Sour Red Raspberries

by David Wood
(Enon, Ohio)

I recently moved (two years ago) and started a new berry patch. My plants are from Indiana Berry (Heritage variety). My old location had scads of sweet berries twice a year. I followed all of the advice of Indiana Berry.

This is the second year for the new starts and I did not harvest the first year. The berries are producing but are not sweet as the previous bed.

Also they come from the vine very easily, even when not completely ripe. They are somewhat sour unlike my previous. Many simply fall from the plant even though they are not quite ripe.

I water, fertilize and keep insects to a minimum. I have had no signs of fungus of any type. The soil is good and PH is 6.5+-.

The berries are usable but sour without adding sugar to eat raw or on cereal etc. We make jam and prefer it to be a little tart so we are OK there.

I'm doing something wrong but have no idea what. Any ideas?


ANSWER:

You might try calling Indiana Berry and asking if the variety you purchased are recommended for your new zone/planting area.

Sometimes berries will be less sweet than usual due to weather conditions. Our berries (in Oregon) are not as sweet in the summers when we have lots of rain and cool weather. The sugars in berries seem to be formed during hot weather.

It could be either the variety of berry you planted, or the weather conditions is my best guess.