LIVERMORE – There were a number of things Joel Gilbert wanted to do when he grew up. But farming raspberries wasn’t one of them.

That was until three years ago.

Now he has large, red, firm raspberries as big as his thumb amid green stalks at the Berry Hill Raspberry Co. on the hill of that name in Livermore.

Gilbert, 19, who grew up in Jay but lives in Wilton now, was better known for his piano playing and singing duets with his sister, Janna, around the area.

“I think it’s in my blood – music and planting,” Gilbert said. “I really like innovative ideas. Creating music and creating a decent crop all takes creativity.”

Gilbert is balancing his concentration on Christian and gospel music with tending his 1-acre raspberry patch behind his grandfather Carlton Berry’s home on Berry Hill where apple trees used to grow. He also spends time writing music.

“We became farmers because one day three years ago my grandfather came to me and said, Boy, are you going to make some money!'”

Gilbert said his grandfather, an owner of Mount Blue Agway in Wilton, took him to an old family-owned raspberry patch that had been planted 15 years ago and hadn’t been taken care of.

Tons’ of berries

“We saw tons of raspberries,” he said. “It was a great crop.”

They harvested the raspberries and sold them.

“My grandfather wanted me to come here and plant a new bed,” he said. “I jogged around with the idea in my mind. I saw the potential because raspberries are not plentiful in the state of Maine.”

It was very hard work to plant them, he said.

He had to dig 1,200 holes a foot deep by hand to plant 1,200 K81-6 plants, which are a large-fruited and winter hardy variety. They’ve blossomed into 5,000, the way they multiply, he said.

Family members helped.

“Then we had to trellis everything up, which was a huge job,” he said.

Then another 90 holes about 3 feet deep were dug with a posthole digger. They had to stretch 4 miles of wire through the area, he added. The hard work was well worth it, he said.

Gilbert has about $2,000 invested in his crop but he reused a lot of raw materials to keep costs down.

It’s going to get bigger

He’s also experimenting with black raspberries and yellow raspberries.

Another acre has been tilled and is waiting for a crop to be planted next year. Not only is Gilbert the chief grower, he’s also the chief seller of his berries.

He and his girlfriend, Melissa LaPlante of Rumford, have been taking the berries to the coast to sell. He’s also selling in downtown Jay – he sold 60 pints Thursday – and he’s allowing a limited amount of people who call him to pick their own. His number is 778-5740.

His customers include The Village Inn in Belgrade and Becky’s Diner on Commercial Street in Portland. He’ll be checking out Rangeley and Bethel in the near future.

He has been calling gourmet restaurants and is getting ready to ship off a batch of berries to a relative in Nevada who is a gourmet chef.

“You get a lot of nos,’ but when you get a definite yes’ they take a lot,” Gilbert said.

He’s been selling his pints for $4 but if someone buys eight or more, the price is lowered to $3.

Gilbert, who was still wet from picking a pint of raspberries, said he’s looking to harvest 3,000 to 4,000 pounds of the fruit this year.

“I’m happy with that being the first year,” he said. “This is not really considered a mature patch yet. You’re going to see this thing getting bigger and bigger as we progress.”