A Raspberry Patch and a few Nettles
My parents planted two grape vines on the upper edge of their garden along with some raspberry bushes. They also planted the same in the house they had ‘in town’ and my Dad, knowing I liked raspberreis would pick a small bowl for me each morning for breakfast when I was there helping him with his finances.
The patch on the farm was wildly over-grown with a few small trees—and the first year, a brown thrush had a nest—and was not happy when I tackled the pruning and thinning.
The grapes have never produced–the most has been a handful of green grapes half the size of currants—and since I am not fond of grapes–and they are not producing—I pruned them back to the ground—in July. The vines and smothered the raspberries to the point that there were only four canes. Major unhappiness on my part!!!!!
I wasn’t really sure I would be returning on this trip–and not sure I would have the time—it was a three day project in July—-
Here it is when I started.
and here it is when I finished;
All that green—NETTLES! It was a warm day and although I usually work outside with long sleeves–I took off my jacket-shirt—and got lots of stings from those nettles. The tan stuff piled up is corn fodder—it will take me thirty years to get rid of all that corn fodder in the hay mow====I’m not sure why it was put there—but I am using it as mulch.
Look at that lovely green stuff on the right—all of it new canes—so I will have a bumper crop of raspberries next year—and some more nettles to pull.
And here is what it looked like in July—all that green is grape vine.
Sylvia Weir Art 