In the Cold Frame:

Pumpkins, Summer Squash, Winter Squash and Cucumbers

Planted out:

Broccoli, Cabbage & Cauliflower seedlings

Onion starts

Raspberry Canes

Strawberry starts

I was late in purchasing my raspberries and strawberries this season so I ended up ordering them from Raintree Nursery.  I drool over their catalog every season wishing I could order on of this and one of that.  It wasn’t until this season that I had a need to purchase.  I ended up with Cascade Delight Raspberries and Jewel Strawberries.  Both are summer bearing and sound wonderful.  The quality of the plants I received was outstanding.  The likelihood of me getting raspberries off of the canes this year is rather slim, but it was fun putting in a plant that will add a little winter interest in the garden.

What did you plant this week?

Another bit of fruit I happen to have an excess of is Black Currants.  Somehow I got talked into planting a Black Currant bush in our garden despite having no clue what to do with the actual currants.  The first year we had a small little crop that the birds ate.  The next year I got a slightly larger crop that I picked and then let go bad in the refrigerator.  Last year I grew quite a decent crop and made sure to rescue the harvest before the birds had their fill.  I managed to freeze that batch.  This year was much the same, only my yield was huge.  Well, if you consider 1 lb. 10 oz. huge.  After all, it is one small currant bush.

I carefully picked off all of the stems and flower end bits and froze the berries on a sheet pan so they didn’t stick together.  I did the same with the Blueberries we gathered from Blueberry Park.

Yesterday I had grand intentions of making a grand batch of mixed berry jam with the blueberries, black currants, strawberries (from the freezer) and the blackberries my son and I picked.  Sadly, I didn’t get to the blackberries before the fruit flies and mold did.  That left me with one less berry.  I didn’t think that strawberry/blueberry/black currant jam sounded all that delightful (not that adding blackberries would have made much of a difference) so I scrapped the strawberries.  They are now thawing in the fridge and hopefully I can get back up the hill to get a fresh batch of blackberries.

I did some looking for what to do with blueberries and black currants and oddly enough it was mentioned that they can make a nice jam if mixed together.  Might as well.

My pantry is in a state of disarray and I’m short on a few things.  Sugar happens to be one of them.  I only had about 1/2 of the sugar I needed, but somehow it worked out.

Blueberry Black Currant Jam

(These are the weights I had to work with)

2 lbs. Black Currants
3 lbs. Blueberries
1 1/2 lbs. sugar
little over 8 ounces of water
1 whole cinnamon stick

Combine the water, sugar and cinnamon stick in a large pot. Heat over medium heat to dissolve the sugar. Add berries (fresh or previously frozen). Cook fruit down until it is syrupy. I let mine go about 2 hours. Remove cinnamon stick and mash the remaining whole fruit. I put the mixture through a foley mill with the largest size screed on. Transfer the mixture back into the pot to keep warm.

Sterilize 12-13 4oz. jars. I do this by washing them thoroughly in hot soapy water and then placing them open side down in a skillet of simmering water for 10-15 minutes. Bring a small pan of water to a boil and then turn it off. Put the clean lids in the pan. Heat a large canning pot of water to a rolling boil. Remove the jars from the skillet and dry with a clean towel. Fill the jars with the hot jam mixture. Leave about 1/4″ of head space and run a small spatula around in the jar to remove any air. Clean the rim of the jar with a clean wash cloth and place a lid and ring on each jar. I can fit about 6 jars in my canning pot so I only do 6 at a time. Put the jars in the boiling water (using a jar lifter) and process for 10 minutes. Remove jars from boiling water and place on a towel on the counter to cool. The jars have sealed correctly if the lids get sucked in.

I happened to only do 12 jars and had enough left over to fill another 9 ounce jar. I could have processed that one too, but I just put it in the refrigerator to enjoy now. The jam is not super thick, but more like a fruit preserve spread. It tastes delicious on toast.