Last fall I was given the opportunity to get free raspberry plants from a gal in our church. So I took my spade, 5 gallon buckets and headed over to her place to dig some out. They had a huge patch that they wanted to get rid of as she said they just didn’t use them anymore.
As I wouldn’t know a sugarplum (reference to “Twas The Night Before Christmas” for those who are wondering.) if I fell over one……the visions dancing in my head were of raspberry jam, raspberry smoothies, raspberries on ice cream……..yeah raspberries for many things!
I dug up quite a few canes that afternoon and headed home with my prize. I put them in a bucket of water like google told me to do; and then my husband spaded up 2 areas for me to plant them. (Out logic was maybe one place they would grow better than the other.) We put them in the ground, put fencing around them to keep out rabbits and watered them some more.
The canes didn’t do anything last year as we put them in quite late in the season. This year when we went to check on them after the snow had melted; we were jolted by the discovery that the rabbits had indeed found them. They had not only found them; they had chewed the canes down to nubs in several places.
I was certain there would be no raspberries coming to my freezer from these plants, no jars of jam and no raspberries on ice cream. It made me kind of cranky at those rabbits……..actually, it made me real cranky at those rabbits. You would think, living by the river like we do, there would be plenty for them to chew on without sampling my new raspberry canes!
Just the other day my husband came to the house and told me he thought some of the canes were alive. So we headed out to the two areas where we had planted them and Surprise!!!!! there are canes with leaves on them! I was so excited to see that some had survived the late planting, winter season and pillaging by renegade rabbits.
I am always amazed at the tenacity of plants. It seems they can hang on through anything. They may be slightly (or a lot) battered by storms and/or pests (yes, I mean rabbits…sorry to my rabbit-loving husband) but a lot of them always seem to pull through and thrive. There might be a life lesson in there somewhere…..hang on through the storms….better times are coming.
We also got our potatoes in the ground today so I am feeling really fulfilled. We usually try get them in sometime during the Good Friday/Easter weekend. We usually plant the Yukon Gold as we have found them to be very good keepers through the winter and we love the flavor of them when made into mashed potatoes.
Spring is such a great time of rebirth and the greening up of plants. I love the feeling that the earth is coming back to life. I realize that life has always been there, just quietly waiting to be warmed back to life after the cold winter. It brings such hope for those warm summer days, fruitful gardens and full pantries in the fall.
May you have a chance to dig in the dirt, experience the green grass under your feet and enjoy all the “surprise” plants that come back to bless you. May you find hope in the rebirth that is spring and may you be as tenacious as transplants.
“I believe in process.
I believe in four seasons.
I believe that winter’s tough, but spring’s coming.
I believe that there’s a growing season.
And I think that you realize that in life, you grow.
You get better.”
–Steve Southerland
Faye,
May all your wishes come true for us. I wish our summers were not so harsh, so we could start the growing season earlier, instead of in the fall.
Susie
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I will pray they do Susie! Our summers can be extremely hot and humid and our winters really cold and snowy. So spring and fall are wonderful seasons!
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The rabbits eat our raspberries to the ground a lot of years and they keep spreading so you should be good…..if not, you know where to come. A friend of Jackie dug a bunch out a couple years ago and I couldn’t even find where it was by the time I picked them.
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That is good to know Linda! I wasn’t sure as these were just put in last fall. Was pretty excited to see them come up.
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I laughed at your renegade rabbits, while approving of your disgust with them. I came close to cursing cutworms when they chewed through coleus stems. That was years ago, but I haven’t forgotten to despise them.
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I have had cutworms in my vegetable garden and yes I have a huge disgust for them….probably even more than rabbits!
Maybe my renegade rabbits actually did the pruning for me? But they still eat to many things I like.
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I loved reading all your words and the photo. My husband bought me 2 plants for our anniversary April 1 and I’ve been waiting for voles & moles to move on before planting them. You have reminded me to protect them with hardwire cloth and fencing. I hope they reproduce so well this summer they can withstand the pests next spring like yours have. What a symbol of resilience and rebirth!
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That is the great thing about raspberries! They send up shoots from underground so the above ground pests can’t get them all!
We have voles and moles in our vegetable garden most years and they do eat some of the root crops. I am never sure what to do about them!
I hope your plants make it and give you many more!!
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I have bunnies, chipmunks, squirrels that damage my garden, but none can compare to what a hungry groundhog can do. I’m glad some of your raspberries survived, they will probably grow to be amazing bushes now…that is what I am hoping for you.
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We have groundhogs also and they tend to wreak havoc on the soybean fields. They are kind of funny to watch but are so hungry!
The raspberries probably will do better as they were pruned so well by those bunnies!
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Yes, very hungry, last year they decided my yard was a banquet hall.
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that was so nice of you to provide a feast for them!
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Nice post Faye. Sometimes those wild critters make planting things a tough job. We have raspberries in our yard and many wild rabbits – they have never chewed on our raspberry vines. Your rabbits must be extra hungry. Lol There is a lesson in things in nature that overcome the odds and survive. Humans can survive a lot of trials and tribulations if they stay strong and trust in the Lord. 🙂 xoxo
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They probably do get pretty hungry here through the winter months. With the snow on the ground it is hard for them to find food.
They do keep it interesting!
I am so grateful to have the Lord as my rock! He never moves even when everything else shifts around.
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WordPress is messing me up on receiving comments. Had to come over to your blog to catch your comment. Yes, the little critters get hungry in the winter. Thanks for your comments on my last post. The Lord is definitely our rock. 🙂 xoxo
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WordPress seems to be on a roll lately. I have one blog I follow I cannot access with the little notification bell either. I need to go the long way round to get back to hers.
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WordPress keeps changing little things here and there in their system. When they do that they seem to cause bloggers problems. Guess those on free blogs, like me, should not complain.
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I am on the freebie too!!
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Ive found a few raspberry bushes at our new “old” home and am wildly anticipating the fruit as well. How do you keep the bunnies away?
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I have found the only thing that works is a chicken wire fence or hardware cloth fence. Two feet tall is plenty tall and will keep them out.
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Lovely, Fate, hope you get your raspberries! We are busy on our patch too, love this time of year!
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This is a great time of year! All the stuff coming back up after the winter.
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How exciting about about your raspberries hanging on through the winter and those rude renegade rabbits! I (of course!) have never planted raspberries. I have planted watermelon seeds on one side of our house when the children were fairly young. In the late Spring, I had decided the seeds were not happy with their location. And I had taken such good care of them, I thought! Then…all of a sudden…vines were EVERYWHERE on that side of the house. They were totally wild! But…no watermelons!
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That is what happens to our pumpkins the vines are absolutely everywhere! I like to grow the pie pumpkins. Plus……rabbits don’t like those vines!
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I am losing my mind…my overpowering vines were from pumpkin seeds!!! What a nutcase I am!!! Mike and I had been talking about where we will plant the watermelon seeds at the farm! Mike’s dad always grew lots of watermelons!!
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Rabbits…oh, those adorable little flea-bitten firballs have eaten even small trees I planted to the ground! Because of them, I had to build a short fence around our garden. And here I was blaming the poor slugs for turning my tomato plants into tiny nubs. 😉
Our raspberry plants have blooms on them at the moment. Blooms! My mouth waters just thinking about those berries. I sure hope they produce well this year, as there wasn’t much of a crop the first two years I grew them. I moved them to a new spot with more room to grow last year, and they are looking good at the moment. I hope yours produce well, too!
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I had raspberries several years ago but after two very hard winters many of us in our area had our plants die off. So now I am trying again! I cannot wait. I bet you are getting anxious now that yours are blooming!
We usually put a short fence around the vegetable garden or I end up replanting my beans and peas over and over due to those “flea-bitten furballs” LOL.
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Good luck with them 🙂 we did have some raspberry canes in this garden when we moved here…they took over…so my partner had to dig a load up and try and contain the others, somehow..:)
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They do like to take over! I have mine in an area that I just keep mowing close to them so they stay contained.
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Yes that’s a good idea 🙂 They just seem to pop up all over!
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Erm, I don’t like digging! I used to, as a kid, but somehow it no longer appeals. I think paper took over! Love raspberries though. I hope your efforts and hard work are rewarded with a good yield.
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It is a lot more fun just picking the produce as planting and tending it. Will see how the plants do.
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Yes, I think I have become a picker, or a plucker instead. I can manage tubs and window boxes, but I have accidentally killed every indoor plant I owned!
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I find I am fairly good with cactus! You can forget about them a long time before you water them again! Perfect plant.
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We will see….
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oh-I love raspberries too-It is wonderful when paired with chocolate! I have never grown any, but I have heard they take a while to produce fruit-I send best wished for yours!
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I saw a recipe that used chocolate as the dish! You coated a muffin liner and let harden, then white chocolate inside and raspberries on top. It sounded wonderful!
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oh goodness-that sound like a big winner! all my favorites at once! I sure wish you blessings of abundance for the raspberries!
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Love raspberries! I hope they start to produce for you soon. Darn bunnies like them, too.
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I like the bunnies…..just not in my garden! LOL.
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There is something very special about Spring, isn’t there. Almost spiritual. Not a surprise that Easter coincides with the season..:)
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You are so right on that. Redemption followed by Rebirth.
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I used this as my quote for the Monday post :)!
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I’m glad you liked it..:)
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