FALL HARVEST BEGINNINGS

With the evenings drawing in, comes a time for reflection of the summer and year gone by, but most importantly, harvesting all of natures bounty from all of your garden spaces.

This year has been a particularly #amazing year for all things raspberries! Which ever type tickles your fancy, they came out in full force in the latter part of August and are still going strong. I've put one full sheet pan-worth into the freezer this morning after a leisurely stroll in the garden with my youngest. Time is limited with him, as he doesn't stay in one place too long! I'm sure parents can agree.

These are one of my favourite treats in the winter time to pull out of the freezer. Combined with frozen blueberries, these are a great health boost. Filled with #antioxidants, vitamins and minerals galore! Protection from conditions such as arthritis, obesity, diabetes, and even cancer. Anti-aging benefits too? I'm in!

What a great way for your children to get their daily intake of fruits! They can be eaten straight off the plant or out of the freezer as a sort of "popsicle bite", or in smoothies with a quick go of the emersion blender. No need to buy fancy blenders. Just your fav cup that will hold the right amount and be wide enough to blend!

Great in baking, just thrown in any cookie, muffin, pie recipe. I find placing them to freeze on a baking sheets, keeps them separated and easier to portion out for recipes later. If placed straight into freezer bags, they tend to get mushed together and freeze in one lump. This way can be done, if necessary, but portions must be pre-measured before going into the freezer.

I hope you have had a great harvest with your raspberries if you have them included in your spaces. If not, why don't you?! They are very easy to grow and maintain. Only needing to be pruned back preferably in the fall, and suckers removed in spring. Make sure you keep an eye on the in the spring when everything really starts to take off, as the more room you give them, the more they will take! Not a bag thing, just means you'll have a big bounty of them. However, if you need the room for other fruits and veggies, you will have to pull some out and cut them back.

I also go ahead and give them a good dose of manure in spring, and water daily or twice a day in our hot 36 degree summers. This can be found at any local farm that raises animals, usually for a better price than store-bought soil blends. Luckily, our irrigation helps us with watering twice a day when it's really hot outside. Raspberries, don't need a lot of water, but they need to be kept relately moinst for them to put their energies into fruit-producing. As you know, raspberries are full of water.

In the fall, once the first heavy frost has rolled though, is a good time to think about cutting back the stalks. You would of gotten as much of thr fruit off as you were going to get, not it's time to weather-proof them. Typically, we will trim them down to one foot away from the ground. You can also add more soil/manure to help insulat the roots, but it's not necessary. Our bushes are nestled between mature spruce tress which provide some shelter from the wintery gusts of chilled air in the cold months.

Once that;s completed, your ready for the spring time to watch them come alive again!

Let me know how yours have done & what varieties you prefer! I'd love to know!