Oliver Berries and Other Stuff

When we are at Oliver and are walking or biking along the dyke, I'm always keeping my eye out for berry patches or interesting plants.  The vegetation is quite a bit different from what we are used to. I was hoping to score some Oregon Grapes, which are not real grapes but grow on a bush with holly like leaves, and are commonly used for landscaping in this area.  I'm not sure if I'm just too late, but the few clumps I spotted were totally berryless.  What I did see this time were bunches of blue Elderberries, which can also be made into jelly.  The one person that walked her dog past us while I was picking them, actually knew what they were and had made jam herself with them, which was really quite surprising.

I did get them made into jelly on the 'Last Day', along with a couple of batches of pepper jelly.  My plan was to get all that done on the Thursday, but you know all about the best laid plans......

There were some good patches of chokecherries too, but they are still sitting in a bag in the fridge.

Also lots of rose hips, it makes me want to try a batch of rose hip jelly again.  I've tried a once or twice, and have yet to be successful.

Since this is all about berries and such, I want to show you our grape haul from the previous visit. A little seedless table grape, a bit over ripe, but oh so sweet! Then some purple concord grapes which have been made into jelly, and some kind of wine grape I think.  Grown right in our own backyard there, despite only getting a good watering every few weeks.

Last year I tried growing garlic, which didn't work that well, it didn't get very big, and also potatoes, which did not too badly, all things considered.  This spring I planted potatoes again, they did okay, and also a couple of rows of beets, and they did decently as well.

 In fact last Tuesday we had beets and potatoes for supper, along with a can of salmon.  Kind of like camping, you just make do with what's on hand. 

In the rest of the little vegetable garden I planted some seeds from the gourds I brought back from Keremeos last year.  I think there were 6 different kinds, but only two seem to have come through.

The previous visit they were just little tiny things, and inch or two long, but this time there were a good size, although looking a little parched.  They plumped out after I got the sprinkler going.  There should be more the next time we visit.

Thankfully this last time the lawn grass was just a bit longer, and as patchy, but not full of big tall weeds like the previous visit.  We are hoping next year that it fills in a bit more.  We weren't sure if we should put some seed down when we were there, since no one is there to keep it watered.  Larry did a couple of small test patches to see if there is enough moisture in the ground and with the dew to get it germinating and growing, and fingers crossed there will be a bit of watering from the sky.