It’s a balmy golden day in New Hampshire and I’ve been watching the leaves slowly fall and float on the breeze over the garden beds. Abbey is nearby, happily enjoying the warm sun and the suite of scents that signal seasons changing.
I’m glowing too, remembering the season that’s just passed, grateful that so many fruits did well, beginning with strawberries. Even though we were picking from a relatively small new patch, the plants were loaded with excellent fruit, and our daily picking paid off with a high yield. Too large for preserves, they’re going almost exclusively into our newest cake, “Strawberry Sunshine Cake” - a buttery golden cake that we split in half and fill with strawberries and cream.
Red Currants came next with a dependable crop of bright red berries, then the summer raspberries. Abundant sun and rain helped the harvest. We’ve reduced the planting size of these old favorites and are growing more fall-bearing Carolines. Since summer raspberries, blackberries, black currants, and blueberries all come at the same time, shifting more raspberries to the fall helps keep us sane. Plus, Carolines are excellent raspberries. In the olden days when I began growing fruit, the fall-bearing berries didn’t come until mid-September. Carolines begin ripening a full month earlier, and last even past frost. I think we harvested about 200 pounds of summer Taylors, and about 250 pounds of Carolines.
Blackberry and blueberry yields were both down from previous years, which isn’t surprising because the plants needed a break to put energy into vegetative growth this year - which will translate into fruiting next year. Black currants continue to be lackluster - I imagine they don’t love our dry sandy soil.
Tree fruits were astonishing! Our new peaches and damson plums both produced beautiful fruit- peaches especially [they’re a year older than the damsons] for pies and preserves. Our old apple and pear trees were also loaded with fruit. We’ve eaten plenty fresh and in pies, and gave away 4 crates of apples and 12 crates of pears at Tiny Farmstand.
Elderberries gave generously. We have nearly as many planted by the birds as those we planted ourselves. We can grouse about the birds eating the berries, or we can be grateful for the volunteers they planted [by eating the berries and eliminating the seeds -readily nourished!]
Tomatoes and peppers both did well - slightly fewer than last year, but plenty for our needs for home and for Tomatoes Rustica and Pepper Preserve.
We also picked and put up lots of herbs and made plenty of bouquets. We grew extra flowers this year for Elisha’s daughter’s wedding and we really enjoyed having the blooms throughout the whole summer.
We’ve taken a little break from our daily pie and cake baking to get preserves put up, and finally have a little of everything on hand. We’ll go back to daily baking beginning November 20, and hope to keep Tiny Farmstand open through the winter holidays - weather permitting.
Once again we’re going to pause mail order from December 1 - January 15. There are too many things that can go wrong trying to get holiday gifts to folks in a timely manner and we’re just too old for the worry that comes with it.
We’re all doing well. Abbey just turned 14, is still very happy, and mostly sleeps. But at least once a day she jumps up, chases her tail, gives me the doggy play sign and says “let’s go!” We walk around the gardens [usually at the end of the day], and she and Ralph make the tour in the morning and again at midday. She loves when people come to the Tiny Farmstand, and when her girls come to work. She still follows them everywhere - up and down the rows, digging a hole in a shady spot near them.
Life is good, and we are so very grateful.
Sending warmest wishes to carry with you through the cooler days to come.
Love, Patti and Ralph and Abbey the Joyful
Tiny Farmstand