July 2015
All shades of red. Berry picking time has begun. Every day, I collect handfulls of raspberries and loganberries.
The red dessert gooseberries are ripe and have been harvested. They are worth the inevitable scratches from their thorns. Gooseberry crostata on the menu, using a sweet pastry crust (pasta frolla) from Carol Field’s book under review by The Cookbook Guru, The Italian Baker
The morello cherries were also picked. More crostata making. I’m not making jam this year as it will only sit on the shelf in my absence. So, I’m finding ways of instant consumption of crops.
The red currants have also ripened. The latest red fruit to be harvested. Red currant salsa and that British classic, Summer Pudding.
Meanwhile, in the herb garden, baby thymes have been planted to replace the old, exhausted plants.
Tasks to be done:
- Continue to harvest raspberries and loganberries
- Harvest the red currants
- Watch and wait for the blue/black/purple fruits to ripen: blueberries, blackberries and damsons
| Around My Edible Garden is my monthly diary entry detailing what is happening in my garden this past month, part of the Garden Share Collective (GSC), maintained by Lizzie@strayedtable (click on the “links in collection” icon below to view all participants). A chronological listing of my garden blog posts is listed Diaries in the Menu bar. |
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An Evolving Life 
The red currants look like exotic gems- I love them but they aren’t happy in my garden. So jealous of the berry crop- as we are in the depths of winter. Might have to drag some out of the freezer for a crostata.
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Berry crostata sounds good to me. I, too, will miss these little jewelled fruits next year. I love berries, but they are rather thin on the ground in Greece. Will, however, attempt at least raspberries, loganberries and blackberries in Athens. Who knows what the results will be? Meanwhile, enjoying them now!
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So many wonderful berries, just gorgeous 🙂
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They are beautiful!
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That pop of colour is amazing. You certainly won’t get bored with all that garden work to keep you going. (And the packing!)
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Looking out the kitchen window and seeing those red berries (and cherries) amidst the green foliage is wonderful. Red currants are almost luminescent and truly jewels in the garden.
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I’d be happy to come & help with instant consumption! I love berries, and I really love crostata 🙂
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Berries are fantastic as are crostatas – put the two together and you have heaven! Would love to share if I could.
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Lots of treasures in your garden. I love those red currants!
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Those red currants really pop out among the green. Shiny and pretty!
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Lovely berries. Some of my berries are ending up in the freezer to deal with later. Though like you, many get eaten right away. Berries are such a treat.
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I have always eaten a fair share right away, frozen some for later and made jam (also for later), but we move (temporarily) in September, so future consumption is not on the cards – at least for a while. Except I will make some red currant jelly to give to friends before we go.
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Look at all those beautiful berries. They are a delight to behold.
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And here I am jealous of your passion fruit harvest! Will be attempting some berry crops in Athens, so watch this space for success or failure!
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They’re all beautiful! I’m thinking red currants and gooseberries really have to be added to my garden plan – only blueberries and raspberries on the plan at this stage…
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Red currants and gooseberries, I would say, are acquired tastes! Both are very sour, but they do have their uses. Why not try one bush each – start small, then add on if they do well and you like them. They freeze well, too. What garden would be without blueberries and raspberries? I’m afraid blueberries are not an option in Greece – wrong growing conditions. However, might just experiment with raspberries in a hot climate. Wish me luck!
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Thanks Debbie! I have a few friends who grow raspberries very successfully here and we have very dry summers with temps over 40C so I think you’ve got a good chance in Greece 🙂
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Excellent news!
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My mouth is watering looking at all those berries. So good, wish you can send me some now so I can munch on them while I read garden posts. Enjoy the berries and I bet they taste wonderful as you have plenty more to come by the sounds of it.
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First crop of raspberries is finished now, but the flowers are out on the second autumnal crop, keeping the bees busy. Blueberries are just beginning. Am very much enjoying the crops. May try my hand a some berries in Greece, but who knows if they will take to harsher conditions – hotter, drier, sunnier.
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Oh wow, so gorgeous! We have never yet had the courage to plant berries, we are afraid they won’t cope with our extreme temperatures in summer.
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Well, I am going to attempt some berries next season in Athens – definitely extreme heat there. Will, no doubt, report on success or failure…
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Your berries look wonderful, I am envious . I need to hoist out my tired thyme too. Lovely pics ..
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This time of berry collecting is one of my favourite times in the garden. It was sad to to see the old thymes go, but they really were past it. I’m hoping the new babies will thrive and last at least as long as the old ones they are replacing.
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Oh I have severe berry envy. They look glorious. Enjoy them
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The berries are so easy to grow. I replace a rather lacklustre veg patch with these bushes several years ago and they have proved to be fairly low maintenance, plus, of course, all those berries!
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I love all your red berries. I can’t grow soft fruits in Adelaide because our summers are too hot. But I’ve enjoyed admiring yours.
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I love berries and am going to try growing some (not all types!) when I get to Athens. If they grow there, they may grow in Adelaide. Blackberries can be found in the Greek countryside and strawberries are a common early spring crop.
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I am so jealous that you have gooseberries, as I want them for a historic recipe, gooseberry fool, and they cost a fortune in markets here (when you can get them, which isn’t often!). Ah well, someday. I could probably substitute rhubarb..
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Rhubarb fool would be good, too. If you have a garden, gooseberries are not difficult to grow and the bushes are quite small (at least most varieties). I prefer the slightly sweeter red dessert gooseberries, but they are still mouth-puckering sour. Gooseberry curd is also good!
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