Many gardeners can hardly wait until the red, yellow and black raspberries are finally ripe. How you can tell that you can harvest the fruit and what you should pay attention to when harvesting raspberries.
When and how should you harvest raspberries?
Raspberries should be picked when ready to harvest and carefully when they show their bright color. Summer raspberries are ready to harvest from June to July, fall raspberries from August to the first frost and two-timer raspberries in two seasons (June and August). Fresh raspberries should be consumed or processed immediately.
Harvest time of raspberries depending on the variety
When your raspberries are ripe depends on whether you planted summer raspberries, fall raspberries or so-called two-timers.
Summer raspberries
The main season for summer raspberries lasts from June to July. Occasionally fruits continue to ripen until August.
Autumn raspberries
The harvest season for autumn raspberries begins in August. Depending on the variety, you can continually harvest new fruits until the first frost.
Two-Timer Raspberries
These raspberries bear twice a year. They are harvested for the first time from June, the second harvest season begins in August.
Harvest raspberries carefully
Raspberries are very sensitive and cannot tolerate pressure. Therefore, pick the fruits very carefully. Ripe raspberries detach easily from the bush.
Place the raspberries next to each other in an air-permeable basket. Avoid layering them on top of each other.
Harvest and use raspberries immediately
Harvest your raspberry bushes continuously. As soon as new fruits show their bright color, they are ready to harvest. If they stay on the bush for too long, they become soft and begin to rot.
Fresh raspberries only last for a very short time. Even in the fridge they become mushy after just a day and lose a lot of their aroma. Therefore, eat or process the harvest immediately.
You can do this with raspberries
Of course, the sweet fruits taste best fresh from the bush. They also taste delicious in summer fruit salads or on fruit tarts.
If the harvest was too plentiful, you have to preserve the raspberries. This is best done by:
- Freeze raw raspberries
- Cook as a compote
- Process into jam
- Drying raspberries
Select the raspberries carefully for further processing and discard any fruit that has mold or is infested with maggots.
Tips & Tricks
Do you love raspberry jelly? Then preferably plant seedless varieties in the garden. You have to pass the raspberries with seeds through a sieve to make the jelly. This creates more waste than if you could use the fruit whole.
