We went apple picking in early October.
A little late in the season, but there were still plenty of delicious varieties.
I loved the way this little apple family was snuggled together.
Tag: pick your own
Purple, Packing, Patching, and Picking
Still working on moving.
Packing and patching and painting.
But trying also to enjoy things and not get too bogged down.
We have picked asparagus and strawberries so far this season.
I tried to make strawberry jam without added pectin, but due to a number of errors ended up with 4 pints of strawberry sauce. Tastes great, but a little too runny for sandwiches. So far I have added it to yogurt. Maybe pancake topping will be the next experiment.
Hope everything is going well for you.
October Colors at the Farm
Still A Few Pumpkins Left
I love the thin layer of Christmas trees spread between the pumpkin patch and the fall foliage.
Photo Challenge: Good Day–Blackberries
Yesterday was a pretty good day. Picked blackberries in the morning and made jam in the afternoon. I don’t like blackberry jam, but I know several people who love it, so this will make nice gifts for them.
This is in response to this week’s theme: Today was a good day. The challenge asked us to create a Mesh gallery using their new app. I thought about trying it, but I just feel to busy right now to download and try something new. I’ve been neglecting my blog as it is. I don’t want to download and neglect something else. If they could integrate it into the WordPress interface I might use it.
Blueberry season
July is when the blueberries come in season around here. There are lots of options to enjoy fresh blueberries: pick your own, farmer’s markets and farm stands, and grocery stores carrying blueberries displaying the Jersey Fresh sticker. Yum!
Raspberries at Nana’s
You snooze, you lose.
Cherry Abundance
Say what you want about the weather this spring, (it’s been bat-shit crazy!), it produced some excellent cherries. This was only my second year picking my own, and everyone at the orchard said what a terrific crop it was. Last year there were no sour cherries and a limited amount of sweet ones. This year the trees were simply dripping with them.
What did I do with them? I tried making jam for the first time. It came out OK, but I still prefer the brand that I’m used to buying. My jam isn’t sour enough, so I guess next time I would add more lemon juice. I don’t think I’ll do that anytime soon because I’m still getting over the massive amount of sugar that I had to add. I mean, I understand that this is how jam is made, but 6 cups?? It’s a lot to dump in all at once.
I made some sour cherry juice that I mixed with some sparkling water to make a little refreshing drink. I froze a few batches of cherry pie mix and hope to test one soon.
For the most part I canned the cherries in an extra light syrup so I have options for using them later.
This is what the cherry tree rows looked like in April, with the plain white flowers just starting to bloom. Not the prettiest cherry blossoms, but it’s not like these trees had any delicious fruit on them. Or these.
Cherry season is short and sweet. It was a lot of fun and I’m looking forward to picking my favorite fruit again next year.
Asparagus Picking Again; Apple Orchard Blooms
A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to go asparagus picking again. Last year was my first time.
Nothing beats the taste of fresh asparagus, especially when it’s snapped off and eaten raw. I love the complexity of the flavor of raw, tender asparagus–there are slight hints of green bean and pea as well. Or maybe that’s just my palate thinking about other delicious spring time veggies.
While at the farm, I saw the apple orchard in full bloom.
It’s so interesting the way the trees look like they are almost sculpted into a fence.
Cheery Cherry Picking
We went back to the farm this week to pick my favorite fruit: cherries.
One month ago these trees were in bloom. Flowers are pretty, but I prefer to see trees like this, filled with fruit.
Cherries are so juicy, sweet, and luxurious. One thing I can’t figure out: How can the flavor be so concentrated and rich? I usually pop another one in my mouth and contemplate….
I learned from the farmer that cherries are a difficult crop to grow. The trees here are protected from the rain by an open-sided greenhouse structure. The arches overhead are covered with plastic to keep the rain from falling on the fruit. Too much rain will make the cherries burst.
Another problem with growing cherries is that the birds also think they are a tasty treat. The plastic greenhouse-style roof that keeps the rain off is connected to nets that are staked into the ground. This helps keep the birds away from the trees. In addition to the nets, the farmers put up several speakers playing a very loud bird call. The farmer explained that it’s a distress call, so that when birds hear it they will stay away, thinking that something horrible is happening to one of their feathered friends over there.
The combination of the 90° heat and the plastic tarps overhead made cherry picking a rather sweaty endeavor, but we were cheered by the delicious, juicy cherries and the baskets we brought home.
Cynthia M Voss 