Successes From The Garden - Berries
Other than tomatoes, berries are probably my favorite fruit. I look forward all year to those few fleeting weeks in summer, when local berries are at their peak of perfection. I have been gradually introducing various varieties to the garden and have seen mostly successful results
This year I added strawberries to my garden. I already had established blueberries and raspberries and there are wild blackberries all over my property
In late December 2016 I started some tiny Rainbow Treasure and Yellow Alpine strawberry seeds indoors. This was my first time growing strawberries from seed
Within a month they had developed their first true leaves
In mid February I transplanted the seedlings into a flat of potting mix
Over the next two months they steadily put out new growth
By mid April they were ready to be planted into the garden
By June, the plants were well established and the rainbow treasures were sending out runners
Soon, there were bright pink blooms on the rainbow treasures. Around the same time, my established blueberries were also loaded with bee attracting blossoms
The first of the raspberries were ripe in early July
In late July the dewberries were ripe. Though I didn't plant these, I do maintain a wild patch on my property
A few days later I found the first ripe alpine strawberry. They were small and pale yellow when ripe and very delicate. The taste was in complete contrast to their appearance though. Super sweet with big, intense strawberry flavor
The majority of the blueberries began ripening in August. I have 4 different varieties so that I get berries over a longer season and I harvested fruit until October
The wild blackberries were early and abundant this year. One morning, in late August, I picked nearly 7 pounds of them in less than half an hour
The alpine strawberries continued to flower right up to the first freeze, which happened last week. The rainbow treasures only produced a couple of small fruits as they were getting established this year but I'm hoping for lots of berries next year
By June, the plants were well established and the rainbow treasures were sending out runners
Soon, there were bright pink blooms on the rainbow treasures. Around the same time, my established blueberries were also loaded with bee attracting blossoms
The first of the raspberries were ripe in early July
In late July the dewberries were ripe. Though I didn't plant these, I do maintain a wild patch on my property
A few days later I found the first ripe alpine strawberry. They were small and pale yellow when ripe and very delicate. The taste was in complete contrast to their appearance though. Super sweet with big, intense strawberry flavor
The majority of the blueberries began ripening in August. I have 4 different varieties so that I get berries over a longer season and I harvested fruit until October
The wild blackberries were early and abundant this year. One morning, in late August, I picked nearly 7 pounds of them in less than half an hour
The alpine strawberries continued to flower right up to the first freeze, which happened last week. The rainbow treasures only produced a couple of small fruits as they were getting established this year but I'm hoping for lots of berries next year
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