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July 18, 2008 by: Renee Wilkinson

Blueberry Fields Forever

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It was another gorgeous Friday afternoon spent picking berries after a long work week. My friend and I snuck out of town early and over to nearby Sauvie’s Island. There is a wonderful blueberry farm out there that grows about ten different varieties. This evening we were picking Blue Ray, which are giant bushes heavy with gigantic blueberries. They say they are good for fresh eating, but I will probably bake with them as well.

The conversation we were having was so great that I ended up with over six pounds of berries before I knew it. We just talked and talked, all the while filling our buckets. My arms are, pathetically, a little sore. But I am a firm believer that one can never have too many berries.

On our way out of Sauvie’s Island, we swung by another farm that is more of a market than a big “you pick” spot. They were carrying some local produce though, so I picked up some divine looking apricots. We will most likely eat them fresh for breakfast, so I doubt they will last long. I also picked up some peach salsa, since I have come to realize I have a mild addiction to that stuff. The sweet combo of the salsa with salty chips is everything I could crave in one fabulous snack.

We did eventually get back, and stay on, the road heading back to Portland. As we left, we saw a deer grazing through the farmer’s field. The field had “deer fencing”, so this guy must have jumped high, determined to have an evening feast. I should only hope my culinary delights tonight will be as fresh and delicious as his all night buffet.

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Comments

  1. 1

    Michelle Ellis says

    July 19, 2008 at 12:10 pm

    Poor thing whent he farmer catches him in her/his field.(:

    I’ve never picked blueberries, I can see how the quantity can over take you when you do a u pick. I once brought home 15lbs of strawberries.(:

  2. 2

    Karen says

    July 21, 2008 at 6:08 pm

    You are SO right – you can’t ever have enough blueberries. Sadly, I missed out on our season here in DE to do the U-Pick, but we are still able to buy the NJ berries at the farm stands and grocery.

    Like reading your blog!

  3. 3

    Concentrates, Inc. says

    July 22, 2008 at 12:32 pm

    Hey Renee!

    Thanks for remembering and emailing. Your blog is really nice and your house and garden is lovely! Do you feel ready for hundreds of people to be coming through on Saturday? I know there will be lots of chicken chatting… There’s lots more we’d like to do in the garden and coop, but it will be fun and interesting no matter what… I just came across a mention about your kiwis. We got 3 ladies and one guy and two are okay (the male and one female – each in different planters), one dropped all leaves and the other is stuck in time, holding in, but not really growing. We thought maybe we were too random with filling the lower part of the boxes we made for them, but maybe it was just that they were too tender and not established yet. I even made them a tent during the stormiest days….. I hope you and your hens are having a good week : )
    Naomi

  4. 4

    Renee says

    July 24, 2008 at 10:36 am

    Thanks for sharing the blueberry love guys!

    Naomi, my hardy kiwis lost some growth early in the Spring because of the late frosts, so hopefully yours will bounce back. I have also been feeding them fish fertilizer about once a month, which seems to help them get established. As for the coop tour, I think I am as ready as I could be. I am really curious to see how many people we get! See you at the meetup afterwards.

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Refilling the chicken feeder. Collecting eggs still warm from the nest. Pulling up a few carrots. Tossing weeds to the flock. Trimming back the roses before they take over.

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Note: don't put a swarm in anything plastic. I hated putting them in this bucket, but it's all I could grab in time. But they can easily overheat in something like this, which lacks good ventilation. I relocated them into a wooden hive super quick, but I was so nervous every minute they were in here.

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This is how I fit homesteading into modern family life—little pockets of peace squeezed between breakfast and soccer games.

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Hey there, new friends! I’m Renee, a modern home Hey there, new friends! I’m Renee, a modern homesteader living in Portland, Oregon—raising chickens, veggies, and three awesome kids on our little slice of urban heaven.

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Homegrown asparagus tastes 1,000% better than anyt Homegrown asparagus tastes 1,000% better than anything from the store. So juicy, crisp, naturally sweet. Some of these were 18" long and still tender. 

Asparagus is a perennial vegetable, meaning you plant once and it comes back every year. You have to wait until year three to start harvesting, but it's worth that wait. 

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More garden arches! This one also started with 20' More garden arches! This one also started with 20' lengths of thin rebar, shoved into the ground with my weight and hooped over loosely. Our old Christmas tree trunks are tied to the rebar, to thicken up the base. 

Pruned branches from our fig tree make good vertical supports. Multi-stemmed branches help build up the sides, bc they can also be woven in horizontally.

The most time is spent weaving in thin, flexible branches horizontally from our plum trees. The structure gets more secure pretty quickly, as tension is built up.

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Making woven garden arches 💪🏼 I start with a Making woven garden arches 💪🏼 I start with a few 20' lengths of thin rebar. My soil is soft at this time of year, so I can use my body weight to push them deep into the ground. 

Then I start layering in pruned fruit tree branches. Fig and pear work well as vertical sides. Plum and apple are flexible enough for me to weave in between. Multi-stemmed pieces are helpful to create tangles of branches. I use twine selectively, if at all. 

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