Hello Zach -
Nice to hear from you again. For a large garden such as you are describing, I would follow Carolynk'S suggestion regarding the spacing and installing a simple T-post with two or three wires strung between the posts. This is the method master gardeners use in growing for a food bank. The raspberries will quickly try and fill in the mulched walking row. Digging strays will be more effective than mowing in the long run. Unless dug, the roots will keep running to another spot. To propagate, replant the strays when they are as small as possible and keep well watered.
I don't have space in my home garden, so I just let a clump grow in a corner of a raised bed of 4 X 4. Production is much higher with proper pruning and training, by an order of magnitude!
SWD is a miserable pest in my area, so I imagine yours is a hotbed for swd too. It's a toss up between the sweet flavor of a ripe berry and swd turning it to mush. I wonder if one of your varieties is cleaner than another. Please keep us posted!
- Lisa
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