The Farm
Kinglake Raspberries is a 25 hectare Raspberry farm nestled in the foothills of the Great Dividing Range just north-east of Melbourne (Victoria, Australia). The first plantings of raspberries took place in 1985 and a further planting in 1989. This brought the farm to its current size. With over 36,000 metres of raspberry rows the farm is one of the biggest berry farms in Australia.

What We Grow
Willamette raspberries are the main Variety grown with smaller plantings of Nootka and Heritage. Both Willamette and Nootka bear their main crop in the summertime (Dec to Feb in Australia) and a smaller "Tip" crop in the Autumn months (March to May) while the Heritage raspberries bear one crop per year starting late summer and finishing by the end of Autumn.

Harvest Time
The Harvest of the Raspberries is done by several methods. We use a Mechanical Harvester on a large portion of the crop, this fruit is used for making our range of Raspberry Products and some is sold to other processors. A portion of the crop is picked by hand and fresh frozen as part of the Kinglake Raspberries range of Australian Grown and Australian Made Products. The rest of the crop we want YOU to pick. A feature of the farm is Pick Your Own and this is available throughout the Harvest

Seasons
A summer afternoon wandering the raspberry rows and picking your own rejuvenates the soul. With enough raspberry rows to feel like you're the only one picking and enough raspberries for everyone (Mother Nature permitting). It's the perfect pastime for the whole family.

The Rest of The Year
As the Autumn draws to a close so to does the Harvest. Now the work begins. The raspberry plants shed their leaves as they become dormant for the Winter, the plants that gave fruit in the summer are completely pruned out and the plants that gave us autumn fruit are "trellised," so that the row takes on the appearance of a picket fence. Once trellised we remove the tips of these canes (the part of the plant that bore the Autumn crop). As Spring arrives the trellised cane burst bud and grow laterals that will flower and produce the Summer crop. Where the cane had been pruned out new plants sprout from the ground, these will grow into a cane some 2 to 3 metres tall and will have a "Tip" crop in the following Autumn and so the cycle begins again.

Come And See Us
The farm is open every day during the harvest seasons and Monday to Friday (weekends by appointment) when we are not harvesting. Frozen berryfruit and berry products are available at the Farm Shop(shed) all year round. Fresh Raspberries, both Pick Your Own and prepicked, are available during the Summer and Autumn Seasons. Kinglake Raspberries is about an hours drive from Melbourne via either the Yarra Valley or the Plenty Valley. View Google Map