PARADISE, Cache County — Raspberries are a tasty garden treat!
Who can resist these divine, sweet, melt-in-your-mouth berries straight from the patch, in jams, juices or other treats?
For more information on raspberries, I visited Weeks Berries of Paradise in Cache Valley.
Merv Weeks, his wife, Clara Jean, and three of his sons run the farm, which includes 25-30 acres of raspberries, three acres of blackberries, 10 acres of currants, two acres of strawberries and Utah's only commercial blueberry planting.
My association with Merv Weeks goes back many years. We attended Brigham Young University together and later completed master's degrees at Utah State University. It was while working and doing research there that Weeks got the idea to start his own fruit farm.
Weeks' first farm consisted of two acres of raspberries in Millville in 1974. He grew a test planting in Paradise and found the soil and the rural area more conducive to his crop and eventually moved there. In 1987, he left USU to become a full-time grower.
Weeks has seen almost every challenge and problem that occurs on small fruits, so he is well-qualified to share his knowledge on growing these delightful berries.
Part of the success of Weeks' farm is the location. Raspberries prefer cooler temperatures and are very cold-hardy. If you want to grow berries at your home, keep them away from the south or west sides of buildings that accumulate heat. Such areas stunt the plant growth and reduce berry size.
Look at the kind of raspberry you want to grow. Raspberries come in red, black and purple (a red-black hybrid) and yellow. The purple and black are not as cold-hardy.
Red raspberries are divided into single crop — or summer-bearing plants — and everbearing types that have a summer crop and a fall crop.
"Most homeowners should grow both the single crop and the everbearing types because that lets them have fresh raspberries for at least three months," Weeks said. If you don't want to deal with raspberries for that long of time, grow the summer crop berries and get them all at once, Weeks said.
Raspberries are perennial plants with biennial canes. With June-bearing cultivars, the fruit is born on two-year-old wood, and after it bears, it dies. Each spring gardeners should remove all the dead, gray and brittle canes at the base, leaving the living canes that will produce this year's crop.
Prune ever-bearing raspberries using one of two methods. If you want a large fall crop and no summer crop, mow all the canes back to 2 to 4 inches in the spring. If you want a summer and fall crop, prune them the same as June-bearing types.
As for variety, Weeks has tried many different ones over the years and sees the best and the worst of each.
"We look for many things as we look for the best varieties," he said, "but one of the most important is disease resistance. Canby is a good single-crop berry except for the fact that it is not as disease resistant. Cowichan has better disease resistance but is not as available to homeowners."
"Ruby is another good one that we are growing, and for an old-fashioned raspberry favorite, it's hard to beat Summit. I do have to say that my wife is an excellent judge of berries, and she thinks that Heritage is the very best."
Because diseases are such a problem, Weeks recommends planting certified virus-free plants. If you transplant plants from old neighborhood patches, you bring with you all of the accumulated diseases and other pests, and your plants will likely fail in two to three years.
Weeks also stresses the importance of two growth factors. "Water is more important than fertilizer, but they both are critical to good, high-quality berries. It is critical that you pay attention to the water needs from the time the plant blooms until you finish picking the fruit. If you stress the plants, they do not produce," he said.
It is also important to avoid overwatering. Watering too early in the season often cools the soil temperature and slows root growth. It also restricts oxygen to the roots, which aggravates iron chlorosis or yellowing of the leaves. This problem is much worse with heavy clay alkaline soils.
In addition to myriad fresh berries, the family produces many processed products, including freezer jams and fruit drinks. The berries are available seasonally at their stand on Highway 89 in Wellsville and at the Farmers Market in Park City and in Pioneer Park. You can also get the products at the farm by calling 435-245-3377.
Larry A. Sagers is the horticulture specialist, Utah State University Extension at Thanksgiving Point.