Raspberries in Full Effect

The raspberries have begun to ripen. We have a lot more this year than we did last year because I took care of the canes. I had no idea last year that we even had raspberries until after they had begun producing fruit because the raspberry canes had been buried by weeds and stray grape vines. So far I've been able to get to the raspberries before the birds. Knock on wood I'll continue to get there first! I quite selfishly ate the very first one by myself and didn't tell the girls. I told my husband later and offered him one. As they are just barely beginning to ripen, I've been picking just one berry at a time. My first berry was a little taste of heaven! It was so good...warm from the sun and sweet.

I pulled one kohlrabi so far and shared it with the girls. The kohlrabi also was, of coarse, delicious. Sweet at first, with a slight bite as an aftertaste. If you never have, I would encourage you to try fresh kohlrabi. It is very good! It is widely available across the Midwest right now at farmer's markets. I like to eat them plain, but you can dip them in Ranch or other dips if you prefer. That's also very good.

Speaking of farmer's markets, the only vegetable I've bought so far at my local farmer's market is a bag of spinach for freezing. I had enough spinach this year for fresh eating, but wasn't able to grow enough for preservation- my box on the balcony did not do nearly as well as I had hoped it would. I do plan on buying lots of peaches and apples later for preservation, but meantime I like to go to look at what is available. This year I have considerably cut down on my food budget already, and most of my crops aren't ready for harvesting yet! I say that taking into consideration the amount of money I've spent on garden implements this year, and I can say with full confidence that I've already come out ahead.