Harvesting Jellybeans

Day 275: I braved 94-degree heat to bring in my first harvest of jellybeans for this year. "Jellybean" is a miniature blueberry variety, miniature only insofar as the size of the bush is concerned. The berries are on the large end of the scale, and this year, I have a bumper crop. The first picking yielded a little more than a cup which got dashed with a little sugar and gobbled for dessert. I could have put them in the freezer to save until I had enough for a batch of muffins, but the temptation was too great. They are so juicy and sweet! I also brought in another two cups of gooseberries, which almost cleaned the bushes. I usually leave the smallest gooseberries for the juncoes. They love them, and since they were kind enough not to pick off all the blueberry flowers to get the nectar this year, I think they deserve a reward.

Yard Birds

Day 205: I don't want to bore my readers with too many posts of my sketching attempts, but on the other hand, I'm rather proud of what I've accomplished with the help of "Laws Guide to Drawing Birds." Each of these was based on a photo I've taken of the respective species: American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis, formerly Carduelis), Chestnut-backed Chickadee (Poecile rufescens), Purple Finch (Haemorhous purpureus), Pine Siskin (Spinus pinus). In the case of the female Purple Finch, I changed up the background to reflect a behaviour I observed recently. Several Purps settled in on my blueberry bushes in late afternoon and began plucking the blossoms! Cornell advises that they consume nectar by biting the base of the flower. The bushes are now netted and outfitted with mylar ribbon, and now I understand why I didn't get many blueberries last year. The drawings were executed in a combination of ink and coloured pencil, and the wing detail in the Pine Siskin was a real challenge to maintain.

Berry Bonanza

Day 262: Originally when I removed the sod from 25 sq. ft. of yard, sunk three big flowerpots in the soil up to their waists and fenced the area off to keep it safe from browsing deer and elk, I dubbed it the "Blueberry Pen" for the three bushes planted in its confines. One thing led to another, as things are wont to do; a pot for tomatoes was included, an extension was added and the fence restrung to accommodate an old, unhappy gooseberry (also in a large pot), and then in a major makeover, my botany partner spent an entire day busting sod while I hauled it away, enlarging the Pen to roughly 400 sq. ft. The new space was destined to hold Red Lake currants, additional gooseberry plants (I love gooseberry jam), a few special-case raspberries (separate from the main Heritage everbearing raspberry cage), a mulberry bush ("here we go 'round...") and yes, a pair of tomatoes, cherry and beefsteak. The entrance to the Berry Pen (renamed) has been defined by an arched trellis now bearing two vigorous hardy kiwi vines, and a potato start is bedded under straw in an open spot, its leaves reaching for the sunlight as it develops more tubers. It's a lot of garden in a small space, a little prickly to walk through for anyone not understanding that gooseberries bite back; an intense garden, now intensely focused on filling my freezer with my favourite fruits. The gooseberries are just starting to blush, the currants are reddening, and the blueberries are nearly as thick as leaves on the stems of their bushes, a veritable bonanza of berries waiting to be jammed and muffinized.

Future Muffins

Day 199: Can you taste 'em? These are muffins-to-be, baked in future tense, and it looks like I'm going to get a bumper crop again this year. Yes, blueberries! The flowers remind me humorously of Victorian underwear with their ruffled edges and delicate pink tint. So, now that I have your undivided attention, let's talk about timing as it applies to these bloomers and their exposure. You see, blueberry varietals come in three types: early, mid-season and late. We're not talking about the bearing period here, but rather when the plants come into bloom. You'll get a bigger crop of delicious blueberries if you plant two varieties, so it's important to know when your selections flower. Although optimally, you should plant two earlies or two mid-season or two late together, you can still get by with an early bloomer and a mid-season type or a mid-season with a late because there is some overlap. However, if you plant an early with a late, your future muffins will be somewhat short of fruit. If your pollinators normally don't show up until later in the season, you may want to take that into account as well when choosing the correct blueberry varieties for your garden. Remember, timing is crucial when you're talking about showing your bloomers.

A Taste Of Summer

Day 118: For several months now, I've been digging into the foods I put by from the garden, savouring each little taste of summer. Ten pints of frozen raspberries are gone, the last of them nibbled to keep a sore throat at bay. The last jar of canned plums is chilling in the fridge, and while I still have a dozen pints of apple chunks, I got a surprise when I pulled out a jar and discovered it was actually pears. Likewise, going through the freezer, I unearthed a cup of blueberries this morning, just enough for a batch of muffins. Only a handful of dried tomatoes remain to augment vegetable soup. With Snowpocalypse just now beginning outside my windows, summer reigns in my kitchen.

Fresh Off The Bush

Day 284: It was a debate: save them for a few days until I'd have enough for muffins, or eat them immediately. I sized up the ones still ripening on the bush and decided to have these for lunch. Two of my three blueberry bushes are covered in berries. The third bush is still recovering from having lived several years in a bad spot, and isn't bearing as heavily. Nevertheless, I should have no trouble gathering enough for several more snacks and a batch of muffins if I can prevent Squirrel/Chipmunk #14 from picking them as soon as my back is turned. The raspberries are also beginning to fruit, protected from jay predation by chickenwire. The occasional bird goes under the lower edge and needs to be rescued from its perceived "cage," but they are not nearly as greedy as Mr. Squirrel.

Dreams Of Blueberries

Day 207: When I put in my blueberry bushes, I selected "mid-season" varieties using the logic that the pollinators would not be around at this altitude for early-season types. Now I am beginning to wonder if I should have bought late-season plants instead. Last year, I got enough berries for snacking, far short of what I envision as the eventual yield. The bushes are still young...or rather they are new to the "blueberry pen" outside my kitchen door. One was a sickly plant which had been shaded out in another location after losing its partner to similar circumstances. I moved it two years ago and added a second variety beside it for cross-pollination. It has perked up amazingly well, and both plants are covered with buds. A third bush is dwarf and self-fertile; it bore a handful of large, sweet berries last year (its first year in my garden).

As of this writing, all three bushes are lavishly adorned with pink buds, but there is a distressing absence of pollinators, and I can hardly give each blueberry flower the same reproductive assistance I'm providing to the Akebias. Transferring pollen from one flower to another on the tip of an artist's paintbrush is time-consuming! That said, we have a few warm days on the roster and the blueberry buds are not yet open. Perhaps all the elements necessary to provide a good yield will still manage to come together at the proper moment.

Garden Fare

Day 247: They're enormous. They're delicious. They're growing just outside my kitchen door where I can make no excuse for not getting a daily dose of antioxidants. This is "Blue Gold," a midseason bearer, and extraordinarily prolific. No foolin', the berries are the size of the end of my thumb. Nothing beats sun-warmed blueberries!