Berries, A Michigan Backyard Farm, and Jane Austen!

A terrific year for blueberries!

I just can’t keep up…

With our blueberries, I mean. Our shrubs are going nuts this season: I’m harvesting five-six quarts each day, but I can’t pick and process the berries fast enough. 

In fact, I’ve had to stay up late several nights in a row to get the berries into the freezer before the next day’s onslaught of fruit!

I have only myself to blame, though—I didn’t get around to pruning my shrubs back in April. I told myself that missing a year would be okay—and this month, I remembered I’d done only light pruning the year before that.

As a result, some plants are overbearing…so as it turns out, skipping a year was not my best move. And I will probably pay the price with lower production next summer. In any event, I’m planning to give my shrubs a very thorough pruning in the spring.

Still, it’s been fabulous, eating my fill and then some every day this month!

I’ve included my fave blueberry dessert recipe in Jane Austen and the Internet , my August newsletter, just out! Besides a bit about Austen’s novel Sense and Sensibility, you’ll find a quick bear update and more. My newsletter is free and open to all, so I hope you’ll take a look!

No time for reading? Here’s a terrific mini-series!

And a treat for food gardeners…

I highly recommend my favorite newsletter, The Suburb Farm, from Erin, a Michigan gardener and beekeeper! 

My family lived in central Michigan during my teen years, and Erin’s lovely, thoughtful gardening newsletter brings back good memories of days gone by. She shares lots of beautiful photos and helpful food gardening tips, and I’ve even learned a fair amount about backyard beekeeping. 

What’s truly amazing is the impressive amount of fruits and veggies she and her family produce from their backyard!

What’s especially fun for me is that her posts and pics remind me of all the Michigan summers that my sister and I picked scads of plums from our backyard tree. Despite the Midwest heat, the two of us would bake every plum dessert you can imagine. 

I imagine your August is crazy busy…but I hope you’ll take a moment to spend some time in a gorgeous Michigan garden!