Berries take love to grow, and a lot of it. However, the reward is always worth it, because what you put into your patch will grow exponentially.

With more berries than we could even sell, our year old patch has been a hit this past year. We sold hundreds of pints and we still had berries when our killing frosts hit. It has been incredible to watch this patch grow.

Now that winter is here, and the roots have build up their stores to grow the canes next year, it was time to cut the patch down. One of the biggest reasons we do this is because our variety of red raspberries produce the best fruit on its first year canes. First year canes are vibrant, healthy, and with proper trellising will produce berries bigger than your finger.

The second reason we cut our canes is to prevent disease from getting into our patch and destroying our hard work. We don’t use pesticides on our plants and sometimes that can be a challenge when earwigs and hornets destroy the canes or the fruit itself. These insects can eat the stems and leaves which leaves plants vulnerable to disease. Something no body wants.

The way we cut down our canes is through the use of a hedge trimmer for the smaller ones and hand clippers for the bigger ones. It’s a lot of work, but well worth the effort when next year’s growth emerges.