Aronia

Today I picked my Aronia (Black Chokeberry) berries and made juice and put it in the freezer for juice or jelly. Aronia is native to the Eastern US but the best varieties were bred in Europe where it is very popular. The fruit is very tart and it is used in juices, jellies and wine. It is high in flavonoid/anti-oxidant content, vitamins and minerals. I like that it is self fertile, very easy to grow, disease resistant and does not need spraying for insects. It grows 5 to 6 feet tall and has dark green leaves resembling cherries. In the fall the leaves turn red! Next year (It will be 3 years old.) I hope to get enough to make some wine.

First Bell Pepper From My Garden!

This is Northstar, an early hybrid. The seed was started on March 28 and set out in the garden on June 1 so from seed start to maturity was 106 days and from set out to maturity was 42 days. I used this pepper in a shrimp salad along with red leaf lettuce and Walla Walla sweet onion from the garden. Yummie!

Blueberry Picking Time!

My blueberries ripened early this year! I will be picking weekly for the next 2 months. Most are frozen for use during the winter months.

I picked currants today from my Red Lake currant bushes. Time to make currant jelly!

Time for a garden update. I picked the first crop of broccoli to freeze today. The kohlrabi also have been ready to pick. I enjoy kohlrabi raw as a snack. These were started from seed on March 2, 2013. (See my March 2, 2013 post.) and transplanted out in the garden on March 27, 2013. (See my March 28, 2013 post.) The kohlrabi hybrid variety is Kolibri and the broccoli hybrid variety is Packman.

I am also harvesting spinach which has grown well in the cool weather we have been having. This hybrid variety is Olympia.

Time to transplant my 48 pepper plants to larger pots. This seed was started on March 28, 2013. (See my March 28, 2013 post.) Today I transplanted them into 5 inch peat pots. These will be kept outside during the warmer days until ready to set out in the garden. I like using the peat pots since they can be directly set in the garden with no transplant shock.

The shelling peas are up and doing well. These were planted on April 2, 2013. The pea weavil damage has been minimal so far!

One of the herbs I grow is rosemary. The little blue flowers add interest this time of year.

I made a blueberry pie for Sunday dinner guests. The blueberries are from my garden and were harvested and frozen last summer. My blueberry bushes are now blooming, so hopefully I will have a good crop this summer!