Gardening: Raspberries and the Red-Neck Cane-Boring Beetle

Disclaimer: I am not a gardening expert. I have no formal education or training in this area. I only have hands-on experience, personal research, and common sense. ;) With that in mind, let's talk about berries! YAY! (and bugs. blech.)

I love fresh berries. In my garden patch, I have raspberries, strawberries, and blackberries. Last year, late in the season, I noticed that some of the raspberry canes had been hollowed out. As a result the berries that branched off those canes shriveled and died before ripening. I researched it a bit last year, but I figured the season was over and the winter cold would kill off any pesky pests. So I didn't worry about it too much.

This year, however, I saw this critter:

photo credit: http://bugs.decemberized.com/browse.asp?group=Beetles

A red-neck cane-boring beetle. Sounds bad. The thing is, I only ever saw ONE of these beetles. But I saw a lot of his (and his friends') damage. They were hollowing out the older canes in my raspberry patch.

Sometimes the holes were huge and obvious. Other times the holes were tiny.

So I began researching ... online and at the local garden store and with local gardening experts. The experts all seemed to agree that the only option was to cut out all of the damaged canes and spray poison on the entire patch to kill the infestation of cane-boring beetles. "Infestation" ... what? I only saw ONE beetle, but the experts told me my patch was infested and I needed to sacrifice the crop. Spraying the poison would not only kill the beetles, but it would also make the berries inedible. Well. I wasn't ready to lose the crop. It was a huge crop. PLUS, my raspberries were right next to my blackberries.

And I was really looking forward to an amazing crop of blackberries this year. So I did more research. My online research found a handful of organic gardening sites that explained my other option: hard work. If I chose to not use poison, I would have to check the canes daily for damage, cut out the entire damaged cane, and discard it - removing it completely from the garden area. I went with that option. It has been a lot of work. And I discovered that the beetles mostly go after the older canes that I had pruned last fall. I also noticed that the bush would grow leaves over the ends of the canes in an attempt at self-preservation. 

Together, the raspberry bush and I worked hard to preserve and harvest the crop. When I'd go out to pick berries, I'd take an empty paint can and wear it at my hip, secured by an old belt. By having the can hanging at my side, I could then use both hands to pick berries. That process made it much easier for me to pick efficiently.

Ladybugs were terrific little helpers in the garden. They ate the aphids and helped keep the bush healthy.

Because I chose to work extra hard in the garden, I've enjoyed a lot of delicious fresh berries this season. However, now that the season is nearing it's end (we had an early season this year), I've decided cut the patch down and spray poison.

There were more damaged raspberry canes than I had realized, and I also discovered that those pesky little beetles had drilled into the canes near the bases - at the sides - not just at the top of the pruned cane. I haven't sprayed poison yet, because my organic gardening instincts tell me not to do it. However, I'm concerned if we have another mild winter, the beetles will be even worse next year if I don't deal with it completely now.

Are you a gardening expert? Any advice to share? Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments below. 

I'll post an update down the road. I intend to protect and harvest my blackberries this season. Wish me luck! Until then ...


Happy gardening!

Unexpected Surprises!

... Lessons in Picking Blackberries #3 ...

I went out to pick blackberries this morning,

but look at what I found in my berry patch:

What a delight that unexpected surprise brought to me!

It reminded me of an article I read in WRITER'S DIGEST titled "The Geyser Approach to Revision" by James Scott Bell. He suggested overwriting "... for a few minutes without stopping ..." because "Intentionally overwriting brings up all manner of surprises, most of which you'll not use. But in the pile you'll pull out a gem that you will want to keep" (page 23).

So, if you're stuck on a scene, description, voice, or whatever, try letting your imagination loose for a few minutes. Go crazy overwriting the problem section. Who knows, maybe you'll find some unexpected surprises!

:)
Happy Writing.
...

What is your favorite revision tip?

Prune Your Bush

No ... the title of this post is NOT a beloved euphemism. :-) It is an analogy.

... Lessons in Blackberry Picking #2 ...

You must take time to prune the unnecessary vines in the blackberry bush.

Yes, it can be very frustrating to spend more time pruning than picking ... especially when you can see all of those huge ripe berries just waiting to be picked (and popped into your mouth). However, it will be much easier to get to those berries if you trim the unnecessary leaders that are blocking your path first. Plus, by cutting out those thorny vines that are not producing berries themselves, you give the bush more energy to put toward the fruit.

How does this relate to writing?

Revising and editing are crucial to the writing process. Yes, as writers, we have a ton of great ideas bouncing around in our heads just waiting to be plucked out and plopped down onto paper ... but we just can't let them grow wild. We must cut out the unnecessary words, paragraphs, and scenes, in order to make it easier for the reader to enjoy the ripe parts of the story.

YUM!

Are you currently pruning a Work-in-Progress?

Lessons in Picking Blackberries

YAY! Today was the first official day of picking blackberries. I love them. We have a HUGE bush in our backyard, but the crop is really late this year.

Here's the first lesson of the season:

Just because the berry is black, doesn't mean it's ready to be picked. 

Why?

Because, if you want sweet juicy berries, you need to wait until a gentle touch causes them to fall from the vine into your hand. If you have to pull or tug the berry AT ALL to get it to release from the vine, it's not ready, and it will taste sour.

How does this relate to writing?

Simple.

Just because your manuscript is FINISHED, doesn't mean it's ready for publication!! It may not be perfectly ripe yet. Give it some more time to ripen and then work through the bush again. :)

What's your favorite fruit of the summer?

Cutting the Dead Weight

Ah, blackberries. Love them. We make blackberry jam, pie, syrup, muffins, pancakes, cookies, and more. Luckily, we have a productive bush in our backyard. 

Some people will claim that a blackberry bush is nothing more than an intrusive weed. Well, it can be, if it's not properly tended.

In order to keep the bush under control and in order to keep it producing each year, the dead weight must be cut back while the bush is dormant.  That's a tough job.

Anyone who's ever picked blackberries knows the bush (in it's natural form) is spiked with needle like thorns. The torns are not only on the branches, but they can also be found on the underside of the leaves.  The only thing worse than being stabbed by a blackberry bush thorn while picking, is being stabbed by the hardened dried-out thorns when the bush is dormant.

Cutting the dead weight is necessary.  Leaving the excess branches makes the bush bulkier, not healthier or more productive.  The excess branches make it harder to find the valuable fruit. If the fruit is harder to pick, less will be picked. The workers may even give up and never finish finding the fruit. It's just too hard.

Relate this to editing your manuscript. The dead weight, the excess branches, need to be cut. The extra words in your story make it tough for the reader to find the gems of your story. Some readers may give up, because it's just too much work.

Cut the dead weight. When your writing is lighter, it may produce more valuable gems.