Fruit on the farm
My first raspberry crop is coming along nicely. I am hoping for enough to make good old fashioned raspberry jam. 
The blueberry crop is as pathetic as ever. Blueberries really do not like this swamp soil. They need something a bit more acidic. 
There are zucchini beginning to grow. This is a heritage variety in my seed saving program called Tiger Zucchini. These plants are in John’s garden, he has a cage like cover on them because Mr Flowers LOVES to eat Zuchinni flowers. 
Magnolia. 
LuLu the oldest ginger cat.
In 24 hours all the fields surrounding us were sprayed with the highly potent horticulture strength round up, (much, much stronger than what you can buy at the store), then tilled and sown in field corn or maize. It all happened so fast I did not even have time to get my clothes off the line. They all had to be rewashed.
Hopefully none of my vegetables (or hay fields) were sprayed off with the wind creating drift. But I think we have survived another year.
I sowed the third row of beans yesterday. My biggest seller at the moment is asparagus. The rhubarb is finished. You can only cut about a third of the rhubarb plant per season. I will be planting more rhubarb soon – I have put out the call to local gardeners. I love the old varieties and there is a chef in the city who will take all I can grow.
I hope you have a lovely day.
Love celi
Weather Forecast: Stunning. Perfect gardening weather.
43 Comments on “Fruit on the farm”
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Congratulations on the vegetable sales – in case you haven’t heard of it, rhubarb infused gin or vodka is very good 😉
I had not heard that! Good to know! c
I tried some at the London drinks trade show last year – it was very nice!
I’m so glad you have found a market for you r veggies with the local restaurants. Sweet Lulu. Bad Roundup. Be well, C.
Thank you Kim – hope your summer is almost begun? c
Two more days!
YAY!! c
Ironic how you’re expected to take all the poison spray, but God forbid you should have a stray Monsanto GM seed on your side of the boundary… The world is mad, and the Farmy is an island of sanity amidst the alien corn.
They really and truly believe that it is not poisonous, spraying it at speed in their big trucks.. c
Mr Flowers and I share the love of zucchini flowers. However I like mine stuffed with goat cheese and lightly sauteed….
Oh yum!
This one says to cook in the oven – but I have always sauteed them in the fry pan…..
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Mix 1 egg, goat cheese, pepper, salt and basil together.
Stuff flowers with this mixture and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet that has been brushed with a little olive oil. …
Bake for about 12 minutes at 425 degrees, or until flowers are golden and cheese is bubbly and cooked.
Yummy, I am going to try this. Thanks for the recipe.
delicious! c
They should have to adhere to safe practices when spraying. Awful to think you’re exposed to the chemicals. What about your well?
I sprayed a non toxic weed killer on my trrrace and the tree caterpillers were actively dying all over the place. Gross. I’ll have to come up with a brtter plan.
Have uou ever tasted zucchini flowers? I’ve seen it on a cooking show. Probably pretty labour intensive and not very shopable. Have a good day.
Try using pickling vinegar during the sunniest, hottest part of the day. In a sprayer with a straight stream versus a mist.
I don’t drink the water out of my well anymore.. c
Roundup has been outlawed in France.
‘I believe you don’t have round up ready seed either so they won’t need it. much better. c
I use hot vinegar and coarse salt on the weeds in my paving, horrible roundup. Is Egoli still around, I have trouble telling Egoli and Lulu apart. Laura
Yes Egoli is definitely still around – long leggy boy.. c
I can never get over how fast your season seems to change from winter to summer!
Yes, the summer is on its way – not too hot yet though.. c
What a forecast, the descriptive one! So much of the weather is in how we see and what we do.
Yes it is and what we are doing being the most important.. this is perfect weather – we just finished hours of fencing and it was sunny but not too hot – what a relief.. c
Rhubarb – check out Glaskins Perpetual’ rhubarb, supposedly which means it’s supposed to be harvested all summer long. I have not personally grown but apparently it is extremely easy to grow from seed
I will Linda – thank you – I will go and find it immediately – I nee to get the new rhubarb started poste haste . c
Those raspberries look amazing. I haven’t had much luck with them in my garden; however I have approximately a zillion blueberries this year, happy day!
That spraying makes my blood boil. You’re like this little ecosystem surrounded by concrete. Poison concrete that is. I’m so glad you’re doing what you’re doing. The pollinators and birds must look at your farm like an island of refuge.
Rhubarb. I only have a little, but I just read a piece by a permaculture orchardist who plants it under his fruit trees. I’m going to give it a go.
Have a great day,
Elizabeth
It grows in the shade? They say it likes to grow with horseradish and that can take some shade – Hmm – c
D > Heavens above! Just a few weeks ago you had ice and snow, now you have raspberries nearly ready to pick? Strong sunlight, heat: that’s what makes the difference. Our winters are mild, but then so are our summers. Even so, I assume yours are an early-fruiting variety. ?
Yes, they should fruit early and then again later in the summer if i get my pruning right.. c
Thanks for the garden posts. I feel like I have been waiting a long time to see your food gardens.
Seeing the glyphosate damage so close to you breaks my heart.
It is madness.
I also wish I could send you a piece of my 19th century strain of rhubarb. It is dark, dark ruby red. It would also love your acid soil. Sadly Border Protection would never allow it.
I wonder if we could collect some seeds – I can take seeds across. When I was home I had a rhubarb patch that came from a root brought across by my aunts grandfather from Yugoslavia – one of my sons still has a plant from that – c
They do not look like much quite yet – especially the new garden – I am still waiting for some real growth..
I have a good crop of raspberries on the way too, and the fig trees are laden with fruit. We go back to Australia on Tuesday so somebody else will enjoy them. If I am lucky there may still be some in September when I come back. Thank goodness nobody in our area sprays anything with weed killer.
Oh figs!! how wonderful.. I do hope you get to eat a few.. c
Celi, have come here from the very informative US/Swedish blog of Ron’s ‘Lost in a Pot’ – new and from Southern Sweden: Ron is American.. As he says the European/Swedish laws as far as herbicides and GMO go are hugely strict and in many regions both are totally forbidden. As I said before methinks we here are at least aware of the cancers and other problems . . . . I simply cannot believe Roundup is still being used and on a commercial scale !!! Glad to see your fruit and vegetables, but that is labour intensive so hope you get some good wwoofers once Alex has gone: he sure seems to have fitted in . . .
Bleh! Spray drift… It
I’m with Mr Flowers, I love zucchini flowers… stuffed. The G. O. Isn’t a fan of zucchini unless it’s in slice maybe, so the flowers are a good reason to grow it, the bees love them too.
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Ok…just checking. Anyway, I watched a permaculture video where blueberry plants were aided by spreading pine needles on the ground around them. The pine adds acid to the soil. But maybe you already knew that?
I’m so tired of the spraying here.
Love your photos Celi .. Let’s not talk blueberries! I have no success ..ever. Love the pic of Lulu
Lovely. The raspberries are inspiring me! Thank you.