Mike in Michigan -- yes, you should be able to get your raspberry bed prepped without too much trouble. If you have a weed problem, hit it with some roundup or similar first thing, as soon as weeds begin to grow, then till them in, amend the soil as appropriate, and you should be good to go. Or, if you don't want to use herbicides, do it the old fashioned way by digging weeds out by the roots, that sort of thing. Worst case scenario, you could always pot up the new raspberry plants and tend to them that way for a while if need be, then plant out when bed is ready. A couple of good sources: Indiana Berry and Nursery company. www.inberry.com Nourse Farms in MA. www.noursefarms.com I would be cautious about the source you mentioned above -- they don't have the most stellar reputation for quality or customer service. I have order seeds from them many years without any trouble, but I've given up on getting plants from them, as they are quite often not as labeled when they grow out ('Primrose' yellow lilac proved to be common purple lilac, 'Seckle' pear proved to be 'Winter Nellis'), or the order isn't filled properly and/or there are quality issues. But, they do have a $25 off of $50 offer going on, although they eat up a lot of the value of the coupon with inflated prices and shipping/handling -- you'd end up with something worthwhile, sooner or later, but it might take some wrangling with customer service to get it right if they goof up the initial shipment. Check out the Garden Watchdog at davesgarden.com for good reviews of mail order nurseries. As far as birds go, you generally will find that they are not nearly as big of a problem with raspberries as with some other fruits -- you might suffer minor losses, but as a rule, birds don't seem to go after raspberries nearly as much as they do strawberries or blueberries. I think it may have to do with the nature of the canes -- too flimsy to support the weight of most birds that would try to land on them. Canby is one really good summer raspberry, although it's an older variety. I'm sure that there are newer varieties out there that are as good or better. I myself just ordered a whole bunch of new plants for spring shipment from each of the above sources, expanding my patch with some new kinds after many, many years of the same old same old. Dennis SE Michigan

Chris: The mini sticks, while they may bloom and have a raspberry or two, are not the future of your plant, but its past history. Growth that will eventually produce raspberries for you will come from the roots in the form of new all-green canes. As the root systems mature, they will send up more canes, and that is when you will start getting more than a cupful of raspberries. Raspberries are bienneals. The old canes should be removed completely after they fruit, leaving more space for new canes to grow in. If you were to get your plants in very early in the spring, you might conceivably get some berries in late summer of the first season -- if they are of the everbearing type. You can still plant now, but its a little late to expect berry production this season. If you plant summerbearers (which I don't recommend), your first possible crop would be next season in midsummer. But again, the first small crop is not the important issue. Instead it is to encourage vigorous growth of new canes so that eventually you will get a real crop. Plant in rich soil, in full sun if possible, and mulch the plants to improve their growth and vigor. Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

Wgafaw: You are correct that you have both blackberries and black raspberries, and your identification of each is also correct. While it is possible that either or both of these berries is "wild" (i.e. native), it is far more likely they were planted by someone years ago. People have been living in North Carolina for a long time, and those look like cultivated berry varieties to me. Blackberries do very well in the Southeast climate. They grow just fine here, and my climate is not so much different from yours. I don't know why anyone would say black raspberries are particularly difficult either, since they did well for me here when I had them, but they are subject to a number of viral and fungal diseases that can make them difficult to grow in certain locations. For whatever reason, the variety you have seems quite well adapted to your climate and location or they probably wouldn't have survived. If you value these berries, and want to restore them to their full producing capabilities, you might try keeping the areas around the plants free of weeds, mulching the plants, and even fertilizing when that is necessary. I seem to have picked up the suggestion that your black raspberry leaves are yellowing, which could be due to low fertility or iron deficiency. You should also use the practice of cutting old canes down to the ground after they have produced, to allow the new canes room to grow in. If you particularly like the black raspberries, it is possible to start new plants by allowing the canes to arch down to the ground, then burying them so that they tiproot. If you can get rid of that leaf yellowing with some soil amendments (although this could also be a symptom of viral disease), you might be able to grow quite a few black raspberries. Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

I got a "free" Jewel black raspberry from Raintree because I ordered before January 1st and spend enough money. It came in a tiny pot (I presume from tissue culture?). Very wimpy but had a note that it would grow like a weed. It sure did! This year being year 2, I finished picking the crop a week ago. Next year should even be better as the primocanes are much bigger stemmed and Lots of them. I did not realize how huge one raspberry plant could get. I am impressed. Even though I cut off all the tips of the primocanes late last summer when they got to ground level, a few got missed and rooted in giving me 4 free plants this year. A friend was very happy to receive them. My only bad news is birds! The fruit started to turn black but not sweet enough to pick. Suddenly 1/2 of the crop was gone. I assumed my children had picked them but they had not. I then netted the plant with black netting which was successful but some fruits had bird pecks in them. I had anticipated the neighborhood children might be the biggest problem to getting fruit not the birds. Next year I will be more diligent to net them as soon as they start turning ripe.