Gardening

[Tony Page]

We inherited berry bushes from my next door neighbor. His berry bushes continually sent out runners tried to take over some of our beds, but we were diligent enough to cut most of them back. One Runner started a bush and was in good location so we left it, we believe it's a BlackBerry. Every year my family has been picking berries off this bush, they tell me they are delicious. Our neighbor passed, we have a new neighbor now and he pulled out all the berry bushes, so no more runners. I'm glad we have this one bush as a reminder of my prior neighbor, he was a good neighbor and fellow gardener.

 

[Mary Stetler]

We inherited berry bushes from my next door neighbor. His berry bushes continually sent out runners tried to take over some of our beds, but we were diligent enough to cut most of them back. One Runner started a bush and was in good location so we left it, we believe it's a BlackBerry. Every year my family has been picking berries off this bush, they tell me they are delicious. Our neighbor passed, we have a new neighbor now and he pulled out all the berry bushes, so no more runners. I'm glad we have this one bush as a reminder of my prior neighbor, he was a good neighbor and fellow gardener.

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They look like blackberries to me. I got thornless blackberries a few years ago. They are not as prolific as the kind with thorns but both are quite yummy.

 

[Beth Gallagher]

We inherited berry bushes from my next door neighbor. His berry bushes continually sent out runners tried to take over some of our beds, but we were diligent enough to cut most of them back. One Runner started a bush and was in good location so we left it, we believe it's a BlackBerry. Every year my family has been picking berries off this bush, they tell me they are delicious. Our neighbor passed, we have a new neighbor now and he pulled out all the berry bushes, so no more runners. I'm glad we have this one bush as a reminder of my prior neighbor, he was a good neighbor and fellow gardener.

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My husband absolutely loves blackberries. I buy those small plastic containers of fresh berries with my grocery order. There is a brand called "Carolina Sweets" or something like that; they are huge berries and very tasty.

 

[Tony Page]

@Mary Stetler
@Beth Gallagher
I'm not a berry eater but like I said before my family loves them. it's right by the entrance to my vegetable garden. I did not notice any thorns, so I assume it's a thornless variety. It's been a strong healty bush.

 

[Krystal Shay]

My husband absolutely loves blackberries. I buy those small plastic containers of fresh berries with my grocery order. There is a brand called "Carolina Sweets" or something like that; they are huge berries and very tasty.

I like blackberries, dewberries, raspberries, blueberries, and all berries. They are all pretty good in a pie too.

I use to pick buckets full of wild berries when I was young. Then I got older and became scared of snakes. I learned that snakes like to hang out in the blackberry bushes. Now I buy them from the store or the Farmers Market.

 

[Don Alaska]

My wife and her friend go blueberry and cranberry/lingonberry picking and often find bear scat among the bushes. They are usually armed but have never actually encountered bears where they go. We do not have snakes here, however. I like blackberries better than raspberries, but blackberries seldom survive her, but raspberries do pretty well. We are beginning to cultivate nagoonberries, but it is difficult to gather enough for jellies and jams, so they are usually just eaten fresh. Children love the things. They are sweeter than raspberries that we grow. We also have bearberries and something that the Natives call blackberries, but they are not the blackberries you are familiar with as they are insipid things that are edible and used to expand other berries in their recipes such as akutaq. There is also a berries that is called Salmonberries and they are like golden raspberries that grow on small trees. In Western Alaska, they call another very sweet berry Salmonberries as the color is salmon colored, but those are called Cloudberries elsewhere and the is only one berry on a plant.

 

[Tony Page]

I didn't realize there were that many different berries.
I have to amend my comment that I don't eat berries, because I do just not fresh. I like blueberry pie and raspberry jelly or Jam in my jelly donut, and on cookies.

This was interesting berry good.Haha

 

[Marie Miller]

I didn't realize there were that many different berries.
I have to amend my comment that I don't eat berries, because I do just not fresh. I like blueberry pie and raspberry jelly or Jam in my jelly donut, and on cookies.

This was interesting berry good.Haha

Tony, just put berries in a saucepan with a bit of water, not too hot, add sugar, cinnamon of it is a dark berry and call it ice cream topping.

 

[Don Alaska]

I didn't realize there were that many different berries.
I have to amend my comment that I don't eat berries, because I do just not fresh. I like blueberry pie and raspberry jelly or Jam in my jelly donut, and on cookies.

This was interesting berry good.Haha

Just as an aside, watermelons are not melons, but are the largest of the berries. If you like watermelon, you like a berry

 

[Tony Page]

Just as an aside, watermelons are not melons, but are the largest of the berries. If you like watermelon, you like a berry

@Don Alaska
I didn't know that, from what I read so are pineapple, squash, cukes. I eat watermelon & pineapple, so I do eat berries. Now when my wife says I can't understand why you don't like berries" I can say "I do."

 

[Don Alaska]

We now have at least three varieties of cucumbers that are ready to be picked, so we can have a cucumber tasting to compare the tastes against each other. When the kids were home, we used to have carrot tastings to see which carrots they liked the best. We also have tomato tastings.

 

[Mary Stetler]

We now have at least three varieties of cucumbers that are ready to be picked, so we can have a cucumber tasting to compare the tastes against each other. When the kids were home, we used to have carrot tastings to see which carrots they liked the best. We also have tomato tastings.

Lots of people don't realize the variations. I grew danvers half longs till our soil became porous enough from additions. It started as a clay/gravel combo. But I still like those carrots. I often try new tomato varieties but keep to favorites too.

 

[Don Alaska]

Lots of people don't realize the variations. I grew danvers half longs till our soil became porous enough from additions. It started as a clay/gravel combo. But I still like those carrots. I often try new tomato varieties but keep to favorites too.

Carrots are the veggie that is the most variable due to soil. Organically grown carrots usually taste much better than chemically fertilized ones. The same is not as true with stuff grown above the ground.

 

[Mary Stetler]

Carrots are the veggie that is the most variable due to soil. Organically grown carrots usually taste much better than chemically fertilized ones. The same is not as true with stuff grown above the ground.

I made our soil almost entirely from organics. Horse, cow, sheep chicken...

 

[Marie Miller]

A stock pot of bright green heat is waiting to get ladled into jars. SO bought me a canning funnel. Thank you!
So I seeded and sliced the first bucket of the next generation, harvested all but the seed producer of dill and there are tomatoes out there. SO brought an onion in. It was warm!!! Basically pre cooked.

 

[Tony Page]

The heat wave of the last 2 days is broken we went as high as 99° with a feel like 108°.

The only thing I've done in the last 3 days was water the garden.

last week I was able to fill one of the raised beds that I put together and start my cukes and squash. some have already germinated and I'm looking forward to seeing some Harvest.

I still have more raised beds to fill I have enough bags of soil to fill one more.

I set up the water sprinkler to water the raised beds. Now I have to move the containers with vegetables to areas that the sprinkler will reach, this way I can water everything at once.

Below is a photo of my baby cukes and squash.

 

[Marie Miller]

I pulled all celery and prepped what was still usable. All peppers have tiny fruits. It will be a lot of work but also a lot of fun in the kitchen. Minimal damage from last night’s storms.

 

[Jacqueline Lindt]

A update on my green beans.!

 

[Marie Miller]

Need to pull onions out. It is too warm for them.

 

[Ed Delabama]

Good morning to all-
Well, Friends, we are in gardening "dead zone" here on the Gulf Coast now- it's official. I'll probably crank up the power weed-trimmer and run over the grassy, weedy garden here later today- don't want to wake up the neighbors...

We have had to learn new ways and new times of gardening here in the sub-tropics. After the first week of June, most spring/summer crops have failed. Peppers have shut down. Green beans are going to bolt. Tomatoes- we can't grow tomatoes out in the garden soil at all, so the planter tomatoes have been gone for a while, too.

While most of the country is just getting into full-growth and harvest, we are done.

But, come fall, we can get a late planting of broccoli and other brassica crops, and we can probably get a good planting of snow peas and spinach. Lettuce and collards do very well in our cooler fall and winter weather. And there is always the late fall planting of potatoes to make before our rare frosts in January. We grow a lot more good stuff in winter than we can in full dead zone summer.

And we can't forget that come late fall and into winter, our satsuma trees will hopefully produce a heavy crop of oranges for us- to make the very best breakfast orange juice there is.

So, I hope you growers in other parts of the country are doing well- we've done well, and we're just waiting for fall planting now.

you all be safe and keep well- Ed