Marianne's Response

murback’s Question

You discussed raspberries today in the TNT article which prompted my two questions:

1. When the raspberries start to die back because they are done producing, do you water less or continue water the same amount. A follow-on question – do raspberries like a lot of water or will they tolerate some dry soil.

2. One of our rows of raspberries, is a very old variety we have been told – as it was grown by the original owners of our property in the 1940s. We believe it is called a Cuthbert. Do you know of any garden locally in the Puget Sound region that has this variety?

Thank you.

Posted by murback on July 16, 2017

Marianne's Response

Thanks for growing the old raspberry variety - I do not know of any grower that still sells this heirloom variety but the local Master Gardener association out of the Puyallup research station will be your best source of heirloom berries in your area. As for watering raspberries, yes they do like moist soil and yes you do need to keep watering after the first crop and after you prune the old canes. Remember that a mulch around the roots will seal in soil moisture and raspberries appreciate a aged manure mulch or even a three inch layer of dry grass clippings to keep the soil cool and moist. Keep growing, Marianne Binetti

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