Baby Fruit {Wordless Wednesday}

1. concord grapes 2. red currants 3. peach 4. montmorency cherries 5. strawberries 6. raspberries 7. blueberries

I took pictures of fruit babies last year. The comparison is interesting both because the fruits are three weeks ahead of where they were in 2011 and my photography skills have improved dramatically.

Watching my fruit babies mature is bittersweet this year. The fully ripened fruit will likely be harvested by the new owner(s) of the homestead. I would like to move as soon as possible so that I can plant at the TBD new location, but at least if we stay around here long enough, we'll enjoy some fruit this summer.

Our realtor is hosting an Open House for our home at 349 Tibet this Sunday from 2-4 pm. I'm providing scones and jams - come see the homestead and grab a homemade snack!

Fruit Babies!

There is nothing like homegrown fruit. Last year we enjoyed warm raspberries off the vine and perfectly sweet strawberries along with two (yes, just two) Italian plums. The anticipation for this year's fruit starts with tiny flower buds and bitty baby fruit that are revealing themselves now. Here are some of the fruitlets we are tending this year:

concord grapes, montmorency cherries

strawberries, and red raspberries.

Not pictured are the fuzzy green peaches, snow drop blueberry flowers, soft chartreuse figs, and hard emerald lemons gathering sunlight and water in our garden.

Are you growing fruit this year? What kind(s)?

Berryhill U-Pick Farm in Xenia Ohio

Our frozen blueberry stash was not replenished this July as in years past.  To remedy this situation I have been hunting for an opportunity and location to pick berries.

The timing worked out this past weekend when we were visiting family in the near-Dayton area.  Searching through PickYourOwn.org revealed Berryhill Farm south of Xenia Ohio.  We made plans to stop there before lunch at The Winds in Yellow Springs and dinner with relatives.

Picking at a new farm is always a bit of a risk.  Will the fruit be tasty and low chemical?  People friendly?  Prices reasonable?

Berryhill delightfully exceeded expectations.  Blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries were all abundant, ripe, and extraordinarily tasty.  Signs labeled the bushes pesticide free, which I have to believe based on the diversity of plant and insect life in the field.

The fields were very well maintained with wide rows for easy picking.  Blackberries and raspberries were trellised up off the ground.  There were only two other parties picking last Saturday morning.  Even with many families the spacious farm would not seem crowded.

The Elliot blueberry variety planted at Berryhill is relatively small in form, yet easy enough to pick with a little stooping.  It actually is the perfect variety to tag-team as a parent-child group where the child sits on the ground below picking the low fruit and an adult can stand over gathering berries from above.

In less than an hour's time we picked eight pounds of blueberries and three pints of raspberries for a total of around $20.  Cash and checks are accepted.  Pre-picked berries and a small variety of other fruits are also available as are raw honey and ice cold water.

Berryhill has abundant parking and a friendly staff.  They are lacking public restrooms.  If you are traveling a distance in the heat of summer it's a good idea to bring a cooler with ice to keep your berries fresh on the way home.  From our home in Clintonville, we arrived at Berryhill in just under and hour.  They are just 20 minutes from Dayton or Yellow Springs.

Raspberries and blackberries should be in season for another three weeks or more.  Blueberries are likely to only last through the next week.

Lillian, our almost five year old, summarized the trip well: "The blueberries are very yummy there."

This post was added to Two for Tuesdays.