Wednesday Yardening

[ysabetwordsmith]

Today started out quite warm, but cooled rapidly.

I went out to water plants.  It's been dry for so long, things are wilting.  Also the mulberries and black raspberries are ripening, but not tasty.  :/  I got a few good berries off one tree; everything else has been either sour, or dried up.  I suspect the lack of rain during the ripening period is to blame.

Today's big news was the mourning doves fledging.  \o/ 

Comments

[redsixwing]

Yeah, no water makes for sad berries.

Yay, doves!

[zesty_pinto]

Odd, I would think drought would help concentrate the flavor of the berries. I don't want to speculate too much, but you don't think it could be disease too, could you?

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> Odd, I would think drought would help concentrate the flavor of the berries. <<

It goes like this:

Way too much water -- berries rot on the vine
Too much water -- berries are soggy, fragile, and mold easily
Just right -- a great picking season
Slightly too little water -- berries are smaller and more intense, some sweet and others sour, often a bit shriveled
Too little water -- many berries are small, harder, and more bitter or sour
Way too little water -- berries are hard and dry

I'm seeing plenty of mulberries, not nearly as many black raspberries. Most of them taste bad. Some are shriveled, some are rocks.

>> I don't want to speculate too much, but you don't think it could be disease too, could you?<<

There are diseases, but I don't know of any that hit both mulberries and black raspberries.