I love the seasonality of fruit and berries and one group of berries that can be harvested in October and November are particularly valuable when you only eat fresh and, later in the winter / spring, dried fruit and berries. The blackberries (bjørnebær) are finished now and we will be eating fresh stored apples now until at least April. This week after the first heavy frost I was able to continue harvesting Worcesterberries (a selection of Ribes divaricatum) at the bottom of the picture, Aronia prunifolia (purple chokeberry) at left and autumn olives / Japansk sølvbusk (Elaeagnus umbellata)
Tag Archives: Worcesterberry
Towards a record early harvest
This summer we’ve experienced a big swing in temperatures from one month to the next…from a record cold May to a record warm June followed by most of July being also record cold. The warmth in June straight after planting my runner beans on 11th (later than normal) resulted in quick growth and by the end of July the earliest variety, two-toned Painted Lady was already in flower, a month earlier than a normal year (if there is such a thing as normal anymore)….so maybe we are heading for a record crop, where runner beans are marginal and almost never give a good sized crop:
My courgettes (zucchini), planted out on 14th June on my shady composting area (no more than 2 hours of direct sunshine) also started cropping very early at the end of August:
Finally, I was surprised when folk told me last year that their Worcesterberries (a selection of Ribes divaricatum) ripened in July. I’m usually eating mine from the middle of September to the first frosts late in October, but they are also turning colour already:
Bumble bee in snow
I didn’t expect to find a bumble bee feeding first thing this morning but I found this Bombus hypnorum (tree bumblebee/trehumle) busy visiting flowers of Ribes divaricatum and its selection Worcesterberry. The air temperature was about freezing…
Worcesterberries
Recently, I’ve been eating blackberries and Worcesterberries every other day for breakfast. I love these relatively sour berries which extend the berry season right up to the first heavy frosts, normally in November!
Worcesterberry is a selection of the North American coastal black gooseberry (Ribes divaricatum)
Worcesterberry is a selection of the North American coastal black gooseberry (Ribes divaricatum)
Worcesterleather and dried Aronia berries
The best October berry here is a berry that I have concluded in the past is Worcesterberry, although I had received it as Jostaberry, see the following blog post from 2015, I http://www.edimentals.com/blog/?p=2391 (it is thorny which Jostaberry is not).
During the PDC course at the weekend, the students helped harvest these berries in the garden..these are now drying in the oven for fruit leather, together with Aronia berries…
221117: I’ve been eating my Worcesterberries daily with breakfast almost every day….yesterday, I harvested the last ones at -10C!! Added video of the worcestermarbles!
221117: I’ve been eating my Worcesterberries daily with breakfast almost every day….yesterday, I harvested the last ones at -10C!! Added video of the worcestermarbles!
Worcesterberry marbles
…well with the temperature at -8C this morning, I harvested these Worcesterberries, as hard as marbles, and after thawing they are still good :)
This is the only freezer you will find at my place :)
This is the only freezer you will find at my place :)
Worcesterberries? still going strong
Despite many frost nights, I’m still harvesting berries of this mystery berry in my garden….I think it’s a form of Worcesterberry (a selection of Ribes divaricatum) which has thorns!
Drying Worcesterberries and Saskatoons
There’s been an almost complete failure of apples and plums this year (this has never happened before in my 35 years here). I can’t possibly start buying fruit after many years totally self-sufficient in my own fruit :), so I’m drying some berries I don’t normally use dried for the winter, cutting them up as these are slow driers. I believe, but aren’t totally sure, that these are Worcesterberries (they are thorny bushes, otherwise I would have said that they are Jostaberries). I’m also drying a few late saskatoons (Amelanchier spp. – these I normally dry). Luckily I also still have quite a few dried apples from last year’s bumber crop.
