Garden Fun

Our First Black Cap Crop

A few years ago one of my neighbors brought us some black cap jam and it was soo good that I asked for some starts. The past two growing  years were so short that we never saw any fruit on the canes (seems to be some type of black berry). This year has been great for the crops.  All the berry canes (black cap, black berry, and raspberry) are just loaded. Just last Wed. I was able to try my first black cap.  It was sweet, literally.  Its texture was like a raspberry but much sweeter.  Now the question is if I will be able to keep Sammy and Miles away to be able to collect a large enough quantity to make jam. The one thing about the black caps is that the canes have thorns like roses so perhaps this will deter the boys.  I really doubt it, the berries are real tasty. Last year I planted more black berry plants so now berries surround the entire garden  Next year the starts planted last year should be a full production. At that time we should have enough for jam unless the boys appetite continues to grow with supply. 

This year I doubled the flowers in the garden because it seems in the past I rarely see pollinators/bees. The flowers I chose are supposed to attract humming birds and bees. So it is my hope that as more flowers grow there will be more bees around to increase my crops. There were more this year than last. On a side note I heard that bee stings alleviate the pains of arthritis. So any one out there that suffers from arthritis should go out and get some bees mad, just make sure you don't mistake a wasp or hornet as a bee. That would not be fun. Bees can only sting  you once. 

Back to the garden. The flowers in the picture below are perennials I planted last year. This year I planted more in between the ones planted last year. They should start taking off soon. I have planted a bunch near the back fence also but you can't see them due to the shade.

One question I do have for anyone who reads this is how to get larger strawberries. I have three boxes of strawberries and all I get are little ones?  I feel that they are getting adequate water but don't know.  Do strawberries need lots more water than other plants? I am hesitant to increase the water since the last few years my crops received too much and did poorly because of it. 

This year we did decide to not plant any potatoes.  We are always trying to plant them and never get a good crop.  Even with a poor crop yields we still don't eat them all since Anna's Grandparents are always bringing us more from their Idaho friends. This year we are growing summer and winter squash. In the past I didn't want to grow them since I thought they would cross pollinate and we would end up with something strange.  I have learned that they do cross pollinate but it only affects the seeds.  So you would not want to use the seeds found in the squash next year.  The winter squash can be used nearly the same as a potatoes in stews and other dishes.  They store well through the winter and have a lot less starch and a lot more nutrients.