Coffee anyone ?

[Baymule]

Elderberries are blooming here. We checked on our backroad patch a few days ago. There are a bunch of young plants right at the edge of the road that we are going to dig up. I want to plant our own elderberries in several different places.

SCORE! on the plums @Mini Horses !

 

[Baymule]

This is what we picked yesterday. I’m cooking them now and will make my first batch of jam from them.
Aren’t they pretty!

 

[Mini Horses]

@Baymule are they tart? Being wild. Mine are pleasantly sweet to eat. No idea the variety. I'd like those black ones but not even going there! LOL. Maybe the drastic pruning last year helped. 20 yr old tree I planted as a bare root switch when I moved here. I was so excited I had to post. No one here to even show them. Takes so little to make me happy. . These aren't huge, 2-3 bite size. Now I can use some of the pectin I bought a few months back...in case that ran out on shelves, too.

Absolutely move some elder! Since the like very moist, there are a lot of ditches to maneuver around here. Some along back edges of fields are not by ditches but, often a lot of junk to wade into. What we do for free!! Mine on the farm are much easier to harvest! They do grow fast. Looks like they are on steroids this yr around here. I'll stock up, in case.

Got a soap maker who wants to buy goat milk. $6 a gal thrills her....been paying $10. I'm ok with it. Cats don't pay...pigs didn't either! That chore stars up next weekend, after I've pulled those boys out. Good. I've missed the milk!

 

[Ridgetop]

Those look like Santa Rosas. Sweet, juicy, early ripening plum with reddish purple skin and red meat. Yummy!!!

Crabapples and quinces are also good for making pectin.

 

[Ridgetop]

Those wild plums look small - how big are they? Love the idea of getting fruit for nothing and making food with it. DH's relatives in Kansas talked about being sent out with their baskets to bring home wild plums and elderberries for jam. Also wild blackberries for jelly. Necessary with lots of kids since jelly or jam on bread helps the grocery $$$ go far. I used that trick when my kids were growing up - bred and jam for snacks and biscuits on the supper table to fill in the corners.

 

[Baymule]

Those are some beautiful plums @Mini Horses . They should make delicious jam.

These wild plums are cherry sized. If dead ripe, they are sweet, but mostly tart. I use the Sure Gel in the pink box, that takes less sugar. So the jam is slightly tart.

I did 3 batches and got 10 pints and 8 half pints. I almost had enough juice to do another batch, but was 1 cup short. So I put that back in the refrigerator. There are still plums out there to pick, can probably get another couple of batches.

 

[Ridgetop]

 

[Baymule]

You will get a jar! Haha!

 

[Baymule]

Good morning y'all. Coffee is ready, having bacon, eggs and toast with plum jam on it for breakfast.

 

[Mini Horses]

Those look like Santa Rosas. Sweet, juicy, early ripening plum with reddish purple skin and red meat. Yummy!!!

Crabapples and quinces are also good for making pectin.

Sounds like you had them in you hand! Yep, red fleshed. Tasty!

Now, the SAD part....I didn't spray, not having fruit several yrs. This bug thing laid eggs in tiny fruit, there are tiny white worms in there...some stage of development...at the pit. Tossed them all..... NEXT YR. I will spray!!!!! . Can't fix it now.

This is my job today. Crank and till the garden. This works for initial deep till, already did disc with tractor. But it isn't any good for working after planted. It is a 36" till width. At the time, several years ago, it cost half the DR brand pull, which had electronic lift feature that I wanted, not enough $ to get. So, this is a PIA without that or just have extra space to turn, still tilling. I had the space. And had no tractor then, so this was an option. Works well if you can deal with limits. NEXT time, PTO one for tractor that I now have. Notice, deck off mower...gotta do or the deck hangs in the freshly disced dirt disc on repeat go overs. That's another bad but, soon this old mower will no longer be used to mow.....just pull stuff. It's a tough old bird made with real metal, big engine, low geared rear end.. . I have a smaller walk behind tiller, too...for row use.