Week of July 7

Much of the harvest at TAProots is in August and September, so an early July fruit is much appreciated.  The Ribes family includes several kinds of bushes including currents, gooseberries, and jostaberries which are common to northern latitudes including Canada and Northern Europe.  They grow well at TAProots, even in spots prone to frost, and they don’t mind the heavy clay soil here.  The bushes bloom in early May and ripen in mid-July.  I have to be diligent, because the raccoons and birds will be most appreciative of the chance to pick the berries for me.  The mainstay is the black current, which I have used for cassis for many years, but can also be juiced, frozen, or made into jam.  The grow on both sides of the graveyards, and on the lower edge of the Riesling plot.  Mixed in are bushes of red currents which provide a beautiful contrast to all the green. They are good raw on salads and in red current jelly, a nice batch from last year used on this morning’s muffin.  White currents are planted less frequently, and liven up a salad with a tangy crunch.  The jostaberries grow in large bushes next to the graveyard, and can be used like gooseberries in pies.  We have a couple of white gooseberries, and plan to plant more.  So July at TAProots means currents, while we wait for the rest of the berries and tree fruit.