Find out when you can find some of the best tasting raspberries of the season.
We will help you find them, including where you can pick them yourself.
Red raspberries are something that we can find year round.
The same cannot be said for their black counterpart.
People sometimes get confused. Black raspberries are not blackberries - they are just raspberries that happen to be black.
Blackberries don't have the hollowed out hole at the top.
Now that we got the confusion out of the way, finding black raspberries can be a challenge. In order to achieve success you first need to know when they are in season.
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🏖️ When are Black Raspberries in Season?
☀️ The season for them is generally a short one. Begins in early July and last for 2 to 3 weeks.
Black raspberries tend to ripen before most red raspberries varieties expect for the early ripening summer ones.
🛒 Where to Buy/U-Pick
Black raspberries can be almost impossible to find in the conventional grocery store. I cannot recall ever seeing them in a store. The only source has been the farmer's markets, and maybe a specialty produce store.
Why is that? I think it's that they aren't as widely grown. Most of the raspberries you find in the grocery stores are from Mexico or California. If they aren't grown them at the big commercial operations, they are going to not be as easy to find.
It also may be because the plants are more susceptible disease. Listing to buy plants encourage home gardeners to plant them away from red raspberries.
Where you can look for them is at your local farmer's markets during the month of July. Or you could try to pick your own.
I did a search online and here are some farms that sells black raspberries. It's possible that some of these farms will offer u-pick on black raspberries. I am lucky to have black raspberries near me in Michigan.
| Michigan |
| Frank Farms (Berrien Center, MI) Kapnick Orchards (Britton, MI) Blue Dog Family Farm (Kalamazoo, MI at the farmer's market) |
| Kansas |
| Brenda's Berries & Orchards (Chetopa, KS) Elderslie Farm (Valley Center, KS) |
| Minnesota |
| Wahlfors Raspberry Farm (Long Lake, MN) |
| Missouri |
| Lakeview Farms (St. Peters, MO) |
| Illinois |
| Riverfront Berry Farm (Martinton, IL) |
| Iowa |
| Edge of the Woods Raspberry Farm (Indianola, IA) Heartland Farms (Waterloo, IA) |
| Ohio |
| Mitchell's Berries (Plain City, OH) Pullins Raspberries (Haskins, OH) |
| Oregon |
| Sturm's Berry Farm (Corbett, OR) Decker Farms (Hillsboro, OR) |
| Pennsylvania |
| Shenk's Berry Farm (Lititz, PA) |
| Virginia |
| Great Country Farms (Bluemont, VA) |
🌳 When are Wild Black Raspberries in Season?
When black raspberries are in season is the same time as the non wild version. I once lived some place that had tons of them growing alongside the forest line.
If you have wild ones growing in your yard expect them to be ready to pick in the first half of July give or take depending on your location.
How to Pick
You will know when they are ready when they have completely turned black in which the berries will just put right off the plants without much effort.
❄️Frozen Berries
Are you looking into getting some frozen berries? Unfortunately haven't found a good reliable source for them. You can check with farms that grow them as many freeze their fruit.
👩🌾 Where Can I Buy Plants?
Can't find them anywhere? Why not grow them yourself. I recommend buying them from Stark Bros in the spring time, which is the best time of year for planting berries.
🍓 More Fruits in Season
Learn about when these other fruits are in season.
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