Fruit Gardens 2021

SwampDonkey · June 20, 2021, 02:51:00 PM

Yes, mine are Concord. Lots of blooms even after a killing frost. I watered the vines that morning of the frost before sunrise which saved them from complete loss. They seem to be quite winter hardy, I only loose a little on the tips as the vines just keep growing until they can't. So that end would not be hardened off.

The plums are growing like weeds. The fruit this year is pretty much none because of frost and 1/4" hail just after they bloomed. Life of a farmer. :D

Magicman · June 21, 2021, 01:29:07 PM

I was giving the sawmill a "look over" this morning before tomorrow's sawing job. It stays parked in Marty's back yard so naturally I needed to check his Blueberries.

Yes the bushes are loaded quite nicely.....

Soooo I picked a hat full for my breakfast cereal for the next few mornings.

SwampDonkey · June 21, 2021, 02:53:52 PM

Good stuff MM, I like'm on cereal and also in pancake batter. But also muffins with a nice morning coffee. ;)

Although, I have not ate muffins of any kind for quite awhile. I usually use natural peanut butter between two halves of bread with a coffee on weekends before the breakfast. But I have a blueberry muffin recipe I always made in years past. I usually buy my blueberries frozen, a lot cheaper, as I don't grow any. Dad used to and I tended those for a few years down in Grafton after he passed away.

SwampDonkey · July 11, 2021, 05:07:09 PM

Been picking raspberries this weekend. I see the birds are to. I don't feel they are overly productive this year, but I pick a standard berry box every time I go down. I don't have a huge patch, 3 rows, 20 feet long each or so.

Grapes, all kinds of them this year as well as black elders. Lots of green blackberries, be another month for those. ;D

sawguy21 · July 11, 2021, 05:35:37 PM

Our raspberries are pretty much wiped out due to the heat, I had some fresh cherries which were plump and juicy but little or no flavor. :( Peaches and apricots are not doing well either and the jury is out on apples. Vineyards are the rage here but they must be suffering too.

HemlockKing · July 11, 2021, 06:24:39 PM

My wild blueberrys are ready to pick in some areas already! Had some good Pickens today!

Lko67 · July 11, 2021, 09:39:13 PM

Picked close to fifteen lbs of blueberries from our neighbors. Lets us pick them every year. She has 10 bushes. Our pear trees are loaded. Made the mistake of planting full sized trees. Ripped some 2x4s in half and made some tees to prop up branches already had one branch break

SwampDonkey · July 12, 2021, 04:06:12 AM

Haven't seen much for blueberries here yet. Where I was working in black spruce last week, the ground is covered in bushes, never saw a berry.

HemlockKing · July 12, 2021, 05:28:00 AM

This land is infested with blueberry. Everywhere. Have blueberry u picks just down the road. All the guy did to make them was clear the trees and keep the bush down the blueberry took over in under 10 yr

SwampDonkey · July 12, 2021, 05:36:50 AM

In my area here there are no wild blueberry bushes, I have to go in the outback where they grow on glacial sand and black spruce ground. Up here in the potato belt, nary a blueberry except little gardens where you usually have to add something to the soil to make it more sour. I've picked 5 gallon pales full in the past, sit on a stump and fill a bucket. The bigger ones was always in a little shade. ;)

SwampDonkey · July 16, 2021, 03:07:56 PM

Blackberries

SwampDonkey · July 16, 2021, 03:37:23 PM

Grapes

https://youtu.be/6jV7q0k9uAI

SwampDonkey · July 30, 2021, 05:20:46 PM

Grapes everywhere.

SwampDonkey · July 30, 2021, 05:21:24 PM

blackberries ripening

mike_belben · July 30, 2021, 10:50:03 PM

Our blackberries came and went pretty fast this year. Shadey grown berries were much better than full sun.

Mooseherder · July 31, 2021, 10:54:53 AM

Last year was bumper crop for blueberries and raspberries. This year pretty weak. Must be the cycle of things.

Mooseherder · August 02, 2021, 08:57:09 AM

Raspberry run yesterday.

HemlockKing · August 02, 2021, 10:45:24 AM

Gosh dang it! Now I'm craving some fresh rhasberries! I'm blueberry locked here! Nothing else but miles and miles of blueberry!

Raider Bill · August 02, 2021, 10:49:52 AM

Its pineapple season bere. Getting 3-5 a day.
Its a race between us, possums, coons, citrus rats and armadillos.

I'm eating 1.5 or 2 a day.

HemlockKing · August 02, 2021, 11:19:02 AM

It's a buffet for everyone!

SwampDonkey · August 02, 2021, 03:37:36 PM

Holly cats Bill, I only eat one a week.

Right now I'm eating Ontario peaches and just finished the last of the raspberries here today in my lunch bucket out in the bush.

Apples are in season here now to, yellow transparent.

Raider Bill · August 02, 2021, 06:19:37 PM

I love pineapple but enoughs enough.
Tonight I'll grill some, tomorrow it will be over cottage cheese for breakfast and then throughout the day nibbling on it for snacks.
Just picked this one. It wasn't yellow this morning.
Looks like I only have about 15 more to go.

SwampDonkey · August 22, 2021, 04:12:23 AM

The black elderberry syrup got condensed a little too much so it turned to jelly when cooled. ;D

Takes a lot of elderberries to make much of anything. In this case, enough for some taste. :D

I did this from fresh berries, but a better approach is to freeze the berries and thaw to release the juices, then strain the liquid. That way no seed and stem in the cooking juice. And they do have tiny stems you can never get completely off all the berries in this lifetime. ;)

Lko67 · August 22, 2021, 08:16:26 PM

Steam juicer is the way to go just put berries in top and steam from bottom goes thru berries and releases juice. No seeds stems or skin pretty slick. We did 53 pounds (just berries no stems) 2 years ago made wine and jelly

SwampDonkey · September 11, 2021, 12:54:45 PM

Six 750 ml bottles of grape-elder-raspberry juice were made this morning. And a tall tumbler left over for tonight's tomato-salami-cheese sandwich on sour dough bread. 8)