Blueberry Delight

I wanted to give you all an update on our blueberry bushes.  All sixteen are still alive and seem to be doing well!  All are showing new growth. The blossoms turned into fruit and the fruit is ripening!

In addition to increasing the acidity of the soil through a couple sulfur treatments (one while planting and the other a few weeks later) and some other tips we're trying out from a blueberry-grower-friend (we'll share more about what we're doing once we know it's working well), Jamey bought some cheap litmus papers that we can test the soil's acidity with.  As of a month ago, the acidity level wasn't quite up to par (par being 4.5 to 5), but over time it will continue to improve.  We'll test the soil again in the spring and see where we are.

As soon as the first couple berries started to ripen, I covered them with bird netting.  It's only a minor inconvenience to lift the netting to pick the berries and pull the weeds.  As the bushes grow taller, netting them will be more of a challenge, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.  An occasional bird has gotten caught in the netting- sometimes we can free it, once one died tangled up in it, and another time I finally freed one and Somersault promptly pounced on it and ate it.  Thanks, kitty (not).

We've had pretty regular rain so far this summer which has been wonderful.  Sometimes, it's not a real soaking rain, so I water the bushes to make sure they get a good dousing every 3-4 days.  I've learned with red raspberries that if the plants don't get good water after the fruit is set, it doesn't ripen properly- instead they shrivel and dry up so I want them watered well.

There might not be many, but they're ours:-).

After lugging 5-gallon buckets over to the bushes a few times, I borrowed the kids' wagon and now wheel my buckets down.  Water is pumped from the cistern at our back door which collects house roof rain water.

The wood chip mulch has been great.  Not only does it keep the moisture in but as it breaks down, it will mimic the forest floor.  This reminds me of the wild blueberries that grew along the edge of the woods in the mountains of Pennsylvania where I picked them growing up at a family cabin.

Also, you may know that if you lay fresh blueberries out in a single layer after picking, they'll ripen up even further.  The wood chips provide a clean landing place for any ripe blueberries that fall off the bush.  The next time I come along to pick, the ones laying on the wood chips are beautifully ripe and clean- perfectly fine to eat.

wineberries and blueberries on cereal

While we're only eating them fresh because our harvest is tiny, here are a few of our favorite blueberry recipes just in case you find yourselves swimming in them....

Fruit and Oat Muffins

Classic Blueberry Muffins

Blueberry (or any fruit, really) Swirl Coffee Cake

Mama JJ's Aunt Valerie's Blueberry (or Strawberry) Bars

Freezing Blueberries

Blueberry Crumb Bars

Cobbler, Southern Style

Blueberry Buckle

Fruit Pizza with Lemon Curd
Blueberry Zucchini Bread

I'm pretty sure that those blueberry bushes are the best birthday present I've ever received.  It's funny how what we value changes.  I'm thinking of finding Jamey some dried cow dung to use in his bee smoker for his birthday this year.  Shhh- don't tell him.  He's going to be thrilled:-).

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Picking with my Berry Girl

Every other day (break in the rain or shine), Miriam (newly four years old) and I head outside to pick berries.  It takes almost an hour to circle around the property to check every bush and bramble this time of year.

 black raspberries brambles at the edge of the woods

The only berries we planted were Heritage Red Raspberries which we've continued to divide and transplant as they send out new shoots each spring.  Black raspberries, wine berries and mulberries were already here. We've encouraged the spreading of the black raspberries and wine berries by knocking down surrounding weeds to promote more light.  And spread, they have!  I'm also picking small handfuls of blueberries, which is like heaven to me.  

black raspberries

There are about a dozen distinct areas around the yard where berries are.  I don my berry container necklace (allowing me to pick with two hands and not spill my bucket).  Miriam takes no container because she picks for her tummy, not the bucket.  I love knowing that she gets these large doses of spray-free sun-ripened berries.

ripening mulberries

Between mouthfuls of berries, she talks.  Nonstop.  She reassures me when there are bugs or when I feel as if I may topple into the bushes as I reach for some berries hiding toward the back.  She'll say, "Don't worry, Mama, I'll scare that ant away," or "Just stand up, Mama, you'll be fine".  She tells me how she likes the black raspberries best because they're so easy to pick (why more so than the others, I have no idea).  She comments about the chickens, telling me who the biggest pullet is how she'll protect the others (her name is King of the Wind).  She pushes her way through prickly bushes where I'd rather not go and points out the ones we've missed.

mixed berries

The black raspberries are still going strong and the red raspberries and wine berries are just starting, so there will be many more hours of berry picking this summer.  I treasure these hours with her, at age four- full of ideas and chit chat.  She treasures them, too.  She gets her Mama all to herself with no competition to hold my ear.  Sam used to be my berry boy.  Then Sadie became my berry girl.  Now it's Miriam.  Whatever will I do when she grows out of this, too?

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Blue Gold

I'm pretty sure my favorite fruit is the blueberry.

I grew up following behind my mother and grandmother, a bucket strung around my neck.  I'm sure that early on, I would eat more than went into my bucket, just like in the book Blueberries for Sal.  We picked at my Great Uncle John's farm which his family still owns so our family still has access to.  As I got older and especially as I started thinking about growing our own food, my goal shifted and I filled those buckets as fast and as full as I could whenever I had the chance.  I wrote about one of our trips there in this post.

His farm is out of state, so even though there are more than enough blueberries for us to have our fill, perfectly timing a weekend to go pick is tough and we feel badly relying on nearby family to pick for us.

I also feel badly because my very last quart of frozen blueberries is almost empty.

When we first moved to this house, we haphazardly bought a few blueberry plants and plopped them into the ground.  We crossed our fingers hoping that we had good blueberry soil.  Meanwhile, the blueberry plants died a quick and, hopefully, painless death.

Years later, I did  some research and started a notebook on all that starting a small pick-your-own blueberry patch would entail.  One of our side yards was the target planting spot.  Maps were drawn up, the shade was charted, and I got pregnant with Miriam.  So much for those plans.  Morning sickness, Jamey in school, and everything else caused us to put those plans on the back burner.

This winter I told Jamey I wanted to try again (for blueberries) and asked for some for my birthday.  It's not until June, but early spring planting is the way to go.  This past weekend, we planted the majority of the bushes he bought for me.  I have the sore muscles to prove it.  These will be for us, but hopefully we'll one day have enough to share with friends and neighbors.

I'm going to show you what we did.  While we did have our homework done this time, everyone's soil is different, so I'm not going to go into detailed specifics.  We're not successful blueberry growers yet!  So, if you're interested in planting blueberries do your own research specific to your own soil and region.

We decided to plant them at the upper end of our sunflower patch where they would receive full sun.  This spot is also right outside our kitchen windows, so I can keep a close eye on the weeds, birds, and children picking.  We already had two sweet cherry trees planted at that end, so one row has both cherries and blueberries.  The cherry trees might provide some shade, but it will be minimal since these are fruit trees that  we intend to keep well-pruned for ample production.

Blueberries need special attention for the following reasons:

1) They are particular about their soil, specifically the acidity level.  Have your soil tested and determine if you need to manipulate the soil to increase it's acidity (like we did).

2) They don't like wet feet.  By this I mean they need proper drainage.  Planting them on slight mounds and mixing in plenty of organic matter (like peat) will help with this.

3) Their roots are shallow, so they don't like to dry out.

4) They like full sun.

Our attempt is shown below.

Our sunflower patch is a patchy mess of bare ground and grass.  You can tell where the upper end of it is because of the two cherry trees.

Here Jamey is tilling the all-blueberry row.  He found very old (and falling apart) discarded railroad ties to help keep out the weeds and help hold the additional soil/peat that those rows will contain.  You can see Sam in the red shirt by his bike killing ants by lighting them on fire with a magnifying glass.  He's a boy.

Here the railroad ties have been dug homes and are in place.  I dug the holes for the blueberry bushes in this row.  The holes are five feet apart and the row is about three feet wide.

This next photograph shows Jamey tilling up the row with the cherry trees.

I prepared the holes and soil and planted those little beauties with Sam, Sadie and Miriam helping.

We then mulched them with several inches of untreated mulch.  We ran out of railroad ties.  If anyone local knows where we can score some more super-old ones for free, we'd really appreciate it.  We still have three bushes that we didn't have room for, so they will be planted along the work shop (the white building to the right).  It's shaded in the early morning, but receives intense afternoon sun (the white wall will help reflect it, too).

We planted at least four varieties to ensure pollination and chose bushes of different ages, anywhere between one and four-year-old plants, for a total of 16 bushes.  According to one source, each mature bush can produce as many as a gallon or more blueberries each year.  I'm not counting on having it that good.  Even half of that would make me very, very happy.

Our fingers are crossed once again!  If you grow blueberries, what tips do you have for us?  What do you do for them year to year?  How many bushes do you have and what is their yield?  Do you love them as much as I do (this may be a trick question because I'm pretty sure I love them best)? :-)

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For the Love of Berries

For some of you, this may be an extremely boring post.  For me, it's not because it's all about berries and I love berries.  They are, hands down, my favorite fruit.  Five kinds grow on our property- strawberries (planted by us), mulberries (the tree was here), red raspberries (we transplanted "Heritage" shoots from friends which yield twice a year), black raspberries (grow and spread wild), and wine berries (grow and spread wild).  The only berries we're missing, as far as I'm concerned, are blueberries.  The second year we lived here, we planted about five bushes and they all promptly died.  We've since learned that they often take a little bit more soil prep that we initially thought.  In a year or two, we may be ready to give them another go.

Since our strawberry harvest was on the very small side this year (we only had enough to eat them fresh and make a couple desserts), we are thrilled that our other berries seem to be doing very well.  We've had lots of rain and berries love rain.

Red raspberry, black raspberry, wine berry.

Every other day, I head outside with two pint containers and pick.  Right now, the mulberries and black raspberries are fading out and the wine berries and red raspberries and just ripening.  I don't divide out the berries, I just fill my containers with whatever I'm picking.  One container goes into the freezer and the other into the fridge for eating fresh or adding to (or on top of) baked oatmeal.  If our kids didn't "help" pick, we'd probably have twice as many to freeze.  Miriam is willing to go deep into the prickery bushes for even half ripe berries.

I don't wash the berries prior to freezing.  We don't spray and I'm careful to pick out any ants or little inch worms that find their way in with the berries.  Not washing them allows the berries to stay nicely separated even while frozen, so it's easy to spoon out a cup or so here or there without having to use all of them at once.  I know some folks like to freeze their berries on cookie sheets first for this purpose, but mine stay separated well enough without this added step.

 

Red raspberries, wine berries (not quite ripe, the berries are under those fuzzy covers which will open to expose the ripe fruit).

We use the frozen berries in muffins, pancakes, homemade ice cream, to decorate birthday cakes, in cheese cake, in cake, in cobblers, crisps (apple or peach), baked oatmeal, jello salad, you name it.  They are bits of heavenly sunshine in the middle of winter and I will never, ever, ever get enough.

Unfortunately for you, this means I probably won't ever stop talking about them.

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Peach Raspberry Crisp

I have one more idea as to what you can do with your peaches, then peach week is over.  Promise.

For the first time since before Lent, I made a dessert just for us to eat at home.  This is NOT to say that I have not been eating sweets.  The summer has been full of "special" occasions.

There is something about being surrounded by ripe, fresh fruit that inspires desserts.  May this recipe inspire you.

Peach Raspberry Crisp (inspired by Jamey's mom's apple crisp recipe)

8 cups sliced peaches
2 cups fresh red raspberries (frozen would probably work well here, too)
2/3 cup flour
2 cups rolled oats (not quick oats)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup melted butter

Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking pan.  Lay in sliced peaches.  Sprinkle red raspberries on top.  In a medium sized bowl, combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, salt and cinnamon.  Pour in melted butter and stir until well combined.  Sprinkle the topping over the fruit and bake at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes or until bubbly and nicely browned on top.  Let stand 15 minutes and enjoy.  It will be juicy.  That's okay:-).

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Berries: Freezing & Making Babies

Our red raspberries are coming in now- yippee! If you are looking for a variety to buy, check into Heritage.  They bear early and late summer- so you can enjoy them twice a year.  I love berries of all kinds- blueberries and raspberries being at the top of the list.  The raspberries that don't get eaten straight from the bushes by Sam and Sadie, that don't get fed to Miriam or popped into our grown-up mouths go into the freezer.

They are lovely in baked goods, smoothies, or eaten while still frozen on a hot summer day.  You can also freeze a bunch, let them thaw and turn them into jam when you have more time.  Like, in January.

Freezing Berries (Raspberries and Blueberries)

I'm sure you are aware of the freezing berry technique- placing rinsed berries on a cookie sheet (not letting them touch) and setting it into the freezer.  Once they're frozen, they can be transferred to plastic bags.  I skip the washing step (for both raspberries and blueberries) because they come from bushes I know are not sprayed.  Unless they have visible dirt on them, I skip the washing part.  I know this may freak out some people, but we tend toward the relaxed when it comes to cleaning food we grow ourselves.  This country is over-sterilized.  My pharmacy-student-husband feels even stronger than I.

That said, if you don't wash your berries, you can put them directly into containers and freeze them.  When you're ready to use them, they come out of the container beautifully- one by one if you wish.  There's no moisture to make them cling together and you can save your cookie sheets for cookies.

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Making Baby Strawberry Plants

Remember in our garden photo post I told you about how we only bought a portion of the strawberry plants we actually want for starting our new strawberry bed?  Jamey's trying a little something to multiply plants.  It's not rocket science- many others have done similar things.  I'm a visual learner, so pictures come first.

As the new strawberry plants establish themselves, they send out runners and spread.  Every few inches, these runners send down roots.  We want to turn these rooted runners into new plants (to plant at the end of your row, for example), so we are coaxing them into pots to ready them for transplanting.  As they began to send out roots, Jamey set a little pot of dirt right under the roots, leaving it attached to the mother plant.  Once the baby establishes itself well in the little pot, we're going to sever the cord (so to speak) and then transplant the babies- dirt and all- at the end of the row where we want more plants.

This should save us some money and give us all the strawberry plants we want.

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Apple Raspberry Crisp

My mother in law makes an incredible apple crisp. Jamey swoons every time he sees one sitting in her kitchen when we go to to their home to visit. It's very simple and very, very good.

I've adapted her version slightly, adding raspberries and cutting back just a bit on the topping. I figure if I can make it a little bit healthier, I can make it more often. That makes sense, right?

Apple Raspberry Crisp (adapted from Jamey's mom's apple crisp recipe)
I leave the peels on the apples if I know they are organic. For this recipe, my apples were local, but not organic, so I peeled them.

8-9 cups sliced cooking apple
1 1/2 cups red raspberries (frozen work well)
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 cup rolled oats or quick oats
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
6 tbsp. butter, melted

Place sliced apples in a 9 x 13 inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle red raspberries over the top. Pour 1/4 cup water over the apples and berries.


In a bowl, combine the oats, brown sugar, salt and cinnamon. Add the melted butter and stir until well combined. Sprinkle the topping over the fruit and cover the pan tightly with foil.


Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until a knife inserted into the apples slides in super easy. Then, remove the foil and return the crisp to the oven for another 10 minutes of baking to brown the top slightly. Let set and cool 10 minutes or so and serve with or without a dousing of milk or a side of vanilla ice cream.

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