[makattak]

Thank you all for saving me a good amount if time and work.

And we went to see the chicks. Just see, not buy- they don't have the type of ducks I want. ;D

[Cliffh]

I was cautioned about digging in clay for a garden; if the sides and/or bottom are "glazed" you'll end up with basically a swimming pool full of dirt, the water won't be able to drain out of the hole.

[Regolith]

I was cautioned about digging in clay for a garden; if the sides and/or bottom are "glazed" you'll end up with basically a swimming pool full of dirt, the water won't be able to drain out of the hole.

Pro-tip: score the sides of the hole after digging it. That allows the water to drain out.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

The clay in our garden is bad we dug down and drain tiled it


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk