why do my raspberrys go soft and mushy after picking?

[gerkin]

am i being to heavy handed when picking?

[gerkin]

[Digeroo]

If you stuff them quickly into your mouth you will not notice.

Maybe try picking them early morning before they get too hot.

[grannyjanny]

I'm with Digeroo, yum, yum. .

[peanuts]

You could try picking them when they are a little less ripe?

[martinburo]

Do you grow summer raspberries? I'm told they are more fragile than autumn raspberries, which are also fruiting now. Of course, Digeroo's first advice is a perfectly sensible and practical solution as well. (On the other hand, I think Peanuts represents a supermarket.)

[realfood]

Properly ripe rasps need to be carefully handled and transfered to a fridge asap, to slow down further ripening. The rasps in the shops are picked unripe to survive the journey to the shops.

[peanuts]

I plead absolutely not guilty to supermarket connections, martinburo!
At the moment we are having to pick ours slightly on the unripe side, and very early in the morning, in order to beat M et Mme blackbird!  Raspberries are much nicer when picked  completely ripe.  We'll be able to do that soon, when the blackbirds find other treats to eat elsewhere.

[BarriedaleNick]

Pick them just before you leave the plot and then straight home to the fridge..

[artichoke]

If it's not too obvious:

are you picking them into small rigid containers, so the weight of those on top does not crush those underneath? I pick mine in those small takeaway plastic boxes that my daughter passes on to me, and have never noticed them going mushy.

[martinburo]

I plead absolutely not guilty to supermarket connections, martinburo!

Sorry, I was only misusing your remark to rant about what realfood mentions as well, and that one of the blessings of GYO is that you get better tasting produce with all the antioxydants and what have you in fruits grown to ripeness on the plant. I'm surprised that you have problems with blackbirds, because I only have that with cherries and redcurrants so that I net those to get any at all, while I've also seen others here say that birds don't eat more than a few percent of raspberries and blackcurrants.

[manicscousers]

The blackbirds have started on mine, maybe looking for moisture?
I keep all the fruit containers over winter and put the raspberries into them. You don't water heavily, do you?

[peanuts]

We have a fair number of blackbirds in the garden, often more than half a dozen, and they do like raspberries!  When we were in Herts, we covered our summer fruiting raspberries with net curtains.  But when we changed to autumn ones that was no longer necessary, nor did they get eaten by the raspberry maggots.  But here they start fruiting earlier, and the blackbirds have taken a liking to them.  So we have to be tolerant, and just try to beat them to it, often picking them over twice a day.

[gerkin]

thanks for the replies i was collecting in a bag ,much better in tuppaware!