Shake it!
by Kelli Bowen
Today I saw the first combine in a wheat field. I stopped over at a friend’s last night and kept her company while she processed corn. It seems to be fall y’all, and it’s time, or getting close, to harvest time.
We have some items in our oh-so-neglected garden ready to pick: the first spaghetti squash was picked today. We determined it’s ripe because of the size, and it has a hard exterior; we can’t pierce it easily with a fingernail. I use spaghetti squash as a pasta substitute or in a hamburger bake.
We’ve been picking and sharing zucchini for a few weeks. I remember my mom coating and frying them when I was a kid, but I’ve never been able to replicate it. I usually shred and use zucchini in baked goods.
Our fruit trees are starting to produce. One of our plum trees has these big purple plums that are delicious, but not plentiful. I enjoy peeling the plums, while Hubby enjoys the tart flesh. We have other trees that have a lot more plums on them, but they are still small and very green.
Our apple trees are filling up, the tart is still overpowering the sweet. Growing up, it was said the apples sweeten with the first frost, but it’s early August-I sure hope we aren’t going to need a freeze to get apples ready for eating. I don’t think I, or the apples, have that kind of patience.
We also have mulberry trees. I have never had a producing mulberry tree before. Hubby and I have planted mulberry trees in three different locations, but we haven’t seen them produce. Because I don’t have the experience or expertise, I was looking up videos for guidance. I think university extension offices are great resources.
I don’t know what kind of mulberries were planted on our farm, although I have a pretty good idea, so I watched the videos, inspected the berries, and started “gently tugging” on fruit to determine if it’s ready to eat. The other method to find ripe fruit is to lay down a tarp and shake the branches: ripe berries, ants, and bugs will fall into the tarp, then ripe mulberries will float as you wash them. We never reached that last step because Miss E ate he handful of ripe berries we harvested before we made it back in the house.
With berry-stained hands, she declares she really likes mulberries.
So if you have some fruit trees in your yard or neighborhood, enjoy watching the fruit ripen, sampling, and hopefully collecting enough to enjoy for a meal or to preserve.
If you need me, I’ll be out shaking the mulberry tree. I still need to try me a mulberry.
Kelli, a North Dakota girl through and through, has made her home from the eastern prairies to the western badlands with her supportive Hubby, two daughters, and ever-growing menagerie accompanying her along the way.