It’s mostly the invasive Himalayan types around here, but you can find these native running type all along fence and hedgerows. I read that the Pacific blackberry is less obnoxious because the canes will only grow from a crown, unlike the Himalayan that will pop canes from a tiny piece of root. If I keep the canes elevated, I think they should be manageable. I have identified 3 males in the neighborhood, and I think at least 4 females. I will have to look into germination of this species. I wouldn’t mind growing some out to see If I can get a keeper.
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I always feel personally offended when im in the PNW and everyone bad mouths these delicious berries carpeting things that destroy supermarket blackberries every day and they outcompete the flammable gorse.
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been picking galleta, archer, mara des bois and ac wendy strawberries. all are very good but the archer stands out for sweetness and large berry size. i just put a strawberry/ rhubarb pie in the oven. smells awesome in here! one i made last year was one iff the best berry pies I’ve ever had. the recipe came from my mothers mother, given to me from my aunt.
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Blueberry cake! Just used my favorite apple cake recipe and substituted blueberries for the apples. Used Coca-Cola as a sweetener. Also, English walnuts and some applesauce…
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Pictures please!!
I love rhubarb custard pie. I am not a huge fan of mixing rhubarb and strawberries because I think the strawberries can make the pie too sweet!!
. I did make a strawberry rhubarb dessert pizza last week that I have to admit was pretty darn good!!
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I’m envious, that looks sublime.
@Murky,
You can grow apricots there, too, right? For us, it is more misses than hits due to late freeze or weird spring.
I like soft apricots like in the pic, my better half prefers ones with firmer texture.
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my recipe only uses a 1/2 c sugar. most others I’ve seen use a whole cup so its still a little tart. i also squeeze some lemon juice in there as well.
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Another example of how nice people in this group are. @Girly dropped off a tray of fruits she got by driving all the way to @fruitgrower’s place! I was planning to visit Jon this summer and bummed I had to drop the plan due to Covid. Thanks to Jaya, I still got to try Jon’s infamous June Prides this season. As expected they were really good - sweet with good amount of acid. My wife and I liked them a lot. She liked them as well as our PeachyKeen peaches, but I liked JP better. I guess I haven’t really tried high acid fruits so far and I personally seem to prefer them compared to low-acid ones. Next on my list to try - Arctic Glo!
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@californicus, glad you liked the peaches, it’s hard to supply everyone with the June Prides, they are the most requested fruits we grow here, super high demand by everyone who try’s them! My two tree’s in the front yard suffered bad PLC this year, leaving only back yard peaches which are not quite as good as the front yard one’s because half the peaches on the tree get hit directly with the lawn sprinklers every day making them soften before fully ripened. At work today my clients raved that they were the best peaches they have ever eaten by far! I will probably have to plant a few more trees to keep up with the demand. Arctic Glo is a great nectarine, similar to the taste of JP, but white flesh, at high brix.
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Apricots are difficult because of our long wet spring. I had a Puget Gold for 7 years or so but pulled it out after last season. It produced 5-20 apricots a year for several years.
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I don’t think I have tried it at its peak yet as I saw the brix at 15-16 (I’ll for sure attempt next season as well 
). It was still great, so I can only imagine the potential at 25B like the one you posted. It did however make me realize that I haven’t been sampling a lot of high acid + high sugar fruits. From what I read Arctic Glo, SnowQ are some of them and I should seek them out to try. I saw from your posts that Kaweah is high in acid as well but the fruits I got from farmers’ market didn’t have that. I should get some fruits on my grafts next year to try.
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@Udhay, those are not June Prides you have tasted then, all of the fruits I have tested have been 20-25 brix this year, at least 20 fruits tested. No ripe June Prides have been less than 20 brix when ripe. I sent Jaya home with 3 different varieties of peaches, and only the June Prides were ripe. The other varieties were sent unripe for counter ripening, obviously the ones you got and should be ripe next week. Jaya @Girly, messaged me today saying most of the June Prides she has had were around 25 brix and delicious. I just found the smallest, unripe June Pride peach in my box and tested the brix, it was 20, the worst one I could find! Pics…
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Thanks for the follow up Jon. It’s totally possible my refractometer is screwed up. That’s likely the case as both you and Jaya got the same readings. Here is a fruit I cut open now
I do think this is June Pride. I’ll try to borrow someone else’s brix meter to confirm mine is off.
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That does look like an unripe June pride that you tested at the neck by stem where the acidic flavors are. Try cutting off the end like I did above like @fruitfruit does. As you can see your fruit is paler and un ripe, green at the stem and rock hard. Not all the peaches I picked were perfectly ripe on purpose so she can use the ripe fruit first. Your peach above is not ripe yet, needs counter ripening before evaluating taste and brix. I visited my brother in Fresno a few weeks ago and his refractometer tested 1 brix higher than mine on all fruits we tested. None of the ripe June Prides I have tested were below 20 brix this year, and none have been over 25. In the past I have had them up to 27 brix, but due to bad PLC this year they are not quite as good as prior 3 years.
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I’m still learning about picking peaches and detecting ripeness (for all fruits actually). I put the peaches in the refrigerator which I’m realizing now is also not the best practice. I have 2 more which I’ll ripen more on the counter and try again. Thanks for the tip (and the fruits)!
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I did not think that Plum Curculio is a pest you have to worry about in California. How are you guys able to go organic then?
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Today I had the best Charentais melon in my life!
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Super hot and dry here. We had a very decent amount off the Saskatoon for the first time. About a pound a day for a week. I’ve been eating them fresh for breakfast. Amazing with almond dessert tofu. Some cedar waxwings showed up so they finished them off.
Sour cherries are also done. I got around a kilo of candied, 2 pies, a tub of filling and I’ve got another pound+ in process for preserved.
The black and yellow raspberries are just starting so I’m really hoping for rain to keep them juicy.
We’re also getting the last few local strawberries.
What few plums there are still on are shrivelling due to lack of rain. We’re at about a month dry so if it doesn’t come through soon, I expect to lose them all.
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@Ahmad, PLC is peach leaf curl, I only got one spray in this year as our dog passed away, my Dad has been in hospital with sepsis, and my brother diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. Good news , after lot’s of prayer, my Dad looks to make a complete recovery and my brother’s cancer has been 75% removed so far. We also have an awesome new dog, Hannah, who has made us smile through the toughest of times. I will get my act together next year on spraying schedule. Here is a picture from the 4th of July weekend, Hannah with my brother’s youngest foster chid, she is very good with kids!
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