Lady Spring's cool and damp may have held back those globes of lusciousness some three weeks, but the strawberries are coming on strong now. Better late than never!
Back in the day, some 35+ years ago, when we first arrived in this neck of the woods, picking our own vegetables and fruit was a family affair, a "friends and neighbours" outing too. July began with strawberries and sweet peas. Then the raspberries came along later in July through much of August as did the black currants. Most of the berries became jam, though I always froze some rasps for tarts and pies. And those black currants? Well, those not made into jam, became high spirited...a little something to take the chill off a long winter's night.
Soon we were growing our own veggies. Sugar snap peas stretched up along netting, ripe for the picking by early July along with some radishes. Green and wax beans followed - some eaten fresh, most blanched and frozen, a few pickled. The ever-shortening days of August and September brought in vegetables by the bushel basket. There were carrots, peppers, potatoes and onions all from our own garden. There were beefsteak and roma tomatoes too (all processed and canned for sauces) and for a few years even some corn.
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| My Dad in the corn patch, August 1983 |
These days there is no veggie garden out the side door, but there is a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm offering plenty of organic produce. Every Friday from June through October I make the fifteen-minute drive to Zephyr Organics to pick up a box (half share) of just-picked delights.
I still go to the same farm in Mount Albert, Brooks Farms to get my berries each year, but for strawberries, I bypass the fields and head straight into the farm store to pick up a flat or two.
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| Yesterday @BrooksFarms - a quart of Saskatoon berries caught my eye too! |
And by end of day, they're all in a jam!
Sunshine and warmth in a jar, or in this case a bunch of jars!
How sweet it is!
©2019 April Hoeller
YUMMY!
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