alipyper likes to garden???

I spent the other day weeding and preparing the raspberry bed for winter. I was pretty aggressive about removing old canes and now that it's done I'm in a panic that I went a little too crazy. It sure looks nice and neat, but what if I did more harm than good? What if I cut the canes too short and in the wrong way? What if the roots are in danger of winter kill because I've exposed the soil? What if the weight of the winter snow that gets shoveled off the driveway weighs the canes down too much?



As I was working, I kept thinking about Antiques Roadshow where someone brings in a gorgeous piece of furniture and the appraiser says, "This is a wonderful, authentic piece that is worth $10,000. But if you had only left the original old patina on, instead of stripping off the dirt and grime and refinishing it, it WOULD HAVE been worth $150,000!" What if that's what I've done with our favorite crop?

More often than not, I'm rendered motionless by "analysis paralysis." Very often I've convinced myself something won't work before I even try. And if I think I'll look like a fool doing something? Nuh uhh. Won't willingly go there.

As you can see there is LOTS more to do while the weather holds to get the garden beds ready for winter. While I weed and prune I'll be thinking about overcoming my "analysis paralysis." And I'll be praying the whole winter through that what I've done with the raspberries was the right thing to do.