More stories

  • in

    How and When to Prune Raspberries

    Raspberry cane trained1

    How you prune a raspberry plant depends upon when the plant bears fruit—once a year or twice a year. Raspberries can be divided into two types by when they bear fruit: (1) one-crop, summer-bearing raspberries also called standard raspberries and (2) two-crop, summer and fall bearing raspberries, also called ever-bearing raspberries. Red raspberries can bear […] More

  • in , ,

    Berry Harvest Quick Tips

    Berry harvest1

    Berries taste their absolute best when left to ripen on the plant, then picked and eaten immediately. Sweetness, aroma, and flavor determine ripeness; berries can reach their peak in a day or two once they begin to mature. Visit plants every day once fruit begins to deepen in color. Taste and smell to decide when […] More

  • in ,

    Blackberries: Kitchen Basics

    Blackberries on vine1

    Blackberry. Brambleberry, dewberry, boysenberry, loganberry, marionberry, olallieberry. Blackberry is the collective name for a large group of fruits in the same genus. Blackberries are also called brambles and brambleberries, particularly in England. The boysenberry, loganberry, marionberry, and ollalieberry are common names for popular blackberry varieties or hybrids ‘Boysen’, ‘Logan’, ‘Marion’, and ‘Olallie’. Dewberries are almost […] More

  • in ,

    Blueberries: Kitchen Basics

    Blueberry muffin

    When it comes to fresh picking and eating, there are about 30 varieties of blueberry worthy of your attention. These can be divided into three categories: the highbush, the lowbush, and the rabbiteye. Highbush blueberries are the most common blueberries. These are the large, plump and sweet berries with which you are most familiar. Highbush […] More

  • in , ,

    Planting Strawberries

    Strawberry plant 1

    If the idea of serving your own fresh-picked strawberries next summer sounds good, spring is the time to get your strawberries growing. Strawberries are a perennial plant which means once you’ve got them in the ground you will have them for two or three years to come. There are two types of strawberries: June-bearing strawberries […] More

  • in ,

    Cranberries: Kitchen Basics

    Cranberries1

    Cranberries with roast pork, beef, chicken, or duck: now that’s tasty! A chunky cranberry sauce takes only a minute or two to prepare and will add zest to the foods it’s paired with. Add cranberries to salads, stuffings, cakes, muffins, pies, and puddings or make them into relishes and jellies. Cranberries are crunchy and tart […] More

  • in ,

    Table Grapes: Kitchen Basics

    Grapes table1

    Table grapes are most popular for eating out of hand, but they can also be added to fruit salads or compotes and desserts on the savory side added to green salads, sauces, curries, stews, and stuffing or served alongside poultry, fish and seafood, and wild game. Grapes can be broadly categorized as either table grapes […] More

  • in

    Grape Types and Varieties

    Grapes on vine1

    Grapes can be broadly categorized as either table grapes or wine grapes, though many grapes can be used as both. Table and wine grapes. Table grapes are eaten out of hand or used in baking and cooking. Wine grapes are used for making wine. Grapes can also be used for making raisins or for producing […] More

  • in

    Raspberry Varieties

    Raspberries on vine1

    There are hundreds of varieties of raspberries. Red raspberries are the most common. Yellow or golden raspberries are a mutation of red raspberries. Black raspberries–which are actually blue-black–are more firm and have more seeds than red or yellow raspberries. Purple raspberries are crosses between black and red raspberries. Everberaring (also called fall-bearing) varieties give an […] More

  • in ,

    Raspberries: Kitchen Basics

    Raspberries in basket1

    Raspberries are the most intensely flavored and delicate of berries. The peak season for red raspberries in the Northern Hemisphere is June through September; for the golden or yellow raspberry June through October, and for the black raspberry during July. To best experience the luscious raspberry—many consider it a finer fruit that the strawberry–be sure […] More