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?