Framboise Rouge

In the foreground is our raspberry patch.  

It’s not very large and the variety(s) of raspberries we planted decades ago is lost to history.  Most springs I prune and remove any dead canes and give it a good fertilizer drench formulated specifically for raspberries.  While it is hardly neglected it doesn't receive the level of attention a commercial raspberry grower would give it such as tidy straight rows, diligent weeding and a trellis.  We have an old school briar patch.  This year I was worried that our modest berry patch might have been done-in.  Finis.

Over winter the rabbits (or some other critter) chomped every single live plant down to ground level.  I had to remove only a handful of dead canes and there wasn't much to observe above ground.  Nevertheless, I fertilized it and crossed my fingers.  And as it warmed-up, sure enough, raspberry leaves emerged from the ground and plants began to grow.  So I fertilized it again; and a month later fertilized it a third time for good measure.  I even went in there with a string trimmer and cleared as much of the grass and weeds as I could taking pains to avoid cutting any of the raspberries.

And in the last week the berries began to ripen.  And there are a lot of them.  The dog and I go out to the patch nearly every day to pick berries; and it looks like we're gonna be busy for a while.  On a good day I estimate we'll gather almost a pint.  Doggo is fond of eating the low-hanging fruit and I pick the rest.  And eat some along the way.  Consequently, we've got seasonal raspberries for table fare.  Given the cost of diesel to get raspberries to the produce department of a local grocery nowadays, these gems are worth their weight in gold.

 

And we're freezing them for a wintertime treat.  You haven't lived until you've had one of Jill's smoothies made with Greek yogurt, local honey and our own frozen raspberries.