Wild raspberries deliver an exceptional harvest across southern Finland

Wild raspberries are producing an exceptionally large crop in southern Finland this year, Yle reports. Favourable weather in early summer, successful overwintering, abundant pollinators and a low number of pests have contributed to the harvest.

At the popular Kalevankangas outdoor area in Mikkeli, large wild raspberry bushes are heavy with fruit. Matleena Pulkkinen, a natural products specialist at the Arktiset Aromit association, said the berries were unusually large and had few raspberry beetle larvae.

Many unripe berries remain, and the fruit is ripening at different times. The harvest is expected to continue until the end of August.

Wild raspberries produce an estimated 10 million kilograms of fruit a year, although the exact amount is not known because raspberries are not officially recorded in the same way as blueberries and lingonberries. Pulkkinen estimates that this year’s yield could be close to 10 kilograms per are, or 100 square metres.

Wild raspberry is one of the most productive wild berries in southern Finland. Based on pickers’ observations and social media posts, berries are also abundant in at least Central Finland and South Savo.

Raspberries should be picked directly into containers and cooled or frozen as quickly as possible. They can also be dried or used to make jam or juice. The berries freeze well and can be stored until the following harvest season.

Pickers should wear covering clothing to protect against ticks, sturdy shoes because of rocks and snakes, and a hat for protection from the sun and the plant’s thorns. Pulkkinen recommends attaching a small collecting container around the waist so both hands remain free.

Wild raspberries may be picked under everyman’s rights, but the plants must not be moved from their growing locations. Picking is not permitted in private yards, cultivated fields or protected areas.

Wild raspberries grow mainly in open places such as clear-cut areas and along field and road edges. They begin growing in clear-cut areas about five years after the final harvest and can remain in the same place for 20 to 30 years, until new trees shade them.

The berries are smaller and more aromatic than cultivated varieties. The leaves can also be dried for herbal tea or used fresh in salads. Marttaliitto and Arktiset Aromit have selected raspberry as Finland’s natural product of the year for 2026.