Decent Blueberry Crop This Year

[ckreef]

Last year we had a late freeze that killed our entire Blueberry Crop. This year the winter was decent. A very rainy spring followed but a few hot sunny days. Mrs skreef picked our first harvest of the year. We only have 2 bushes but they are really big bushes. She got about 5 cups of Blueberries. We should get 3 or 4 times that many before it's all over. 

 

 

 

[tony b]

Nice. What do you have planned for them?

[ckreef]

5 hours ago, tony b said:

Nice. What do you have planned for them?

That was a bit over 5 cups. I froze them in 2 packages of 2 1/2 cups each and gave the overage to my son. This coming Saturday I should be able to harvest about the same amount. Maybe a batch of Blueberry BBQ sauce and small pie. Might try canning a double batch of Blueberry BBQ sauce so I have a little to pass out. Haven't done the canning yet with Blueberry BBQ sauce but it should work fine. We'll see how much I have to work next weekend. 

 

[Aussie Ora]

Last year we had a late freeze that killed our entire Blueberry Crop. This year the winter was decent. A very rainy spring followed but a few hot sunny days. Mrs skreef picked our first harvest of the year. We only have 2 bushes but they are really big bushes. She got about 5 cups of Blueberries. We should get 3 or 4 times that many before it's all over. 


 
 
 

Blueberries in the wild .yum .blueberry BBQ sause sounds good you should send me your recipe .

Outback kamado Bar and Grill

[ckreef]

 

I finally learned the story about an upcoming local (5 miles from the house) Blueberry farm. 

 

A few years ago an older couple planted about 100 Blueberry bushes. After the first year the husband's health took a turn for the worst and weeds took over killing about 1/3 of the small bushes. For the next couple of years the remaining bushes did okay but there was always a weed problem. Finally I drove by there yesterday and their daughter was out picking berries. She said they wanted to clean it up and start up a U-pick next year. Since there are so many weeds this year anybody can come by and pick as many berries as they want for free. We went back yesterday afternoon and picked a whole bunch of berries. That is a really big bowl and has 18 cups of Blueberries in it. We're going to be canning a bunch different Blueberry things this year

 

 

 

[tony b]

Cool! Hope they can turn the place around. 

[ckreef]

2 hours ago, tony b said:

Cool! Hope they can turn the place around. 

I hope so too because I know they spent a bunch of money on this adventure. They even have irrigation running through it. Plus the daughter said behind one of the tree lines is another LG field of bushes that I haven't seen yet. 

 

 

[ckreef]

Took our Easter baskets and went and picked some more Blueberries this morning before it got hot. Took 3 of us maybe 45 minutes. That's over 35 cups of Blueberries. Time to get canning. 

 

 

 

[MacKenzie]

Good score, those are nice looking blueberries and sooo clean.  

[ckreef]

16 minutes ago, MacKenzie said:

Good score, those are nice looking blueberries and sooo clean.  

There are so many more Blueberries at that place that are just starting to turn red. They wanted a nice little U-pick for some extra income. What they ended up with is a decent sized Blueberry farm. Pick and sell to all the local grocery stores size farm. 

I currently have enough Blueberries to make 2 batches of jam and 3 more batches of Blueberry BBQ Sauce. If it all turns out there'll be a few people getting a small care package in the mail

 

Mrs skreef is at the grocery store getting some more sugar. I'll make a batch of reduced sugar Blueberry jam this afternoon and see how that goes. 

 

[amusedtodeath]

2 hours ago, ckreef said:

Took our Easter baskets and went and picked some more Blueberries this morning before it got hot. Took 3 of us maybe 45 minutes. That's over 35 cups of Blueberries. Time to get canning. 

 

 

 

Wife has been busy freezing blueberries from a local farm also... Today we put up some peas. Butterbeans, Pinkeyes and Lady peas. A little work this time of year pays off for the rest of the year! 

 

[MacKenzie]

Those will be tasty treats come winter.:) 

[tekobo]

12 hours ago, amusedtodeath said:

Today we put up some peas. Butterbeans, Pinkeyes and Lady peas. A little work this time of year pays off for the rest of the year! 

Oooh, that looks interesting @amusedtodeath.  What do you mean when you say you "put up some peas"?  In my world that would mean planting them but am I right in guessing you have vac packed fresh beans and peas to freeze?

[jonj]

We would say "put up" for packing, freezing, or canning food; "put in" for planting the garden.

[amusedtodeath]

9 hours ago, tekobo said:

Oooh, that looks interesting @amusedtodeath.  What do you mean when you say you "put up some peas"?  In my world that would mean planting them but am I right in guessing you have vac packed fresh beans and peas to freeze?

Yep, the latter is correct... Vac packed and into the freezer. We usually "put up" around 45 one pound bags every year, along with a dozen or so gallon bags of blueberries. I'm afraid we stopped planting much of anything years ago when the thieving deer finally wore us down...  My dear wife still feeds them day lilies... the ones that make it to bloom are much enjoyed though! 

 

[MacKenzie]

Love those day lilies.  Have you tried a motion sensitive water sprayer to protect things?

[tekobo]

17 minutes ago, amusedtodeath said:

My dear wife still feeds them day lilies... the ones that make it to bloom are much enjoyed though! 

Yes they are very very beautiful.  I have a couple of varieties that look dull by comparison!

[Bruce Pearson]

Those flowers are beeeeutiful no wonder the deer like them so much. Do you cook the peas first before vac sealing them?

[tony b]

Deer are the reason I don't have roses anymore. They eat the buds just before they open. We call Hostas deer salad bar. Pretty critters, but cause a bit of damage,  especially when they run into your car .

[ckreef]

Reduced sugar Blueberry jam. Not perfect but better than last year.