Specialty Gardening: Allotment tales 2009, 1 by soilsandup

soilsandup wrote:
I think I am going to chop up the eggplant and add it to the tomato sauce to make a vegetarian sphagetti sauce.

oh, almost forgot. Terri - you asked for a photo of my apricot tree. Most of the fruit is gone now (lots of it eaten by squirrels and birds), but here is a photo of one of the later ripening branches. Despite having to share with the critters, I did manage to pick some to share with family and friends, and even made 4 small jars of jam a few days ago. I did not add any sugar, just boil and mashed them, and added a little lemon juice. Because of the lower sugar content, I will be keeping them refrigerated.

Next up, the nectarine crop is ripening. Fruit trees do take about 5 years to start bearing fruit well, but once they start, they produce fruit for years. The apricot and nectarine tree I have are about 18 years old, the cherry and persimmon tree about 15 years old, and the lemon and tangerine tree about 10-12 years old. I have been thinking about planting some blueberries too - they have new varieties that can take the heat. Terri - you are lucky to have room for blackberries and the other cane fruits.