Today is Day 12 of December Reflections 2018 and the prompt for today is Best Meal of 2018.
This photo is not exactly a meal (though if I remember right it was most of a meal that day) but it is my favorite thing to eat in the world — fresh picked black raspberries and blueberries from my backyard garden. There is nothing better than fresh home-grown produce.
Farm Memories
I grew up on a farm where we grew a lot of what we ate. In the early spring rhubarb and asparagus, then radishes and lettuce, strawberries, English peas, cherries (sweet and tart), black raspberries, mulberries, green beans, cabbage, cucumbers, carrots, tomatoes, sweet corn, squash, and apples.
We raised chickens, hogs, cattle, and kept a couple of milk cows to produce plenty of milk for our family. When I was little we also raised ducks and geese. It was hard work day in and day out for my parents. I sometimes wonder how they managed it all. But then I remember that we were very connected with neighbors and relatives who helped. On hay-making days, we had huge crews of family and neighbors to help out. My grandma often helped my mom prepare mid-morning coffee and snacks, a big farm lunch, and mid-afternoon sandwiches, lemonade and cookies for the big work crew.
As a child I loved those days because one or more of my cousins would often accompany their father and I would spend my day playing with my cousins while the adults worked. This is not the way it’s done any longer. With more mechanization, larger farms, and fewer farmers, it’s totally different. Farming has changed so significantly since I was a child that I hardly recognize it anymore. Though I know there is much I no longer understand about farming as I read more about sustainable agriculture I wonder if we will see more and more smaller farms again. Imagine how small towns across the nation could be re-vitalized if 30% of the population lived and worked on farms instead of less than 10%.
Sugar snap peas in my summer container garden
Berry Delicious
I miss all of the healthy fresh food I grew up eating. Seven years ago when I spent a few months on the Big Island of Hawaii I was introduced to and became very interested in the ideas surrounding permaculture. Though I no longer want to do a lot of gardening, the one thing I decided I needed to try growing in our backyard was black raspberries—my favorite fruit from childhood—because I haven’t found any being sold at local farmer’s markets or in stores. Each time a savor one of these beautiful berries it brings back memories of days gone by. Growing fruit trees and bushes is a kind of permaculture that can be done in cities and suburbs with a little bit of space and a little bit of effort.
My black raspberries and blueberries are my permaculture experiment and so far they have paid off beautifully with relatively little maintenance (a little pruning twice a year, a bit of organic fertilizer in the spring, occasional watering, and picking the berries). The black raspberry bushes do have big thorns that catch on clothing and can scratch you if you don’t wear long sleeves and pants when you work with them. And the birds love them so you need to have some sort of barrier to discourage them—I use tall chicken wire around the blueberry bushes and bird netting over the raspberries. The bird netting is difficult to use and remove because of the many thorns on the plants but I find it worth it because I love the berries so much.
Late last summer we moved my black raspberry and blueberry bushes from close to the back door of our downstairs to another area further from the house. We were planning to have new windows and siding installed in November and the bushes were likely to get in the way or get damaged. I don’t think the new spot is as ideal as where they were before but I also realize that we needed to make a change to make yard care easier and make space for the siding and window installers.
I am anxiously awaiting spring to see if the bushes thrive in their new home. Sending good vibes to these lovely plants to survive and thrive in their new space.
May you walk in beauty.
First blueberries of the season
Summer garden goodness
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