{"id":4610,"date":"2025-08-25T22:34:25","date_gmt":"2025-08-25T22:34:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pajta.hu\/blog\/2025\/08\/25\/joseph-raspberry\/"},"modified":"2025-08-25T23:16:41","modified_gmt":"2025-08-25T23:16:41","slug":"joseph-raspberry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pajta.hu\/en\/blog\/2025\/08\/25\/joseph-raspberry\/","title":{"rendered":"Joseph Raspberry"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Pinewood lifestyle<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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Thirty-five years between the lines<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

There is hardly anyone in \u0150riszentp\u00e9ter and the surrounding markets who does not know J\u00f3zsef Cserkuti \u2013 or as everyone calls him, J\u00f3zsi M\u00e1ln\u00e1s. He has been a full-time fruit grower for thirty-five years, the very first supplier to Pajta, and his time is spent growing raspberries, blackberries, currants and elderberries. His story ranges from hobby gardening to the challenges of climate change, but fruit has always remained the focus.<\/p>\n\n

Meeting with Pajta<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

The collaboration began more than a decade ago. \u201cThey heard about me, visited me at the market, and then came to see my plantations,\u201d recalls J\u00f3zsi. Back then, the morning bustle of the \u0150riszentp\u00e9ter and Szalaf\u0151 markets was the meeting place: fresh vegetables, fruit, handicrafts, and the slowly flowing line of regular customers. J\u00f3zsi\u2019s stand was always full \u2013 not only with fruit, but also with curious questions. \u201cNot many people produced as many and of the same quality raspberries as I did back then. Zala County used to be famous for its raspberries \u2013 more were produced here than in the whole country combined. Today, there are hardly any left.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

The first shipment to Pajta was \u2013 of course \u2013 raspberries. It has been the most important fruit in its range ever since.<\/p>\n\n

From hobby to profession<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

He was originally a forester. At first, the raspberry rows only fit into his life after work, but then, during privatization, he decided to start his own business. \u201cEverything had to be developed: the land, the plantations, the processing. Fresh fruit always came first, syrups and jams could only come later.\u201d In the early nineties, this was a bold move: an uncertain market, changing rules, disappearing buyer networks. \u201cMany people preferred to wait it out, but I thought: if I can rely on myself, the future is more secure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

In addition to raspberries, blackberries, black and red currants, gooseberries, rowanberries and elderberries also grow. The season starts in mid-June with red currants, followed by raspberries, black currants and blackberries \u2013 there is always work and harvest until the autumn frosts.<\/p>\n\n

The new rules of climate change<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Everything has changed in three and a half decades. \u201cAccording to the old textbooks, raspberries need a southern hillside. Today, it needs the opposite: a northern exposure so that the sun doesn\u2019t scorch them.\u201d Previously considered certain dates have also been overturned: red currants, which used to ripen after raspberries, now often arrive in the baskets two weeks before. \u201cEverything has come earlier, and everything has become more extreme.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Berry crops are sensitive: a hot, dry wind can damage the crop in minutes. J\u00f3zsi\u2019s plantations are surrounded by forest and lie on a slight north-facing slope \u2013 this protects them from the wind and heat. \u201cThere has never been a year when everything has been perfect, but the variety helps: if one is not good, another can still ripen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Varieties and patience<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

It takes eight to ten years for a new variety to be determined whether it can withstand the local climate. There is a plantation that has been producing a good crop for twenty-five years. \u201cI tried every variety I had access to. I removed the ones that didn\u2019t work so they wouldn\u2019t get mixed up.\u201d It\u2019s not just what he likes that matters, it\u2019s what works here in Zala. Some varieties are delicious, but if the weather doesn\u2019t favor them and they never ripen, they have to go. They can\u2019t even have any seeds left.<\/p>\n\n

Nature-friendly farming<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

A short green cover is placed between the rows \u2013 the cut grass and weeds remain on the ground, acting as a natural mulch. \u201cRaspberries love the soil covered. I also turn the cut canes back into the soil \u2013 that way I don\u2019t take the minerals out of the plantation.\u201d He treats the plants with herbicide once a year, in the spring, and the rest is a matter of mowing and natural rotation. \u201cThey used to say that raspberries gut the soil. That\u2019s true when they\u2019re alone, but if there\u2019s life between the rows, they give back what they get.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

The most beautiful moment:<\/strong> \u201cWhen the plantation is in bloom and the bees are buzzing between the rows, it\u2019s nice to sit and just watch. No two springs are the same \u2013 every year is a new story. Even after thirty-five years, it still feels the same: a new season begins, and if everything goes well, the end will be raspberries, fruit, and harvest.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

written by: M\u00e1rton Kir\u00e1ly<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Thirty-five years between the lines There is hardly anyone in \u0150riszentp\u00e9ter and the surrounding markets who does not know J\u00f3zsef Cserkuti \u2013 or as everyone calls him, J\u00f3zsi M\u00e1ln\u00e1s. He has been a full-time fruit grower for thirty-five years, the very first supplier to Pajta, and his time is spent growing raspberries, blackberries, currants and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pajta.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4610"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pajta.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pajta.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pajta.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pajta.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4610"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/pajta.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4610\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4620,"href":"https:\/\/pajta.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4610\/revisions\/4620"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pajta.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4610"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pajta.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4610"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pajta.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4610"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}