In Scotland, all the soft fruit always come at once in the second week of July: its time to get in the harvest from the hills and the garden - eat as much and preserve the rest for the long winter to come.
I plant partly for food, but also for the insects and birds: my rowan tree in full berry glory brings some amazingly lovely autumn and winter birds, such as fieldfares, bullfinches and waxwings.
The garden is buzzing with bees all summer.. its a source of great pleasure and entertainment.
I wrapped the apples for the winter, and now, on the 1st March 2023, I am still munching the apples that I stored in the cool garage cellar: they are wrinkled but the sugars have transformed them: so sweet and delicious: I actually prefer them now.
Re your 'wrapped the apples'--are you wrapping each in paper? I do buy lots in fall, and keep in cold storage--yes, they go wrinkly but are indeed sweet. We started our little orchard 35 years ago; most of them lost along the way, but now, retired, I can give them the needed attention. So we started a stone-fruit garden in another spot of the yard, last year; a new pome-garden has its 8 holes dug, awaiting tree arrival next week. Too many black walnut trees here and there limit what we can grow and where.
I wrap them in small batches, but really, individual wrapping is better: because once one apple goes rotten, the whole batch does. Some varieties store much better than others: my russets for example cannot take a long store, whilst the coxes last better.
My other garden fruit here in Scotland are raspberries, strawberries, blackcurrants, blackberries: I forage locally for wild damsons and blaeberries. Most get jammed or frozen for the winter. Last year the blackberries were amazing, I just polished off the last jar of jam today, on home made rye and wholemeal wheat toast, and the flavour was really intense.
I used to grow gooseberries at my former residence, and am planning to put some in this year.
The rhubarb is coming along nicely already: thats a superb early crop!
All looks lovely, both to eat and to look at.
I plant partly for food, but also for the insects and birds: my rowan tree in full berry glory brings some amazingly lovely autumn and winter birds, such as fieldfares, bullfinches and waxwings.
The garden is buzzing with bees all summer.. its a source of great pleasure and entertainment.
I wrapped the apples for the winter, and now, on the 1st March 2023, I am still munching the apples that I stored in the cool garage cellar: they are wrinkled but the sugars have transformed them: so sweet and delicious: I actually prefer them now.
Re your 'wrapped the apples'--are you wrapping each in paper? I do buy lots in fall, and keep in cold storage--yes, they go wrinkly but are indeed sweet. We started our little orchard 35 years ago; most of them lost along the way, but now, retired, I can give them the needed attention. So we started a stone-fruit garden in another spot of the yard, last year; a new pome-garden has its 8 holes dug, awaiting tree arrival next week. Too many black walnut trees here and there limit what we can grow and where.
(We also grow elderberries, blueberries, currants, gooseberries, strawberries, raspberries)
I wrap them in small batches, but really, individual wrapping is better: because once one apple goes rotten, the whole batch does. Some varieties store much better than others: my russets for example cannot take a long store, whilst the coxes last better.
My other garden fruit here in Scotland are raspberries, strawberries, blackcurrants, blackberries: I forage locally for wild damsons and blaeberries. Most get jammed or frozen for the winter. Last year the blackberries were amazing, I just polished off the last jar of jam today, on home made rye and wholemeal wheat toast, and the flavour was really intense.
I used to grow gooseberries at my former residence, and am planning to put some in this year.
The rhubarb is coming along nicely already: thats a superb early crop!
Thank you for replying! I have long known that Scotland's brambles are considered to be the best!
I guess we get good years and bad ones, much like grapes, but even more so. You need perfect conditions, and 2022 provided them.
I forgot to mention the late summer fruits: we are now (1st week September) in peak blackberry and damson season.