Chronicles of the Long Shot Farm

Blackberry Harvest 2015 – Final Results

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It was another great year for our blackberries:  We started picking on July 11, at least two weeks earlier than in 2014, and we stopped picking on August 10th – when we stopped tallying.  There are still stray berries out in the patch for breakfast cereal or pancakes.

Nearly a whole month of picking!  (No wonder I did not find time to update our blog).

The “official” grand total of picked blackberries for 2015 was 2018.36 lbs.  Of this, we froze 838.36 lbs, and 1190 lbs of berries were picked into pint and quart boxes.

More Jam Recipes from our Garden

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Experimenting with different combinations of fruit was a lot of fun this year, since we finally had a nice variety to choose from.  Here are two other delicious blends:

Strawberry-Gooseberry Jam:

  • 2 cups cooked gooseberries (cooked with 1/4 cup of water until soft)
  • 4 cups of nearly pureed strawberries
  • 1 packet of low-sugar SureJell
  • 4 cups of sugar
Follow recipe on SureJell insert for cooked strawberry jam.
Black Currant – Blueberry – Blackberry Jam:
  • 1 cup finely chopped blueberries (nearly pureed)
  • 1 cup cooked black currants (heat currant with a small amount of water until berries are soft)
  • 4 cups seedless blackberry puree
  • 1 packet of low-sugar SureJell
  • 4 cups of sugar
Follow recipe on SureJell insert for cooked blackberry jam.

Herb Garden in June

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We have had so much rain this spring, that everything is just simply LUSH.  We’ve been harvesting herbs for a while now, some of them have had two cuttings!  Of course weeding takes a lot longer, as they are very lush as well 🙂  Here are some favorite views from our “kitchen garden”:

oregano in the front left,
then 3 sages in the middle,
parsley and thyme in the back
sweet alyssum with geraniums

mint and lavender drying
in the kitchen
lavender (left), tarragon (right)
daisies and roses in the background

Mixed Berry Bread-Pudding

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Here is another great use for mixed berries fresh out of the garden: bread pudding!

Ingredients:

  • Butter for the casserole dish
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1.5 – 2 cups of sugar (depending on the tartness of the berries used)
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 2 cups mixed berries (for this batch I used red and black raspberries and blueberries in season)
  • 8 cups dense bread cubes (I used left over home made dinner rolls from last night)
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and butter a casserole or 9×13 baking dish.  Whisk the eggs, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla in a large mixing bowl until smooth.  Blend in the milk and cream and then carefully mix in the berries.  Add the bread cubes and let them soak for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Then our the mixture into the prepared pan and bake 55 to 60 minutes, until a knife inserted comes out clean.  Serve warm with vanilla ice cream for a perfect  midsummer eve.

Grape Update

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Vidal Blanc

Our grapes look amazing this year. The Chambourcin and Vidal Blanc vines are loaded with fruit, and the newer vines (Chardonel, Corot Noir and Concord) are growing nicely.

We worked on the trellis for the Corot Noir vines, which were just planted a few weeks ago.  We need to get the wires strung, so we can tie up the young grapevines!

Chambourcin 
Drilling Post Holes
Sharpened Fence Posts