Elderberry Harvest.

After planting 3-4 varieties of elderberries over the last couple seasons we were excited to see the flowers blooming and even more excited to see the transition from flower to fruit! It seems the nature of the elderberry bush lends it less accessible and maybe less tasty to the critters that tend to horde our strawberry and blueberry bushes. I figured birds might have a field day with them but found very little went missing, maybe they haven't caught on yet but for now we will rejoice in our successful harvest!  

After seeing the majority of the berries reaching optimal ripeness it was time to make our first batch of LocalRootz elderberry syrup!

Picking the berries off the stems proved to be a bit time consuming and I have seen folks having luck with freezing the plants overnight in a paper bag and then vigorously shaking them loose but I found pulling them from the stem using a fork worked pretty well and then I did my best to sift the bits of stem out after the fact.

We reaped about 6-7 cups of berries and added a squeezed lemons worth of juice and some fresh grated ginger grown locally by our friends over at Frith Farm, along with some homestead maple syrup for sweetener! We started by bringing the whole mixture to a rolling boil for 15min then dropping to a simmer, added the flavoring ingredients to the simmer for a couple hours finally shutting the burner off and letting it cool down a touch before straining through cheesecloth and bottling! 

LocalRootz Elderberry Syrup!

Considering we usually go through a couple 8oz bottles every winter at $28/ea, we yielded about 42oz which will last the winter and save us about $150!

Absolute Abundance Abound.

August & September seemed to steamroll by as the garden flooded us with projects from harvesting,pruning & weeding, to mulching, canning tomato sauce and cooking up a storm day after day. Cucumbers struggled this year without persistent watering from the sky but as with all years something shine while others just glimmer. The trick is to be diverse in what we plant and to embrace what we do have and try not to stress over those in which we lack. It is a never ending balance of juggling a families schedule along with weather patterns all the while maintaining a garden that not only gives you sustenance but also mental well being. The pleasure of accomplishment must outweigh the dread of being behind on upkeep. Guilt can be motivation but the reality of it comes down to just doing the best you can to create a cycle of growth year in and year out.  I always strive for a perfect balance but sometimes the striving part is where the real balance is hidden.

A dinner cooked with 100% of the ingredients coming from steps out the kitchen door are what we daydreamed about all those years of living in Portland.   

Asian Pears, cukes, peppers, beans, tomatoes all coming in by the handfuls! 

Tomatoes finished up strong with plenty of sauce canned and ready for the cellar!

These lunchbox peppers were a hit and were a very prolific producer with a few plants we could harvest a pint of peppers, almost daily, for whole month of September.

The hot varieties are keeping Hazel busy and our baskets full.

Jack Be Little pumpkins seemed to have crossed pollinated with our delicata squash which has given them a unique size and more mottled yellow appearance than we had expected.

Elderberries setting fruit for the first real flush since planting a couple years ago.

Shinseiki Pears

This was a delicious.

This was stinky.

Swallowtail Caterpillar

Easter Black Swallowtail

Question Mark Butterfly

Bee Balm w/ Bumblebee

Dahlias, Dahlias, Dahlias!

Zinnias, Zinnias, Zinnias.

So many blossoms emerging everyday... its a full time job just keeping our growing vase collection filled with seasonal arangements!

Our Morning Glory trellis idea worked beautifully over the arbor entrance to our homestead.

A paused moment of garden beauty as a few fallen leaves and petals created this stunning moment of color and symmetry. Speaking of color and symmetry.... here is a glimpse of whats been going on down in the Rootcellar Studio as summer fades away.

Exploring materials through collage and different methods of applying paint has been keeping me inspired and thirsty for more time in the studio...

So long summer, till we meet again!