Meet the neighbours · fruit
Raspberries
A beloved perennial in Cindy's garden and family history — she hopes to never be without a raspberry patch.
A beloved perennial in Cindy's garden and family history — she hopes to "never be without a raspberry patch." Raspberries originated in Europe and were introduced to North America in the late 1700s.
One of the lowest-sugar fruits around, even lower than apples. About 80% of Canada's store-bought raspberries come from the Fraser Valley in BC, so growing your own is a real treat.
Family story: Cindy's sister Pearl-Ann had a big raspberry patch in Cold Lake, complete with a large spider the family affectionately named "Ted," who was given full unchallenged rights to his corner of the patch. Another sister, Wendy, would come pick from Pearl-Ann's patch at the height of the season. A favorite memory: watching her granddaughter Danica, at three years old, picking the last raspberries of the season.
How to grow it
- Plant in a permanent spot — a well-established patch will fruit for years.
- Give it room to spread; raspberries send up new canes from the roots.
- Net the patch as fruit ripens to keep the birds from beating you to it.
- Prune out the canes that bore fruit after they finish, to make room for new wood.
How to use & eat it
- Eat fresh, freeze whole on a tray, or cook down into jam and syrup.
- One of the lowest-sugar fruits around — even lower than apples.
- Pairs beautifully with rhubarb in crisps, sauces, and fruit leather.
Makes friends with
Companion planting is just good neighbouring — these do better beside Raspberries.
Cook with it
- Blackcurrant JamCindy calls this the best jam in the house — naturally tart, with no store-bought pectin needed since black currants are naturally pectin-rich.
Other neighbours
- ChivesHardy, self-seeding, one of the first plants up in spring.
- RhubarbThe old neighbour in the back corner who was here before you and will outlast you.
- GrapesA fun, slightly experimental perennial — several varieties ripen in the Edmonton area once September cools things down.
- Cherries (Evans Sour Cherry)The Evans Sour Cherry — a genuinely cold-hardy variety developed for prairie climates, proof that cherries really can thrive this far north.