Our garden is showing the first signs of autumn. The pleasurable days of summer were much too few this year between a cold June and a torrid July. But our garden has not objected. Hostas have flourished and we have raised the best crop of cucumbers ever. The cukes have been like the proverbial over-abundance of zucchini - the neighbours are glad to receive the excess and we have resorted to leaving them in little baskets at random homes.
And the grapes - what a mystery. I have concluded I do not understand grapes. The old vines, possibly wild, in the back corner of the garden produced lots of grapes - the first grapes we have seen on these vines in the fourteen years we have lived in this house. I had concluded the vines were all males and incapable of making fruit. What gives? Unfortunately the vines grew with abandon, attempting to choke off every thing nearby, including several trees. So Clem got out the long pruner - after harvesting the grapes - and cut the vines down to size. Probably means we will have wait another fourteen years to see a second crop!
The domestic grapes we planted at least five or six years ago are another mystery. I have long forgotten what varieties we planted.We've read the books on how to prune grape vines to be productive. We've admired vineyards in Europe and Chile. We have tried all the theories with the result of not a grape to be seen. This year our life was crowded with remodeling our house, teaching classes, and lectures. By the time we got to the grape vines, any pruning was out of the question. So the vines ran wild, threatening the bittersweet's existence on a nearby trellis.The bittersweet is no modest vine itself, but an aggressive variety. We usually have to keep an eye on it as it ascends up the huge white pine a number of feet away.
But guess what? Our uncared-for grape vines outdid themselves. What puzzles me is that we planted 3 vines on this trellis - and all the grapes we harvested are the same. Either two of the varieties are buried - or the three varieties decided to merge into one corporation. All of our precious abundance of grapes means Labor Day has been designated as grape jelly day.
It also is time to harvest our basil and make pesto for the freezer, which is already loaded with various batches of jams and conserves. I've learned the secret of growing basil is to not be impatient. Mid June or even later is the time to sprinkle the little black seeds in the raised bed gardens and rake them in gently with the fingers.
Jams for the freezer are a must in our house. We take advantage of available fruit when it is in its prime. I acquired a new cook book for canning while standing in the checkout lane at Home Depot - not the sort of place I would have gone looking for new jam possibilities. My purchase opened up wonderful new horizons in the jam-making department this year.
Any recipe seems amenable to half or a third of the recommended amount of sugar, producing a jam fuller in flavor than supermarket jams - and much better for us. Stashing it in the freezer means no worry about things like hot water baths and the like. And if the jam is a bit runny - no matter - it fills up the holes in Saturday waffles just fine. Strawberry margarita jam, complete with tequila and Triple Sec, anyone?
January will be good eating at our house.
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