Berry, Berry Good To Me
I may be shamed into renaming this the Brazos Berry Blog, but this time of year berries are what’s happening around here.
I picked the first bowl of blackberries this afternoon, and probably should’ve picked them last week, but there will be more.
The wild blackberries already have come and gone, along with the old man waving from the side of U.S. 90 going east into New Territory, selling the wild berries vigorously but not giving up his price unless you stop.
Mine are Cherokee, developed by the University of Arkansas maybe back in the 1980s. They have lots of thorns, but make up for that in size and flavor. They thrive in the heat, but they also could handle below-zero freezes – if our winters ever got close to that cold, which they don’t.
Some of these berries are the size of my thumb. We had to learn to leave them on the vine for a few days after it seemed they were so enormous they couldn’t grow any bigger. But they do, and you need to let them plump out completely to enjoy their full sweetness. You also need to cover them with bird netting or risk losing most of your crop to the cardinals and mocking birds.
I was spoiled last year, since every time I thought we could use a little rain, it rained, and I never had to water the blackberries or anything else. The Cherokees don’t need much care, but they really do need some water. I’ve been negligent because the water line at the back of my property is in need of repair, but tonight I’ll string enough hose back there to give these berry plants a good drink. I’m sure they’ll return the favor.
→ B.Dunn, Jun 03, 2008, 04 15 am
