Just wrote to Sharon and asked some questions about the Black Raspberry bushes that just arrived from her farm.
I asked: What variety of black raspberry bushes are they?
Are they summer fruiting or autumn fruiting?
Any help you can give about soil, etc. would be appreciated.
Here’s her response:
I do not know the variety name of these berrys . They were a gift from a friend when we helped him pour his garage floor 30 years ago. I started with 3 plants . They like a lot of humus and a deep leaf mulch . They grow in about 6.5 PH .
If the weather is dry when they are flowering, they should be watered at least till after fruiting . After that they are pretty drought tolerant as long as they are mulched. They seem to produce better in semi -shade with larger berries .
They bear in the early spring here, right after strawberrys. We prune them in March before they leaf out . You can grow them in a horseshoe shape OR train them onto a fence.
They are our families favorite berry and rarely seen in any market. I hope this helps . We make jelly with them and can the pure juice ,as well as make wine with them.
HAVE FUN! :)
SHARON