Thursday, July 30, 2009

Blue Berries


There is something gratifying about picking berries. I picked blueberries this evening. Berry picking is a silent pastime. The only sounds are those of the surrounding environment and the pinging or thudding noise the berries make as they hit the bucket.

Picking time is a good time to assess your fruit set and what sort of pruning you are going to do during the up-coming winter. It’s a good time to assess if you want to replace any plants that just aren’t doing well for one reason or another.

Some berries lend themselves well to sampling often while picking, but blueberries are a bit too precious for that. In a recent email exchange, Tango wanted to know why blueberries cost more than recreational drugs. That is precisely because they are precious and choice.

We have only 12 plants and we harvest just around a gallon every year. We eat some right away, but we always freeze some so we can enjoy them throughout the year. It’s a rationing thing. This is my second picking of these plants this season. There are still some that need to ripen a bit more. I’ve kept the birds and the chickens away for the most part, so I should have some more to harvest since the bird netting is working pretty well this year.

I think I’ll have some blueberries in some pancakes this morning.

18 Comments:

Anonymous auntie said...

don't forget the BACON.

5:32 AM  
Blogger The Guy Who Writes This said...

No no no, not yet. No big tomatoes yet.

5:40 AM  
Blogger a mouthy irish woman? ridiculous! said...

i like just butter on mine. what time please?

5:46 AM  
Anonymous Pam said...

blueberries have GUTS. I am holding out for next years raspberries, FarmBoy.

7:29 AM  
Blogger JustRex said...

Mmmmm... blueberry pancakes... blueberry waffles.. blueberry muffins! Yaaaaaah! Blueberries! Yummy! Whoo... I may have to go take a shower now.

9:06 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ahem...highbush blueberries I presume. Snicker snicker snort... Maybe west coast can grow great recreational herbs but it's the lowbush blueberry only available from the northeast that packs the wallop. I used to have a 5 acre highbush crop growing when I lived on the west coast down around Delta way outside of Vancouver. Easy pickin...big berries...but tasteless when compared. Always thought a little bush was better than a big bush but any bush is better than no bush at all I guess...

Moose

1:54 PM  
Anonymous Auntie said...

Amen to that, Moose.

4:27 PM  
Anonymous Ginger said...

I can hardly grow anything. My poor blueberry bushes...it's pathetic. My friends in Brush Prarie grow huge blueberrues..and they are so full of flavor! I don't know how they DO IT!? I guess we just have a colder climate...shorter growing season? I'll just eat what they give me and be happy :)

6:22 PM  
Anonymous Ginger said...

Oh, I should say, we kick ass in the blackberry dept.! Those grow wild :)

6:23 PM  
Blogger Tango's Going Ons said...

sigh....I have yet to taste a real blueberry.

They are never sold loose in the stores and are always wrapped up tight, so I can't even sneak a taste.

The blackberries on the two huge bushes must have been eaten by something else, since I got maybe a handful each day. They're already gone.

7:33 PM  
Blogger The Guy Who Writes This said...

Irish, 5:30, but you missed it due to the time zone thing. Dude, sorry.

Pam, don't expect much from 1st year canes.

Darev, easy fellow, think of loaf.

Moose, you need a blog.

Auntie, don't encourage him.

Ginger, you have warmer summers and colder winters than we coast huggers have. Maybe not enough acid in your soil. I'll bve writing about blackberries soon. They are just starting to color up.

Tango, do you ever pass by a farm stand during your travels? They usually don't entomb their foods.

5:59 AM  
Blogger Tango's Going Ons said...

Yes I do, but of course I haven't seen any blueberries because I'm looking for them.

10:49 AM  
Blogger Teri and her Stylish Adventure Cats said...

blueberries and lemon sorbet...I'm going to the farmers market Sunday...wish me a "fruitful' visit

11:50 AM  
Blogger Tango's Going Ons said...

Pam....ewww, what do you mean "they have GUTS"?

Teri...what farmers market are you going to on Sunday?

Guy...ooppss, is it legal to post comments to comments between comment posters?

11:57 AM  
Blogger The Guy Who Writes This said...

Tango, I'd be happy to assign you that task, reply to all comments when I don't feel like it.

Auntie means they have inner texture.

Terri, you are going to drive Tango crazy.

9:57 PM  
Blogger a mouthy irish woman? ridiculous! said...

put your sorry's in a sack and make some more dammit. dude.

1:42 PM  
Blogger Undercover Mother said...

I was at a friend's house just yesterday and she brought out a bigger-than-a-shoe-box container loaded with blueberries from her property. We scooped them up by the handful and sat there eating them, while she talked about how the time spent picking them the night before was so quiet and peaceful. Where is the place to pick out by the Lewis and Clark Nursery? Payday is next week and I want to go and do that.

7:42 PM  
Blogger The Guy Who Writes This said...

Mouthy, I miss hearing from you every day, and the cakes will be ready in ten minutes.

Mo3, Go left at the L&C Nursery and the berry farm is about a mile away on the right. Better hurry, our berries are nearly gone so I suspect theirs are, too.

6:13 AM  

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