Had a bumper crop as well, but the Deer, Squirrels, Birds, etc. got most of them. Also had good crop of wild Red Raspberries, and also some wild Blueberries, which aren't ripe yet.
I have a big wild patch in two place a mile apart and for some reason the berries turn red and fall off or just dries up . There is only a few bushes with black berries on them . I only picked two gallon this year and with the size patch I have I should have been able to pick a truck load .I am thinking that they may have a blight of some kind .
Sounds like what my patch of thornless berries here does. Seems we've got an infestation of "red cane borers." Look on some of the dead canes & see if there's a swollen spot on the main stem, beyond which everything is dead. If so, good luck. We've been trying to get rid of the darned things for several years & are about ready to just mow the patch down & sow grass!!!
I will have to check , I am thinking about mowing them down and using some 2-4-D and spray them out. I have let this patch grow for several years and had thoughts of letting people have at them after I get what I wanted .But I am not getting enough for my own use .
I agree was just thinking of saving a few dollars by using plain 2-4D I have some cross bow that I use in fence rows and it works good.
I thought the ones we found seemed bigger than average as well. Nearly as big as the thornless domestic ones we have at home.
My Mother in law and father in law picked about 27 gallons this year. My Brother in law picked 10 gallons this year as well, deep in some old strip mines mostly.
