Its a rain day, and boy do I need it, the garden and pastures can use this lovely soft, gentle but steady rain for the past couple hours, my first cherry tomato’s are turning color, have hints of red and orange on a number of them.
Well, the gooseberries are done, minus the plan to head to a old homestead site that I wild forage at, they knocked down the house and buildings but left all the fruits, and the farmer says I am welcome to pick, so need to get out and see what is there this year.
The currents have only one picking left on them, and then they are done for the year, and the last of the strawberries is in sight, I believe yesterday was the last big pick of the season, however the tame blueberries are now in full swing, and the rasberries are going crazy with flowers and white berries are showing up all over the canes..
Will need to take a walk in the woods to see where my wild blueberry patch is in production, like adding wild strawberries to the homegrown one, adding even 10th of wild blueberries to the homegrown add’s a depth of flavor that is just amazing!
So today so far, I have finished making the current jelly, old fashion Blueberry jam, nothing but blueberries and sugar, heat and time to make a soft blueberry butter, Blueberry Lime Jam, Strawberry/Rhubarb/Blueberry fruit, Blueberry/Sour Cherry Fruit, Blueberry Fruit, Blueberry Syrup, Blueberry sauce. So far I have put up over 48 jars of blueberry related items, and there is still more to go.. think I will dry and freeze some for later use.
Have about a bushel of picked pea’s to shell and get into bags for the freezer, Currently drying green onions and garlic greens. The elderflowers are done or almost done blooming, and the tiny green berries are forming, had a peek at my big chokeberry patch and its loaded!, its going to be a good crop year for both elderberry and Chokeberry.
Put up 4 gallons of dried daylily flowers, so that is done for the year other then for fresh use over the next while. The ducklings will be sad to see the strawberries done, they adored their daily feeding of the toppings and so soft etc, I am trying hard to both enjoy them and not get to attached, at six weeks plus, their time here is limited, as soon as their pin feathers start coming in (typically around eight weeks or so), it will be time to send them to freezer camp, O, there is the timer..
Happy canning everyone.. What are you all processing these days?
Just another Day on the Farm 
Look at you go, I haven’t canned a thing yet this year. I agree about the wild berries making jam so much better. Have you ever made all wild strawberry? That stuff is pure gold.
I pretty much can all year long really but summer/fall is the really busy time, at this point, I will be canning something almost daily. I have never made all wild strawberry jam, I have made jam from all wild berrys of other kinds but not strawberries. I can only imagine just how good it would be!
Hello, I have to say that I love your blog. I am so envious of anyone that can harvest their wild berries. We have wild blueberry bushes on our property in Maine and New Hampshire. I have yet to get a berry in Maine and only a small child’s bucket of berries in New Hampshire. We have too many turkeys in New Hampshire and too many chipmunks in Maine.
Hi Karen
Welcome to the blog, hope you will continue to enjoy it and I love comments so thanks for posting. On the farm itself, I have enough barn cats that hunt the farm that I don’t have any issues with birds etc taking my berry crops. We have lots of wild turkeys here, and a regular flock that comes though a couple times a week but they don’t come into the garden area’s, just across and though the hay or pasture fields.
I’ve been canning with the workshops I teach all spring but I did my first batch at home tonight. It was a small (very small!) batch of red currant and serviceberry jam as a test run and I’m impressed enough that I’ll be looking. to make more
I wish I could find Saskatoons locally, but I went and read your jam post, and I think I am going to try it here, I am going to make a batch of red current and blueberry jam and see how it turns out.