It’s the berry and plum season again in Central Oklahoma.
This winter was cold enough, and it kept coming back again and again, but in short bursts. So while we had late freezes that required me to cover our vegetable garden several times after planting time, it still registered as a mild winter. I suppose that explains why the blackberries and sand plums are already ripening a couple of weeks earlier than last year. The problem is the big fire took out quite a few berry vines in one area. Then the grounds keeper crew cut back a bit too deep in the fancy neighborhood just west of here where most of the berry vines were so easy to reach. Most of my picking takes place along a very nice divided boulevard just over a half-mile long (approx. 1km). So the berry crop will be a bit thin this time around.
Still, the first walk through today yielded about a cup of berries. Once I’ve gotten a couple of quarts, we’ll puree them in the blender and cook them down into preserves. I’ll keep gathering so long as they keep producing. I’ve already been trying get the sand plums, so we have about a pint of them now. Because their pits are so large, we cook them down, then rice them and keep the pulpy juice for jelly.
Because of the threat of chiggers, I have to nearly bathe in insect repellent before I go. Because of poison ivy and certain thorny bushes which grow right alongside the berry vines, I have to cover up all but my face. I wear knee-high rubber boots and a long rubber glove on at least one hand. It’s a pretty sweaty exercise in the summer heat. So far, it’s been worth it.
Oh, and our apple tree is doing better this year. I’ve been careful to water it every day, so it’s not losing so many before ripening. We should get about a bushel this year.
