Fruity!

One of the things we were very excited about doing once we bought a house and knew we were settled down in one place for a while was planting fruit.

I, more or less, enjoy all the fruits I've ever tried.  Some more than others, but, basically, I like it all.  Fresh, canned, cooked, whatever.  I am a big fruit person.  Matt is more particular in his fruit preferences, but he is working on it.  We both love fruit smoothies and eat them a few time a week.  If fruit wasn't so expensive we'd probably have one with breakfast every day.  That is, hopefully, where the growing fruit comes in.  Fresh, organic, inexpensive fruit to enjoy right off the plant and frozen and canned come winter.

We forage for fruit whenever possible, be it the apple tree in the abandoned lot down the street or the thimble berries along a mountain trail.  For several years now we've been completely self-reliant in applesauce, apple juice, and apple pie filling.  But, we'd like to expand that selection in the years to come.  Slow and steady wins the race.

Last year we put in a bed of strawberries, most of which we didn't allow to fruit in their first year in order to encourage better establishment and root growth.  They are coming along well this year and I am very much looking forward to that first sun-warmed strawberry of the season.   In addition to the strawberry beds in the back we also have a few large planters of them out front.  One of these front yard plants was recently mowed down by some hungry critter...possibly a member of our neighborhood herd of deer.  Oh well, so far it was an isolated incident and the plant is readily growing back.

The poor gobbled up strawberry plants with their empty stems.

Wee green strawberries all brimming with promise.

We also put in two red currant bushes.  This is a fruit I have less experience with, but all those experiences have been quite tasty.  Like that jelly we got from aunt Verna.  We planted the currants as bare root stock and they are really filling out already.  But, it will be at least a year before they do any fruiting, maybe two.

Next to the bed of strawberries we planted a few different varieties of raspberries--a couple kinds of red and one golden.  One of the varieties didn't take off and so this year we swapped in the asparagus bed at the end of this row instead.  Hopefully the asparagus will do better there than did the raspberries.  The raspberry plants that didn't outright die were so spindly last year and didn't fruit at all, but already they are taking over the bed--and even moving out into the grass--this year.  Its looking very good.  It's hard to believe so many shoots came off of so few original plants.  We are hopeful for a good raspberry crop as they are our favorites.

5/2/2013

5/20/2013

We still have some live blueberry plants that need popped in the ground, too, but well, we'd have to stay home some weekend to get that done and Yellowstone is calling.  All in due time.  All in due time.