Raspberries are a delicious fruit that many gardeners love to grow at home. While raspberries can be grown directly in the ground, raised garden beds offer significant advantages for getting the most out of your raspberry harvest. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about using raised beds for growing raspberries.
What are the Benefits of Raised Beds for Raspberries?
There are several key reasons why raised garden beds are ideal for raspberries:
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Improved drainage – Raspberries need soil that drains well Raised beds allow excess moisture to drain away more easily compared to regular garden beds Good drainage prevents soggy soil and root rot,
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Customized soil mix – With a raised bed, you can fill the frame with a sandy loam soil that’s ideal for raspberry growth. The soil pH can be optimized between 55-65.
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Containment – Raspberries spread vigorously Raised beds keep the plants neatly contained and prevent the roots from taking over your yard
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Easier maintenance – Working in a raised bed reduces back strain. The plants are right at your fingertips for easy pruning, harvesting, and care.
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Warmer soil – Raised beds warm up quicker in spring than ground-level soil. This allows the raspberry plants to grow faster and produce fruit earlier.
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Pest protection – Rodents and other crawling pests can’t access the raspberry canes as easily with a raised bed design.
7 Steps for Growing Raspberries in a Raised Bed
Follow these 7 simple steps for planting and caring for raspberries in a raised garden bed:
1. Choose a Sunny Location
Select a spot in your yard that receives full sun for 6-8 hours per day. Raspberries need lots of sunlight. Morning sun with some afternoon shade is ideal.
2. Build a Raised Bed Frame
Construct a raised bed that’s at least 8-12 inches deep and 2-3 feet wide. Use untreated lumber secured with brackets at the corners.
3. Fill with Sandy Loam Soil
Mix one part compost into three parts sandy loam soil. Fill the frame with this blend for optimal drainage and nutrients.
4. Plant Raspberry Canes
Allow 18-24 inches of space between plants. Dig holes and plant bare-root or potted raspberry canes in spring.
5. Add a Layer of Mulch
Apply 2-4 inches of mulch like wood chips or straw around the raspberry plants to conserve moisture and deter weeds.
6. Install a Trellis
Add a trellis along the raised bed for the raspberry canes to climb up and grow on. This keeps the plants tidy and makes harvesting easier.
7. Prune and Care for the Plants
Prune out old canes after fruiting. Water 1-2 inches per week. Fertilize in early spring. Weed and monitor for pests.
Constructing the Perfect Raised Bed for Raspberries
Here are some key tips for building an ideal raised garden bed for your raspberries:
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Use rot-resistant wood like cedar or redwood that won’t leach chemicals. Avoid treated lumber.
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Build the frame 20+ inches tall to accommodate the raspberry roots. Leave some extra room for adding mulch.
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Make the bed at least 2 feet wide for a single row of raspberry plants. Allow 3-4 feet for two staggered rows.
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Include vertical posts every 4-5 feet around the inside of the frame for installing trellises and wires later.
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Add brackets to reinforce the corners for stability. Galvanized metal brackets last longer than wooden blocks.
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Position the raised bed so the open side faces the direction that gets the most sun – usually south or southeast.
Caring for Raspberries in a Raised Bed
Follow these tips for looking after your raised bed raspberries through each season:
Spring
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Apply fertilizer and compost before new growth emerges.
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Prune out dead floricanes from the previous season.
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Train new primocanes up the trellis.
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Weed and mulch around plants.
Summer
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Water 1-2 inches per week. Check soil moisture regularly.
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Harvest ripe raspberry fruits often to encourage more production.
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Trim primocanes when they reach the top of the trellis.
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Scout for pests like spotted wing drosophila.
Fall
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Continue picking fall-bearing raspberry varieties in late summer/autumn.
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Prune out floricanes after harvest to make room for new canes.
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Apply 1-2 inches of new mulch before winter.
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Consider installing a removable plastic cover to protect from frost.
Winter
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Prune any remaining old floricanes down to the ground.
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Check for rodent damage and fill any holes.
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Remove plastic covers once the worst of winter passes.
Troubleshooting Common Problems
Here are solutions to some potential issues that may arise with raspberries in raised beds:
Yellow leaves – This often indicates overwatering. Allow the soil to dry out somewhat between waterings.
Wilting plants – Drought stress is the likely cause. Raspberries need consistent moisture. Increase watering frequency.
Poor drainage – Improve drainage by mixing compost into the soil and avoiding soil compaction.
Small fruit – Lack of sun, excessive nitrogen, or overcrowding can lead to small berries.
No fruit – Failure to prune floricanes or not enough pollinators may be the source of the problem.
Pests/disease – Take proactive measures like row covers, proper pruning, and rotating crops.
Ideal Raspberry Varieties for Raised Beds
Here are some top raspberry cultivars that are well-suited to raised garden beds:
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Heritage – An everbearing, hardy, large-fruited red raspberry variety.
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Caroline – A yellow variety that produces sweet, conical berries all summer long.
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Jewel – A black raspberry that withstands heat well and has superior flavor.
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Autumn Bliss – A late-season producer with big, sweet red berries perfect for fall harvests.
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Polka – A compact, highly productive red raspberry that thrives in containers and smaller spaces.
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Brandywine – An unusual purple raspberry with antioxidant-rich berries that store well after harvest.
The Benefits of Homegrown Raspberries
Growing raspberries in raised beds allows you to enjoy the many perks of homegrown berries:
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Harvest and eat berries immediately after picking for unbeatable flavor and texture.
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Get higher-quality, sweeter berries that aren’t subjected to long shipping times.
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Grow rare and expensive raspberry varieties that are seldom found in stores.
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Reduce waste – grow exactly how many raspberry plants you need for eating fresh and preserving.
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Pick berries at their peak ripeness. Store-bought berries are often harvested early.
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Save money. Homegrown raspberries cost a fraction of what you’d pay at the grocery store.
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Freeze, can, or preserve abundant harvests to enjoy out-of-season.
With the right raised bed setup and care, you’ll be harvesting bucketloads of juicy, homegrown raspberries each summer!
Table Raspberry cultivars
Summer-bearing red or yellow raspberry – One crop per season on floricane
- ‘Cascade Delight’: Zones 6–9
- ‘Cascade Harvest’: Zones 6–9
- ‘Meeker’: Zones 5–8
- ‘Willamette’: Zones 5–8
- ‘Canby’: Zones 4–7
- ‘Boyne’: Zones 3–7
- ‘Encore’: Zones 4–7
- ‘Killarney’: Zones 4–7
- ‘AC Eden’: Zones 4–8
- ‘Prelude’: Zones 4–8
- ‘Cascade Gold’ (yellow): Zones 5–8
Everbearing red or yellow raspberry Up to two crops per season
- ‘Vintage’: Zones 4–7
- ‘Heritage’: Zones 4–8
- ‘Caroline’: Zones 4–8
- ‘Joan J’: Zones 4–8
- ‘Polana’: Zones 3–8
- ‘Anne’ (yellow): Zones 4–7
- ‘Fall Gold’ (yellow): Zones 4–8
Black or purple raspberry Summer-bearing; one crop per season
- ‘Jewel’ (black): Zones 5–8
- ‘Brandywine’ (purple): Zones 4–8
- ‘Royalty’ (purple): Zones 4–8
Photo: Bernadine Strik Photo: Bernadine Strik Photo: Bernadine Strik Photo: Bernadine Strik Photo: Bernadine Strik Photo: Bernadine Strik
‘Jewel’ black raspberry vines and fruit. Photo: Bernadine Strik
Raspberry plantings are productive for five to 15 years, depending on berry type, soil and pest pressure. Carefully select a site best for optimal planting life. Ideal environmental conditions for raspberries are full sun exposure and fertile, well-drained, sandy loam or clay loam soils with moderate water-holding capacity. While plants can tolerate partial shade, yield and fruit quality may be lower. Raspberry plants are sensitive to wet or heavy soils and are susceptible to root rot (see “Common problems”). Raised beds or mounded rows, if constructed correctly, can create enough height for adequate drainage, if necessary (Figure 8). If possible, avoid spots in your yard exposed to high winds, which may make ripe fruit fall during fruiting or increase the risk of winter cold injury to primocanes.
Raspberries, especially blackcaps, are also susceptible to verticillium wilt, a soil-dwelling fungal disease (see “Common problems”). Avoid planting in sites where other verticillium-susceptible crops (such as strawberries, kiwifruits, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers or eggplant) and numerous ornamental trees, especially maples, have been planted in the past five years. Being aware of alternate hosts and changing crops will also disrupt other soilborne pest and disease cycles.
Figure 8. Primocane-fruiting raspberry growing in a raised bed. Photo: Bernadine Strik
Table 2. Recommended soil nutrient ranges for raspberries
- Phosphorus (P)
- Bray 1 testing method: Deficient at less than 20–40 ppm
- Olsen testing method: Deficient at less than 10 ppm
- Potassium (K): Deficient at less than 150–350 ppm
- Calcium (Ca): Deficient at less than 1,000 ppm
- Magnesium (Mg): Deficient at less than 120 ppm
- Boron (B): Deficient at less than 0.5–1.0 ppm
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Figure 24A. Summer-bearing red raspberry pruning. Dying floricanes are yellow, whereas new primocanes are green. Photo: Bernadine Strik
Figure 24B, left. Prune dying floricanes at crown level. Avoid cutting out green primocanes. Figure 24C, middle. Bundle of dying floricanes removed from one plant. Note the presence of fruiting laterals that supported the fruit. Figure 24D, right. Primocanes remaining after caning out the dying floricanes. Tuck canes between the wires. Photo: Bernadine Strik
Pruning in winter involves caning out the dead floricanes (if that wasn’t done in summer), and pruning and training the primocanes. In the Willamette Valley and southwestern Oregon, prune anytime from December through February. However, in colder production regions such as central, eastern and southeastern Oregon, prune as late as possible in winter to reduce the risk of winter cold injury and to remove any cold-damaged tissue (see “Common problems”).
Cane out any dead floricanes present by cutting them at their base. Prune the remaining primocanes by removing weak, broken, diseased and insect-damaged canes. For hedgerow plantings, remove any primocanes that are outside the 6- to 12-inch-wide hedgerow by pruning or tilling. If you are growing plants in the hill system, leave all the healthy primocanes in the hill area and remove any that are growing between hills or plants and outside the row area. Tuck the primocanes between the lower movable wires (Figure 18A).
You may choose one of several primocane-training options in the hill system or hedgerow system. Primocanes may be topped to remove the very thin top growth (in all regions), or to the trellis height of about 6 to 6.5 feet if canes are longer. In the hill system, bundle the canes and tie the bundles to the top trellis wire (Figure 25). You may also tie canes individually to the trellis wires in the hill system or in the hedgerow, as this promotes good bud break and yield.
In plantings with more vigor and where primocanes are 7 to 10 feet tall, you can choose an arc-cane training system. Slightly tip the canes in late winter to remove very thin growth. Tie the cane bundle to the top wire and loop it down, tying the end to a lower training wire or along the top wire, depending on cane length (Figure 26). You may also tie canes individually to the trellis wires in the hill system or in the hedgerow, as this promotes better bud break and yield.
Figure 25. Summer-bearing red raspberry pruning and training. Bundled and topped training in the hill system. Photo: Bernadine Strik
Figure 26. Summer-bearing red raspberry pruning and training. Arc-cane training in the hill system. Photo: Bernadine Strik
Figure 27. Everbearing raspberry primocanes growing. Maintain a row width of 12–18 inches by pruning the outer primocanes from each side during the growing season. Photo: Bernadine Strik
Grow everbearing red or yellow raspberries in a hedgerow. During the growing season, maintain the hedgerow to a width of 12 to 18 inches by tilling or hoeing any primocanes outside the row (Figure 27). Tuck the remaining primocanes between the trellis wires. Pruning in winter will depend on whether you are producing one or two crops per year.
If you are growing your everbearing raspberries for a double crop (floricane and primocane crop) per season, you will need to prune out the dying or dead floricanes after harvest (caning out). Cane out immediately after harvest only if there are cane diseases evident on the dying floricanes (see “Common problems”). Otherwise, leave caning out until winter so you minimize risk of damaging the primocanes, which may be flowering.
Pruning in winter involves caning out the dead floricanes (if that wasn’t done in summer) and pruning the primocanes. In the Willamette Valley or southwestern Oregon, prune any time from December through February. In colder production regions such as central, eastern and southeastern Oregon, prune as late as possible in winter to reduce the risk of winter cold injury and to remove any cold-damaged tissue (see “Common problems”).
Cane out any dead floricanes present by cutting them at their base; these canes will be shorter than the primocanes and will be dead from their tip to their base with dead fruiting laterals evident (Figure 28A). Prune the remaining primocanes by first removing any that are outside the 12- to 18-inch-wide hedgerow by cutting them at their base or tilling. Then cut out any weak, diseased or damaged primocanes that are within the hedgerow. Remove the dead tips of the remaining primocanes; these portions of the canes fruited last late summer to fall. If you don’t remove these dead tips, you will see the base of the cane produce fruiting laterals in the spring when it is a floricane (Figure 28B). In winter, cut off the dead primocane tip by pruning a couple of nodes below the dead portion (Figure 28C). Do this for all canes in the row (Figure 28D). These floricanes will produce the early summer crop. The late-summer-to-fall crop will be produced on the top portion of new primocanes that emerge.
Figure 28A. Pruning everbearing raspberries for a double crop. Photo: Bernadine Strik
Figure 28B. This floricane was not pruned to remove the dead tip in the prior winter. Photo: Bernadine Strik
Figure 28C. Pruning to remove the dead tip that fruited during late summer to fall. Photo: Bernadine Strik
Figure 28D. Everbearing raspberry after pruning for a double crop in winter. Photo: Bernadine Strik
You can grow everbearing raspberries for only a primocane or late-season crop. This is common when you have the space to grow both summer-bearing and everbearing raspberries. You will get a higher yield on the floricanes of summer-bearing cultivars, which is an advantage if you like to make jam or freeze fruit.
If you are only growing everbearing raspberries for a single crop, cut all the canes to just above ground level in late winter (March) (Figure 29). Primocanes will emerge in the spring. Keep the hedgerow to a width of 12 to 18 inches (Figure 27) and tuck the primocanes between the trellis wires.
Figure 29. Everbearing raspberry after pruning for a single crop. Photo: Bernadine Strik
Planting Raspberries in Our New Raised Beds! // Garden Answer
FAQ
Do raspberries grow well in raised beds?
Yes, you can grow raspberries in raised beds. It is good to till the ground first to give the roots a direction to grow towards when you add the bed on top. It is also helpful to mulch the raised bed.
What size planter box for raspberries?
Plant In Container
Choose a container (16” or larger in diameter and at least 12” deep is ideal).
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