I just picked gooseberries tonite. I don’t have a ton but i only had a few last year. I only have 1 plant. I like them. Maybe they taste a little like kiwi or grape… I have the variety that scott recommended a while ago…i forget which one.
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The black raspberries are starting to come in. The first pint is in the fridge. I made armor for myself last year and am using it again. I intend to make nicer gauntlets, but these work for now. I think they taste better when I don’t have to make as much of a blood sacrifice to get them.
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This year has been the best yet for blackberries. Ample, juicy, large and tasty. So far the SWD have stuck to the raspberries and left the blueberries and blackberries alone. First noticed SWD on raspberries late last week.
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Brilliant!!!
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Tomorrow should finish the sour cherries but the black raspberries are just getting started. The first pie is done and I’ve still got almost a full pint.
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This has been my best year ever for Blueberries, all my plants are abundantly productive and healthy. The fruit is large, sweet and crunchy. And I finally wised up and bought some bird netting! 
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The black raspberries haven’t disappointed in their production. I think we’re around 15 pounds in so far. The yellow raspberries and boysenberries are giving small amounts as well.
I made a big batch of preserves last night to try and catch up with them. It didn’t set well but tastes good!
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Black raspberries never set well. I usually mix them with gooseberries or honeyberries, both loaded with pectin. I do this with mulberries too. Mulberries and black raspberries together make a great jam, but will only set using calcium gelling agents. For me calcium gelling agents (Like Pomona brand ) don’t store that well, changing color and looking bad. So I started using honeyberries or gooseberries and I’m getting good set.
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Whenever I make any fruit preserves that don’t set well or firm up (not enough pectin, too much water, not cooked long enough, etc), I just tell everyone I made it as syrup for pancakes and ice cream! ha. Or I call it “freezer preserves” and keep it in the freezer. 
Yours sure looks good to me though.
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Ate some very ripe gooseberries. Excellent. Like grapes and kiwi. I might need to multiple my plants a little more. They do really well in a slightly shaded spot/west facing.
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It is a lovely sauce! I had planned on keeping it as a “freezer” jam anyway. Last year I did a proper can on some of them and a good chunk of the flavour didn’t survive the process. At least I found a home for the 5 jars so far!
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I’ve still got several pounds of haskap in the freezer so I can give that a try on the next batch. Thanks for the info!
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Yes it does ruin so many things. I never had problems with jam, but cucumbers and peppers are terrible processed correctly. So I just refrigerate when done canning them.
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Birds are starting to take my elderberries just as soon as they begin to turn. So I’m trying these 5 gallon paint strainer bags to protect some of the heads. Hope it works.
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I haven’t had any PAF berries yet, so I can’t say TC are my absolute favorite just yet. But, they are very good, like I said, more juicy and sweeter and ‘grapey’ than Ouachita. Of the small sample of Osage we got, I think are my second fave. My PAF primocanes are setting fruit now, so we’ll get to compare them to the others.
I tipped my TC primocanes at 4ft this year, and they have suckered like crazy, so next year ought to be a big crop. But, I’m going go have to come up with some netting as birds have been picking my canes almost clean, very frustrating.
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Truth be told, I started growing fruit because I love fruit muddled into mojitos. This handful of Prelude raspberries will make a few.
I also grow mint for the same reason. Poor little guy can hardly keep up. I learned the hard way at my previous house why you should only grow mint in a pot. Im sure the folk who bought the place are still trying to get rid of it 
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My wife and I were talking and decided that this year’s blackberry harvest has been the most successfully epic harvest of anything we’ve grown so far. It has been over a month of as many blackberries we can pick. Daily blackberries for breakfast, multiple bags of frozen blackberries, three cobblers, fruit salad, smoothies. They are still going, though they are starting to slow down.
I fertilized them this year, which I had not done in the past. They also got two inches of compost and a layer of woodchips. I have two sections of them, both about 15 to 20 feet long. They are very healthy looking and take minimal care. Love it.
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That’s great! How are you avoiding the SWD?
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ummm, probably not avoiding them all together. They are there and I’m sure we eat some. I have sprayed spinosad twice to try and keep the levels down. Unlike the raspberries, the blackberries don’t go to mush if they are infected. They all look and taste fine so no one asks any questions.
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