What did you eat today - that you grew?

I see that you have a net for blueberries. What about raspberries? Don’t birds get to them?

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@vrk3 … i do have to use organza bags on blueberries grapes figs… or birds/insects will just eat or wreck most of them.

My raspberries do get hit by some brave birds who are willing to endure the thorns… they have a hard time landing on those thorney canes… but some hungry birds will and get a few.

They dont just wipe them out like they do with blueberries… no thorns on blueberries… and my raspberries produce in mass so we can deal with the bird pressure there… they get a few… but we get a lot too.

I dont mind sharing a few with birds as long as we are getting the majority. That happens with thorny raspberries…

Not so with blueberries… the birds will get the large majority if i dont bag. Same for grapes.

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Thanks. Yeah I have noticed golden raspberries are fine, red raspberries lose some to birds and blueberries get completely swept. I use bags for blueberries but it’s too much work for raspberries. I am fine with birds getting some!

Tasted my honeyberries today - still a bit sour, but getting there! Anyone know how to tell if they’re ripe other than just eating one every few days (not that I’m opposed to this way or anything)?

Put a blanket down and gently shake the bush. The ripe ones will fall. Or just tap them each with a palm below. If they don’t fall easily, they will probably still be sour.

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I would post more often in this thread if I wasn’t so so tired of salads. I’m not even going to plant a fall crop of greens this year.

all the fruit looks delicious, you guys. I’m jealous.

edit:
big salad again. orach, black choi, spinach, NZ spinach, six kind of lettuce, nasturtium, and some shiitake from the kitchen block.

I’ve got herbs but I’ll have to decide what salad I’m making before I get into that. we have to eat a salad every day this time of year and again in fall. greens with every meal. they’re the one thing I can grow in abundance besides bag potatoes.

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No perennial arugula @resonanteye? That’s the core of our spring/summer greens, I like it even more when it bolts and gets peppery. And the flowers are tasty too, so they go in the salad to minimize the seed dispersal to surrounding areas. As long as I keep watering it and removing flower stalks, it keeps going all summer long basically.

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Potatoes, turnips, cowpeas, onions, radishes, broccoli, and a couple of fried green tomatoes. Garden is just getting started.

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yes there’s a patch of it. I’m so so tired of greens lol

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Today, service berries, blueberries (Patriot and Legacy), currants (Black September),
nasturtiums, carrots…very nice to harvest a little produce at home.

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Had okra for dinner … grown last year… and blueberries and raspberries for dessert.

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Forgot to ask about blackberries. Do they need bird protection?

@vrk3. … i have a row of very thorny illini blackberries and they need no bird protection.
I never see birds feeding on them… serious thorns on those.

I had a row of Ouachitaw thornless blackberries and the birds hit them pretty hard… i used bird netting on them. The birds could easily land on those thornless canes and wrecked the berries there…

A couple years ago when SWD pest first showed up here. I used organza bags on my illini blackberries to keep the SWD out. My earlier berries did not need protection from swd… but after july 1… they did.

Last year swd pressure here was very light… like something else natural was keeping them under control.

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Thanks. I will need to bag them then, I have thornless ones.

Pakistan mulberries are delicious, big and juicy and completely different than the native ones.

Strawberries coming on strong, getting about a quart a day right now.

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your strawberries are fantastic! how do you care for them? the long mulberries always look so good too.

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For strawberries, I fertilize them with berry fertilizer in the spring and try to keep them weeded through the season. I watered them a few times this year because its been dry on the east coast. When the berries start to ripen, I put a row cover over them to keep the birds away. I never really mowed them in the fall and actually do very little other than pick them. They have been great for 4 years now. I’m not sure what variety they are. I had an earlier variety and they all died off, but these ones have been fantastic.

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It’s the time of the year, garlic scapes! One of my favorite veggies

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yellow passion fruit not-jelly. I got the pectin off I think because the last batch was extra thick, almost like taffy. I actually really liked it and meant to try to prepare it in a bite size manner, maybe put it inside chocolate? Alas, life started going fast and I just been treating myself to it here and there and now the last jar is almost gone. A bit storm took most of the last harvest so I’ll have to wait a bit for more.

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:smile: :smile: :smile: :smile: :smile: :smile:.

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