Anybody Tried Growing Raspberries Here?

[Lopburi99]

My favorite fruit in the world is the raspberry. I'm from Michigan in the States and they are prevalent there. Black raspberries are especially delicious, but I can't even find any black raspberry preserves available here. Smuckers makes them but the stores here have blueberry, blackberry or red raspberry but not black which is much sweeter and very very tasty. Blackberry is too tart for me. Every time I visit the states I bring back a few jars of Smuckers black raspberry preserves and the family and friends here LOVE them.

I'm going back again next week and plan on bring back a few red and black raspberry roots and want to try to grow them here. No problem in my luggage with customs is there? I also want to bring a rhubarb root, which I also miss very much.

I read on the blackberry thread about too much rain being a problem, so maybe I can shield them somehow, but I really want to be able to grow and enjoy delicious raspberries here if possible. I would even consider digging them up, storing during the rainy season, then replanting if necessary.

Anybody tried growing raspberries here?

[apetley]

Raspberries prefer cooler climates with a winter chill and not high rainfall too so Thailand is a pretty harsh environment for them.

Unfortunately I think you would be very fortunate to have them survive let alone bear any fruit.

When your back in the US it may be worth contacting any specialist growers to see if they have any suggestions for the Thai climate.

[wolfmanjack]

My favorite fruit in the world is the raspberry. I'm from Michigan in the States and they are prevalent there. Black raspberries are especially delicious, but I can't even find any black raspberry preserves available here. Smuckers makes them but the stores here have blueberry, blackberry or red raspberry but not black which is much sweeter and very very tasty. Blackberry is too tart for me. Every time I visit the states I bring back a few jars of Smuckers black raspberry preserves and the family and friends here LOVE them.

I'm going back again next week and plan on bring back a few red and black raspberry roots and want to try to grow them here. No problem in my luggage with customs is there? I also want to bring a rhubarb root, which I also miss very much.

I read on the blackberry thread about too much rain being a problem, so maybe I can shield them somehow, but I really want to be able to grow and enjoy delicious raspberries here if possible. I would even consider digging them up, storing during the rainy season, then replanting if necessary.

Anybody tried growing raspberries here?

It should not be a problem with customs if they don't catch you If they search your bag they will probably take them away. If you get them over here you could try growing them in the mountains or you could send some to me and I will try to grow them in the mountains. The weather is much colder up there and it doesn't seem to get as much rain. Also the soil drains much better than on flat land.

Have you tried eating mulberries ? i pick them when they are mostly black but with a touch of red and they have a nice sour sweet taste that way.

Edited June 11, 2009 by wolfmanjack

[Lopburi99]

My favorite fruit in the world is the raspberry. I'm from Michigan in the States and they are prevalent there. Black raspberries are especially delicious, but I can't even find any black raspberry preserves available here. Smuckers makes them but the stores here have blueberry, blackberry or red raspberry but not black which is much sweeter and very very tasty. Blackberry is too tart for me. Every time I visit the states I bring back a few jars of Smuckers black raspberry preserves and the family and friends here LOVE them.

I'm going back again next week and plan on bring back a few red and black raspberry roots and want to try to grow them here. No problem in my luggage with customs is there? I also want to bring a rhubarb root, which I also miss very much.

I read on the blackberry thread about too much rain being a problem, so maybe I can shield them somehow, but I really want to be able to grow and enjoy delicious raspberries here if possible. I would even consider digging them up, storing during the rainy season, then replanting if necessary.

Anybody tried growing raspberries here?

It should not be a problem with customs if they don't catch you If they search your bag they will probably take them away. If you get them over here you could try growing them in the mountains or you could send some to me and I will try to grow them in the mountains. The weather is much colder up there and it doesn't seem to get as much rain. Also the soil drains much better than on flat land.

Have you tried eating mulberries ? i pick them when they are mostly black but with a touch of red and they have a nice sour sweet taste that way.

I think I may have eaten mulberries but I am not sure. Do they grow on a tree (with thorns) rather than a bush? From what I remember they do indeed have a nice taste. Sour sweet describes it perfectly.

My grandmother, in Windsor Ontario Canada, had gooseberries in her garden. They were luscious, sweet and juicy. I haven't seen any in years and years. I remember once in London I ate a wondeful full English breakfast at the Cumberland hotel and they had a very large bowl of gooseberries in a light sugary sauce for people to help themselves to. Needless to say, I did. Again and again. Very very good!

Grandma also had red and black currants, from which she made terrific jams.

When I return in August I'll PM you for your address. I'd like to take you up on your offer to try growing them in CM for me. I fear it would be futile near Sa Kaew where we will probably be living next. Constantly raining there, day after day. Lopburi is much drier but we don't have any land there. I also wish blueberries were available here. Researchers nowadays say they are loaded with excellent health benefits.

Edited June 11, 2009 by Lopburi99

[AjarnChan]

My favorite fruit in the world is the raspberry. I'm from Michigan in the States and they are prevalent there. Black raspberries are especially delicious, but I can't even find any black raspberry preserves available here. Smuckers makes them but the stores here have blueberry, blackberry or red raspberry but not black which is much sweeter and very very tasty. Blackberry is too tart for me. Every time I visit the states I bring back a few jars of Smuckers black raspberry preserves and the family and friends here LOVE them.

I'm going back again next week and plan on bring back a few red and black raspberry roots and want to try to grow them here. No problem in my luggage with customs is there? I also want to bring a rhubarb root, which I also miss very much.

I read on the blackberry thread about too much rain being a problem, so maybe I can shield them somehow, but I really want to be able to grow and enjoy delicious raspberries here if possible. I would even consider digging them up, storing during the rainy season, then replanting if necessary.

Anybody tried growing raspberries here?

It should not be a problem with customs if they don't catch you If they search your bag they will probably take them away. If you get them over here you could try growing them in the mountains or you could send some to me and I will try to grow them in the mountains. The weather is much colder up there and it doesn't seem to get as much rain. Also the soil drains much better than on flat land.

Have you tried eating mulberries ? i pick them when they are mostly black but with a touch of red and they have a nice sour sweet taste that way.

I think I may have eaten mulberries but I am not sure. Do they grow on a tree (with thorns) rather than a bush? From what I remember they do indeed have a nice taste. Sour sweet describes it perfectly.

My grandmother, in Windsor Ontario Canada, had gooseberries in her garden. They were luscious, sweet and juicy. I haven't seen any in years and years. I remember once in London I ate a wondeful full English breakfast at the Cumberland hotel and they had a very large bowl of gooseberries in a light sugary sauce for people to help themselves to. Needless to say, I did. Again and again. Very very good!

Grandma also had red and black currants, from which she made terrific jams.

When I return in August I'll PM you for your address. I'd like to take you up on your offer to try growing them in CM for me. I fear it would be futile near Sa Kaew where we will probably be living next. Constantly raining there, day after day. Lopburi is much drier but we don't have any land there. I also wish blueberries were available here. Researchers nowadays say they are loaded with excellent health benefits.

Try Hydroponics - kits are available here in Thaland - you can grow almost anything, indoors, outdoors, anytime or place that suits you ~ ignore the seasons [up to a point]

Here are some useful links ~ http://en.bangsaiagro.com/links.asp

My set-up is just a couple of foam 'cool-boxes', with an inset upper tray, and some circular cutouts in the lid. A small fish-tank style water pump circulates the water/nutrient mix between the two tanks. The larger overflows into the smaller, as a simple reservoir. Seeds germinate quickly and easily and everything grows cleanly and weed and pest free. I highly recommend it as a method, not just for Thailand.

Edited June 11, 2009 by AjarnChan

[Lopburi99]

My favorite fruit in the world is the raspberry. I'm from Michigan in the States and they are prevalent there. Black raspberries are especially delicious, but I can't even find any black raspberry preserves available here. Smuckers makes them but the stores here have blueberry, blackberry or red raspberry but not black which is much sweeter and very very tasty. Blackberry is too tart for me. Every time I visit the states I bring back a few jars of Smuckers black raspberry preserves and the family and friends here LOVE them.

I'm going back again next week and plan on bring back a few red and black raspberry roots and want to try to grow them here. No problem in my luggage with customs is there? I also want to bring a rhubarb root, which I also miss very much.

I read on the blackberry thread about too much rain being a problem, so maybe I can shield them somehow, but I really want to be able to grow and enjoy delicious raspberries here if possible. I would even consider digging them up, storing during the rainy season, then replanting if necessary.

Anybody tried growing raspberries here?

It should not be a problem with customs if they don't catch you If they search your bag they will probably take them away. If you get them over here you could try growing them in the mountains or you could send some to me and I will try to grow them in the mountains. The weather is much colder up there and it doesn't seem to get as much rain. Also the soil drains much better than on flat land.

Have you tried eating mulberries ? i pick them when they are mostly black but with a touch of red and they have a nice sour sweet taste that way.

I think I may have eaten mulberries but I am not sure. Do they grow on a tree (with thorns) rather than a bush? From what I remember they do indeed have a nice taste. Sour sweet describes it perfectly.

My grandmother, in Windsor Ontario Canada, had gooseberries in her garden. They were luscious, sweet and juicy. I haven't seen any in years and years. I remember once in London I ate a wondeful full English breakfast at the Cumberland hotel and they had a very large bowl of gooseberries in a light sugary sauce for people to help themselves to. Needless to say, I did. Again and again. Very very good!

Grandma also had red and black currants, from which she made terrific jams.

When I return in August I'll PM you for your address. I'd like to take you up on your offer to try growing them in CM for me. I fear it would be futile near Sa Kaew where we will probably be living next. Constantly raining there, day after day. Lopburi is much drier but we don't have any land there. I also wish blueberries were available here. Researchers nowadays say they are loaded with excellent health benefits.

Try Hydroponics - kits are available here in Thaland - you can grow almost anything, indoors, outdoors, anytime or place that suits you ~ ignore the seasons [up to a point]

Good idea! I remember seeing Hydroponics on television. I'll definitely try it.

[Tomtomtom69]

Mulberries grow on trees and are related to raspberries. They are very popular in China and are sold on the streets in cities such as Kunming, capital of Yunnan province. In fact, Yunnan grows a lot of mulberries, but despite not being far away from Thailand, the latitude and elevation of many parts of Yunnan mean that growing temperate zone fruits is easily possible, compared to Thailand. In Yunnan everything from coconuts and bananas to chestnuts, raspberries, grapes, apples and many other types of fruits can be grown, depending on the location, latitude, elevation and climate where they are grown.

Raspberries might be able to be grown at higher elevations in northern Thailand - possibly. Currently a university is researching this possibility. In terms of rainfall, Switzerland is a place where raspberries are grown (amongst many other European and North American countries of course) and I can tell you it rains a lot in Switzerland, yet raspberries still thrive. There is one key difference between Switzerland (especially northern Switzerland) and Thailand though: Mountainous northern Thailand receives heavy rainfall that may last a short time, or sometimes even for days on end, followed by long periods of dry weather during the rainy season. This is followed by mainly dry weather during the cool season, when temperatures can plummet to the single digits at night. In Switzerland, precipitation occurs throughout the year and rain can also fall for days on end, but it's usually not too heavy hence if you look up some weather statistics you'll likely find that most parts of Thailand are significantly rainier than Switzerland.

Therefore, one would need to pick the varieties most suited to the combination of weather, sunshine, rainfall, humidity, max./min. temperature tolerances etc.

[ozzydom]

Raspberries are deciduous and require cool to cold weather during the dormant period ,they could be worth a try in the higher regions of Northern Thailand.

[shepsel]

You can purchase frozen raspberries (with no sugar added) in the freezer section at Makro. They are fairly reasonable in price, considered they are imported.

[khaosarnbuddy]

Raspberries are grown by the Royal project in North Thailand and they can't really get rid of their extensive harvest (maybe that's why they are "fairly reasonable in price"). In their dormant season they are kept in cold storage.

I tried planting some but since they require the cold storage in the winter there is no point....

[oldestswinger]

Tons of mulberries grown in the Korat area, but mostly they are kept down to bush size rather than as trees. They are grown for the local silk industry as the silkworms feed on mulberry leaves.

[afarang]

Oldest swinger is on the right track. The mulberries grown here are NOT trees ,they are more shrubs posing as trees, which, naturally grow to a max. height of about 2 metres. The fruit ,which are quite tasty ,but are very small, tiny in fact. Nearly every village in Isarn used to grow them ,as I did on my house block, to feed the silkworms. However ,they are long gone. Every 2nd house, at least used to have silkworms. NO longer. My village ,now has virtually no silk production.There is one house in the next village, which still has silkworms Also no "vegetable" crops, such as peanuts , pumpkins ,squash ,sweet corn or maize,etc... Now . it is only rubber , cassava with a small amount of sugar cane and eucalyptus ( though the price of euca is so bad , most farmers are ripping out, their euca now). A changed world, A bit sad ,actually

[andycrosby]

I did not know about putting the canes in cold store. I just had my mate bring me two in his suit case now thats another idea down the pan... LOL These things are sent to try us.

[Satcommlee]

Plant and Animal Quarantine may have something to say about it, but what are your chances of getting caught?

PLANT QUARANTINE ACT (NO. 3) B.E. 2551

"Section 8, Any person importing or bringing in transit prohibited articles shall receive permission from the Director-General and comply with the following rules."

"Section 21, Any person who does not comply with Section 8, Section 10 and Section 15bis paragraph 2 or Section 15hexa or violates Section 14 shall be imprisoned not exceeding one year or fined not exceeding 20,000 Baht, or both."

I don't think you;d get jail time if you plead ignorance, you'll get hit with the 20K fine I reckon.. but I'm not a lawyer

[andycrosby]

with the amount of drugs here they have more to worry about than a few cannes , funny thing was they opened his case at the airport and never said a thing bit late now ....LOL

[elgato]

Raspberries are grown by the Royal project in North Thailand and they can't really get rid of their extensive harvest (maybe that's why they are "fairly reasonable in price"). In their dormant season they are kept in cold storage.

I tried planting some but since they require the cold storage in the winter there is no point....

Could you tell us where this project is and do they sell plants?

[jamora]

Even if you manage to grow them here, it would probably be hard to get a good quality berry. They colder berries are grown, the better they get. Nothing beats berries from Scandinavia!

Now I really miss cloudberries

[bayouranch]

baba berries are almost exactly like raspberries and grow in hot weather, like here in Mississippi, might need lots of drainage there , but you can order on the internet, not sure if customs is a problem

[Mobaan]

Done that -bought that T shirt.

Brough 3 different Raspberriy and Blackberry varieties last June . Some root cuttings had new shoots coming out already .

The entire bunch died a quiet death within 2 weeks -and not because we do know how to takle care of plants .

We have light sandy soil , no waterlooging ,plants were set on a 30 cm high rige -together with Muscadines (!) -which are not dead ,but seem to need 2 years adjustment to really start growing .

This is in Issan -Udon Thani area

[riceyummm]

Blackberries and raspberries were two of the things I looked into as a side crop here in Khon Kaen. Won't work without cold storage once a year. Too much work, too bad.

Blackberry is an agricultural pest in Ca where I lived for many years (still my other home in fact). Very hard to get rid of once they're established. I wasn't into ag then so they were merely a great source of pie ingredients. There were huge patches throughout my valley and big bags of frozen berries for year around use in my fridge.

Bayouranch, I spent my 9th and 10th years in Biloxi Ms. My Dad was military, we lived at Keesler AFB. Best years of my childhood. Fishing, crabbing, swimming, cherry bombs, collecting and selling pecans, pellet guns and .22's, don't get no better than that when yer 10!

[Michael Hare]

Black and red raspberries are temperate crops that require vernalization to flower and set fruit. Thailand is a tropical country that doesn't have enough winter cold period in the north to enable vernalization to take place. Raspberries are very susceptible to all sorts of diseases and Thailand has them all. One doesn't grow mangoes or coconuts etc in England and Canada. One doesn't grow raspberries in Thailand.,

[canuckamuck]

Oldest swinger is on the right track. The mulberries grown here are NOT trees ,they are more shrubs posing as trees, which, naturally grow to a max. height of about 2 metres. The fruit ,which are quite tasty ,but are very small, tiny in fact. Nearly every village in Isarn used to grow them ,as I did on my house block, to feed the silkworms. However ,they are long gone. Every 2nd house, at least used to have silkworms. NO longer. My village ,now has virtually no silk production.There is one house in the next village, which still has silkworms Also no "vegetable" crops, such as peanuts , pumpkins ,squash ,sweet corn or maize,etc... Now . it is only rubber , cassava with a small amount of sugar cane and eucalyptus ( though the price of euca is so bad , most farmers are ripping out, their euca now). A changed world, A bit sad ,actually

Our mulberry tree is easily 5 meters, and it produces fruit about equivalent size to raspberries. We pick big bags of them daily when it is producing.

Ok if raspberries are out, the OP also mentioned rhubarb; any one give that a go over here yet? I think thais would like it since they love extreme flavors.

[oldestswinger]

Rhubarb is a cool season, perennial crop. It requires temperatures below 40 °F / 5 °C to break dormancy and to stimulate spring growth and summer temperatures averaging less than 75 °F / 24 °C for vigorous vegetative growth.

The above is quoted from www. rhubarbinfo.com

[canuckamuck]

Thanks

[Mobaan]

Since we are branching out the topic a bit -

does anyone have experience with Muscadine vines in Thailand ?

I planted 6 last year -3 are still alive . In the first year they had small tiny leaves -if any at all- now in the 2 nd year they6 seem to do better and are actually growing .

This last Summer I planted another variety which is growing vigerously now . But will they produce any fruit -heaven knows .

Since Muscadines can be a pest in the Southern US -with similar climate to Issan- I still have hopes .