harvest

The strawberries are coming thick and fast here in our garden. They won't win any prizes for size but they are tasty. It's been a race between us and the birds with the birds winning I think. I've started picking them before they are fully ripe and letting them ripen up on the windowsill. The kids haven't been too interested in them at this stage so I have been squirreling them away in the freezer to make jam before Christmas, so far I have one full ice cream container and I'm making a start on a second one. Any large ones that the birds have pecked have the pecked part cut off and the rest added to the freezer. It's certainly a part time job going out each day, and picking the ripe ones and removing the pecked ones so they don't rot on the plants.

What I am really excited about however is my boysenberry plant, after 3 years of producing very few berries is absolutely laden! Probably me moving it to a better sunnier position has a lot to do with that. The berries are only tiny and green at the moment, but it won't be long till they are large and juicy. The bonus part is that I moved it close to the kitchen window and for many weeks now we have enjoyed watching all the bees come and go pollinating the flowers, those bees are certainly very busy.