Berry Delicious
In the future, we hope to plant blueberry bushes and raspberry canes, until then we have to find them elsewhere. Lucky for us, Sweet Season Farm is located just a few miles down the road and has pick-your-own raspberry and blueberries.
Yesterday morning we loaded up and headed down there to pick. Our neighbor and her mother-in-law were also in our party.
Mr Chiots and I didn’t end up getting any blueberries, we plan on heading back for those later this week. I might freeze just a few, or we might eat them all fresh. Last night I was thinking about making a batch of Nourishing Custard with fresh raspberries. Or I might pull out a few of my cookbooks for inspiration. I love fresh berries in season!
Do you grow any berries in your garden? If you had a glut of red and black raspberries what would you make with them?
Filed under Going Local | Comments (16)
I had a glut of raspberries and they went into the freezer. I love freezing raspberries and blueberries – no cooking, no prep, just into a bag and into the freezer they go! We’ll be buying 40 pounds of organic wild blueberries in a few weeks and they go into the freezer too. You might want to try wild blueberries (if you haven’t already) before you freeze up too many of the cultivated ones – they are the best!
to Joan's comment
I was going to contact you about where you get your wild blueberries from. I want to buy about 40-50lbs too for the freezer.
to Susy's comment
We currently have strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and grapes. But none in large quantities.
We have 7 blueberry bushes and got a pretty good crop off of them this year for the first time. I froze most and use them in smoothies and made blueberry muffins a few times. But we eat very little in the way of grains so no pies, breads or other things that most folks use up blueberries in. The muffins were for company. But we will be planting more bushes this next spring. I had to laugh when my hubby suggesting giving a neighbor a peck of blueberries in trade for a bag of apples off their tree. A peck. We might have that in a few years!
The strawberries and blackberries were also frozen and used in smoothies and home made ice cream. The ice cream is our one treat that fits our dietary lifestyle. Good rich ice cream made with grass fed cream and milk from the Farmer’s market. The berries don’t go in the ice cream, but over. Along with a dash of home made liqueur made from the same type of berries. Hmmmmmm goood.
I am also anxiously awaiting our first crop of hardy kiwi. I thought it might be this year but alas, maybe next. The female vine bloomed but the male is lagging a bit behind. The description in the sales catalog said they would bear at year 5. But I am hearing that more realistically, it will be year 6 to year 10. Oh my, the wait. But I have heard tell that 1 female vine can bear 100’s of lbs of fruit. It may not be a classic berry but since they are small like grapes I put them in the berry category.
to Ann's comment
I’ve been wanting to add hardy kiwi to my garden as well. The waiting for things to produce makes them taste sweeter when they finally do arrive!
to Susy's comment
we just planted raspberry, blackberry, and blueberry plants this spring. They are doing great and have had fruit on them. The company we got ours from is Stark Brothers. Great people to work with. I was given their name from a couple who have an apple orchard. I now have a baby orchard growing with apples, pears, and peaches. Can’t wait until next year for the berries and hopeful in the next several years my trees to bear fruit.
to Amy S's comment
I do have plans for berries in the garden but just haven’t reached the point to beginning planting them just yet. If I did have them, the plan would be jellies and preserves but I expect they would get all eaten fresh for the first few years.
Have a great berry day.
to Nebraska Dave's comment
My kids have been begging for raspberry and blueberry bushes since the spring. I hope that by next year we will have them planted and a fence installed. Got to keep the critters out. Of course we would still go to local farms to pick berries – got to support the local farmers too!
to Adelina Anderson's comment
We only have blackberries, which I’m not too crazy about. Too many seeds. We pick our own strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries at a farm and freeze them mostly plain for yogurt fruit shakes. About the only breakfast I can handle when it’s 85 degrees in the kitchen at six in the morning.
I’m planning on planting some strawberries next year, though. Never grown them, so we’ll see how that goes . . .
to kristin @ going country's comment
I grow strawberries, red autumn raspberries & gooseberries. Luckily there are lots of wild brambles so get to pick blackberries.
How nice to be able to get wild blueberries :) I get a small harvest from the few bushes I have in pots….
Raspberry sorbet & raspberry ripple ice cream. Mmm.
to Mich's comment
Ever since I started reading your blog, I’ve planted strawberries and raspberries. I got enough strawberries for some jam this year. Between what I have planted and what I found wild, I might have enough raspberries for some preserves, if they don’t disappear before that. A blueberry area is being prepared for next season, until then I’m collecting those locally. Elderberries are my BIG crop and I don’t have to do anything. They grow everywhere on my property. I’m looking forward to trying my hand at making elderberry jelly and syrup this season.
to John's comment
I had a blueberry bush for about a year and a half before the deer ate it to the ground. Oh well. I do have about 150 strawberry plants though — started with only 24, 4 years ago in a large bed and just let them spread on their own. This year was quite the crop. I think I owe it to last summer’s drought.
When the plants go on sale, I am debating on getting a blueberry or a raspberry or two, and planting them along the chainlink fence that runs around my property in the back. It would look a lot better than just the ugly old fence. Might even be able to espalier them onto the fence.
to Josh's comment
Our little farm has 10 blueberry bushes, too many strawberries (both cultivated and wild) to count under hazelnut trees for ground cover, and we just planted our raspberries from our old house this year. We also has massive amounts of Oregon Grape berries, aronia berries, grapes, and hardy kiwi. I am looking forward to the rose hips too.
Unfortunately, the landscaping goats we have visiting were spooked during the 4th, when some city people came out into the country to recreate the Battle of Baghdad, and the boats were able to breech the electric fence and get to the blueberries before us. They gave them a hefty pruning. :). We had intended fresh eating and freezing for french toast casserole.
We have so much established already, that I’d really like to find ways to combine the herbs and fruit before I start planting anymore. However, I do wish to plant lots more Oregon Grape, Indian Plum, and maybe some Salmonberries around in the chicken pastures, so they can forage for goodies.
to whit's comment
Berries are my favorite fruits…..I have blackberries(two types), raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, gooseberries, Aronia Nero, elderberry….we also have grapes…although not a berry….but something I will pick right off and eat…..I am planning on adding currants and that should be it….I freeze all my berries…..We eat them in our oatmeal….scones…make raspberry coulis…or curd…..The elderberry this year will go into a tonic…..and that is a first for me.
to amy's comment
I really really really want to grow blueberries because blueberry muffins with the crumbly top are gifts from Heaven!
However, in the meantime we grow raspberries, but only because the bush was already here when we moved in! I’m not crazy about them, but I’ll eat them. My husband will eat them and so will our almost 2 year old. Our 6 year old wants nothing to do with anything fruit. :(
to Caroline's comment
I love making freezer jams with berries and then use them as a cake filler in winter. That taste of berries helps you believe in summer during cold and dreary winter months.
to Marcia's comment
We have a variety of berries and fruit trees. We have a 40-50 foot row of raspberries and strawberries. We make batches and batches of jam and give as gifts at Christmas and this year the berries seem to be in abundance and we are freezing a lot. A little bit of summer during the dark, rainy and grey of winter. We have a dozen blueberry bushes, I’ve made muffins and crumble bar, most of the berries are going into the freezer. I can’t seem to keep up with picking, come on over and help yourself.
to Colleen's comment