"Cleaning out the freezer" Jam. October 21 2013

Two days of lovely sunshine after all this incessant we have had in the past few months and suddenly the garden has burst into life. The raspberries have all sprouted leaves ready for another productive season. Time to check what is left in the freezer from last summer and do something with it.

Yesterday out came a couple of bags of frozen raspberries and into the pot they went with some sugar. A little while later, 9 pots of jam. Ideal for Christmas presents!

Unfortunately with the gale force winds we have had recently, one on my Japanese plum trees, a Santa Rosa was blown over. We staked it up the first time with 5 plastic cables holding it in place and it looked like it might survive at least one summer. It was laden with tiny fruit so worth a try. Unfortunately while we were away last weekend, we had even stronger winds which blew it over again, snapping 4 of the plastic cables! This time there was no hope of survival.   I will have to get another next winter as it is a cross pollinator for my favourite Satsuma Japanese blood plum but at least this years crop for that tree is already fertilised!