Progress

 Plums! The few red ones we have (either Hollywood or Early Laxton) are putting on size nicely, and should be ready in a few weeks. After last year's miserable crop, I am really looking forward to fresh plums!

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 One of the green plums varieties- I think these might be Green Gage (the farmer is already asleep, so I can't verify the variety). These trees are loaded! I am going to try a plum cordial this year, so as happy to actually have some fruit to use. The plums are not u-pick at this point, but we will sell them already picked at the store.

 The blueberry bushes are now loaded with little green berries! Looks like a good year for them, and they will hopefully be ready to pick by July 4th.

 Lots of lovely green strawberries! The bushes are loaded, and the weather right now is ideal for ripening. Last year's crop was a near failure, so we are very grateful for this healthy crop and perfect weather!

 Lots of apples this year! I haven't looked at the apples and quince in the front orchard, but the trees in the back orchard look great! We should have a good crop this year, and I will be spending days canning applesauce and making quince preserves!

 Raspberries! The bushes are loaded right now, so we wait with bated breath to see if there will be enough to meet demand this year! So far, they look great. The raspberries are so hard to grow here, and are also very popular with our customers.

 And, finally, no farm update would be complete without a mention of the garden! The roses are coming on nicely, and I have vases of them all over the house. I love these roses, and always feel as if my house is cleaner and more beautiful when a vase full of them is gracing my table (or bathroom, or book case, and so on!).

The rest of the garden is a verdant green, with splashes of color here and there. Most of the flowers are summer blooming, so apart from some roses and columbine, not much is blossoming right now. I picked up two new canning books this weekend, and can't wait for fresh fruit and vegetable season to try some of the recipes. The first book is The Preservation Kitchen  by Paul Virant. He has not only recipes for jam and jellies, but for relishes, Aigre-doux, cured meat, and fermented  food as well. The book has a lot of seasonal recipes, so you get ideas for using spring and fall crops as well as summer's bounty. The second book is Food in Jars by Marisa McClellan. She has fantastic recipes for jams, jellies, fruit butters, pickles, syrups, and nut butters (and that is only a partial list.) What I really like about this book is that the recipes are for small batches, so if I only have a small amount of time, I can still get some preserving done. Between the six children, the running of the farm, and the cooking and cleaning, small amounts of time seem to be all I have! I am especially looking forward to trying some fruit butters. The author also includes recipes for mixes in jars (the pancake mix sounds especially good), and this is something I have wanted to do for a long time. On those super busy days, the idea of having a healthy, pre-made mix is very appealing, but I try to stay away from store boughten ones which often have a lot of additives and are expensive, especially for a family of eight! Time for all good farm wives to be in bed, so thus ends the update from Fordyce Farm!