A Fruity Look at 2017

The Berries

High on the priority list over the next couple of weeks is cleaning up the raspberry and blackberry runs.  I mulched last year but the grass & weeds just keep taking over as I’ve never had enough time to edge...you would think I'd know better by now.  The raspberries are doing well regardless, but the blackberries have taken a beating - I'm sure our hot, dry weather last summer didn't help matters.

The blackberry canes are so small that if it weren't for the flags,

we wouldn't know where the runs are.

The Fruits of 2016

We had some winners and some losers when it came to fruit last year.  But one of my happiest fruit moments was when we harvested the one and only fig:

Harvest Monday - May 8, 2017

This is my first Harvest Monday post of the year and it's over 2 weeks earlier than usual.  Why?   Because last week we picked our very first spears of asparagus:

First ever spears harvested by my son last week

More Brassicas - Kale and Beira Tronchuda

It's been overcast, cool and rainy for the past week with only one day of sunshine.  I've done plenty of sowing and transplanting but with the cool temperatures, growth in the garden is fairly slow.

Earlier this month, a couple of the brassicas were transplanted into the garden, namely the kohlrabi and rapini (both of which I spoke about in a previous post).  Kale and Beira Tronchuda were also supposed to be transplanted at that time but I forgot to add them to the hardening off tray, so they didn't end up in the ground until a couple of weeks ago.

Baby Beira Tronchuda

Baby Kale