Black raspberry season stretches from late July to early August. We have VERY FEW black raspberries this year as the canes were chewed by porcupines so PLEASE CALL AHEAD if you are coming specifically for these berries.

They are NOT THE SAME as wild blackberries, they are earlier, larger, jucier and sweeter. Their thorns are also much larger, so be careful and wear tough clothing if you plan to pick them. While Black Raspberry ice cream and soda are some of my favorites, most people just nosh on handfuls of them.

We have 4 rows of Jewel black raspberries & are experimenting with some in high hoop houses.

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Gooseberries are rather like sour grapes, or sweet & sour grapes. The green variety is sweeter than the red variety, and the pink are somewhere in between – so don’t be a gooseberry fool!
Like apples, some varieties are green some are supposed to be red & the different varieties we grow vary with sweetness and texture. Poorman are small and softer, great for making Gooseberry Fool, Careless are large, firm and are difficult to cook with because they are so delicious and refreshing you might eat them all fresh off the bush!

We have a row of Poorman and Careless, Tixia and Invicta. We just planted another fifteen rows of gooseberries along with the older bushes that line our front lawn.

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These jewel-like berries are strongly tart-sweet so add an kick to pies, tarts, summer puddings and other baked berry treats. They are often used atop cheesecakes, and in jellies and sauces for meats. Those of us who enjoy drinking cranberry juice, sucking on lemons and hibiscus tea like them raw.

We have 3 rows of Red Lake red currants, with plans to plant more.

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Black currants are extraordinarily high in vitamin C and other essential nutrients, so much so that blackcurrant cordial can be the main source of vitamin C for British children. They have a strongly unique flavor that is excellent in pies, jams, jellies and mixed drinks. They pair fantastically with raspberries in jam and sorbets!

We have 5 rows of Titania and Ben Lomond black currants.

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Early raspberry season this year!

We grow 4 acres of summer and fall raspberries. We will be open for raspberry picking starting July3, for the 2012 season. They will crop until late July / early August then late August through mid-September for fall raspberries.

We planted a hoophouse for raspberry production. We grow some Killarney, Prelude, Boyne, Revele, Autumn Britain, Caroline, Taylor, Polaner and Joan. Unfortunately the a porcupine took a fancy to the bushes this spring so we may not have many from there.

When picking raspberries remember a few things:
*Raspberry bushes are brambles, meaning they have prickers.
*Lift the branches up as raspberry fruits hang underneath the branches.
*Raspberries mold & fall apart in the rain so pick them on dry days unless you want to make jam or juice immediately!
*Do not keep raspberries in an air-tight container.

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Labor Day, Sept 3rd, is the last day for blueberry Pick Your Own for the 2012 season. An early beginning means an early end – but what a season it was!

The best picking is from the first until the third week of August. Berries become more scarce in late August but we do continue picking into mid-September if the frost is late!

Tips for picking:
*Bring a belt so you can loop your bucket handle through it, allowing both hands free to pick berries.
*Bring a hat, sun screen and water – there is very little shade once you are in the field.
*You must pick berries into our buckets – lined with perforated bags (so they can breathe) but you may bring trays or large containers to tip them into after you pay if you so desire.
*If it is a wet day (as so many are this summer) bring a rain coat as the bushes will remain wet… then so will you. Plan to dry your berries off in front of a fan & on a layer of paper towels before you store them.

We have 12 acres of cultivated blueberries (larger and more fleshy than the “wild” blueberries that are farmed in Maine).
Our varieties are Earliblue, Blue crop, Blue Ray, Collins, Berkeley, Elliot, Coville, Nelson and Brigitta.

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We stock many kinds of fruiting plants and trees, from blueberries to currants, annuals and perennials and sell our own produce as well as other locally produced items in our garden center. In the stand we have fruits and veggies of the season, local honey, fruit ciders, jams and jellies, local cheese and eggs as well as unusual gifts and cards.

Our staff has a wealth of gardening and farming knowledge. We can help you create a beautiful bed of annuals, your first vegetable garden or help you plan a berry field or peach orchard. We offer weekend workshops in the spring, can help you troubleshoot problems with existing blueberry plants and can supply the freshest fruits and vegetables on your way home on Rt 12 in Troy, New Hampshire.  The garden center is open Wednesday-Sunday 9-6pm in April.

Monadnock Berries 2012 Brambles

Summer Raspberries
Prelude – Earliest – Expect to pick your first raspberries starting July 4th. This bramble is a vigorous grower and benefits from tipping June for extra yield. These full flavored berries have a second smaller crop in the fall.

Encore – Late – Expect your berries to be ripe by July 25th. This variety is hardy and rampant with a few prickles. The fruit is large, pale red in color, with a subtle flavor.

Taylor – Late – (Heirloom). The best flavored variety of late raspberry. Hardy, vigorous, and productive. The berries are medium to large and firm.

Fall Raspberries
Poloana – Early Fall – Expect to pick your first berries around September 4th. These berries are compact, juicy, and yield a heavy crop. They are winter hardy too.

Caroline – Expect your berries to be ripe by September 10th. This is the most popular fall bramble with good reason. The berries are firm, juicy, and full of rich flavor producing high yielding, high quality fruit.

Jewel *Black Raspberry – Summer – Expect to pick these berries mid July. They have a season of just two weeks. Although the berry is delicate, it ahs a rich and juicy full flavor that is worth th wait. This bramble is vigorous and neds a trellis for support.

Illini Hardy *Blackberry – You will have heavy crops of shiny black medium sized fruit. Vigorous and quite winter hardy, grows erect and has thorns.

Chester *Blackberry – The best thornless variety available. The berries are large and of high quality, they maintain their shine during hot weather, fairly winter hardy.

Prime Jim *Blackberry – Larger berries than Prime Jan but not so abundant. The berries are firm and a little less sweet than the other varieties.

Prime Jan *Blackberry – These are smaller and sweeter berries than Prime JIm, also slightly earlier fruiting and more productive.