Week of August 14, 2022

BLACKBERRIES have always been a popular feature of TAProots Vineyard. Three or four varieties provide a rather long picking season, starting about the time that the peak blueberry picking has passed. The first variety to fruit is the Illini, a hardy thorned variety with berries at the beginning of August. This year, the 30 feet of bushes provided a very heavy crop, but a drought across the Northeast provided little rain, resulting in lots of rather small berries with many seeds but less juice than usual. The four quarts harvested so far created 5 liters of blackberry liquor with berries under 70 proof Swedish vodka, for decanting and bottling in the fall. The next varieties are thornless: Chester and Triple Crown, which ripen later in August. They have large, juicy berries excellent for jam-making, usually with half the seeds removed by straining through cheesecloth. The two 30 foot rows by the graveyard are being extended another 20 feet with new bushes planted from shoots and runners off the original bushes. The final variety is Prime-Ark, a thorned primocaine blackberry, whose flowers and fruit are produced on branches emerging this spring. They produce fruit typically quite late, around the end of September, coinciding with the grape harvests. This system allows for fresh berries (blue or black) to be available for breakfasts and jam-making over the entire summer and fall.