A Very Berry Bit Scary Garden Adventurism

Permaculture; it has a magazine and everything. Permaculture Magazine has highlighted this particular group, Brake the Cycle, which hosts grueling rides across the UK with stops at holistic lifestyle (permaculture) facilities. We are not talking breweries or pubs, sorry Metro Mountain Bikers, but farms and such.

Or you can go with this Brake the Cycle, the World Vision Aspen International Bike Ride; a very worthy, a bit more adventurous and clearly more dangerous bicycle trek. This year's ride has passed, it was on my birthday, but keep it in mind for next year. I hear the beer market in Africa is expanding rapidly; wink wink Metro. Ah… I missed the last meeting.

Emery’s is having a huge sale at their Menomonee Falls location, Friday and Saturday only. In three weeks there is a Tour de’ Chequamegon up there in the north woods there, eh. A three day adventure brought to you by the Fyxation Bicycle Co.

But this blog is not about feel good altruism, it is about me. Yes, I tore out that barberry monster and cleared the fence line. Just look below at this beast I defeated further down the line. The determined and unrelenting application of brute force brought me victory in this battle. Not sure if you younger readers can relate with that.

I found a wonderful berry company and put in an order. I will line the fence with berry bushes. More to come in the Spring. There is no diet I have seen that does not recommend berries. Everyone loves berries. Blueberries are a bit too attention demanding for me to attempt to grow at this time. We ordered and planted some currants and an aronia bush. The honeyberry is on my mind for the Spring.

I had done an Internet search for “berries that grow in the shade” and various alterations on that theme and found nothing. Researching berries on YouTube many mentioned that currants grow and produce well in the shade, even full shade. A gardener at the DNR’s State fair facility enthusiastically conveyed to me the same information. Some have said their raspberries do fine in the shade.

I also found what some are now calling the #1 super food in the world; the aronia berry native to eastern North America. Also known as the choke berry, not choke cherry, it is the next up and coming craze, along with the haspak berry AKA the honeyberry.

The currants have a high concentration of natural pectin. You can make a jam by adding only an equal weight (of the berries) in sugar and simmer until it gels on a cold plate. If you don’t have a thick bottomed pot a splash of water would be prudent. You bring the berries to a boil then add the sugar and simmer.

There was a wild berry growing along our fence that I had the hardest time trying to identify via the Internet. Finally searching “poisonous plants in Wisconsin” I could identify the plant. I will not show a picture of this poisonous plant to avoid confusion with edible berries. It looks very similar to another berry that people grow as a super food. But this particular variety, growing wild all over the place, is poisonous, particularly before they ripen. Did I mention this is a poisonous plant (that I have not pictured or described). Never eat anything without verifying exactly what kind of plant it is.

The reality is, plants do not like to be eaten. Sorry vegans. That is why you have to soak and cook beans. Otherwise you’ll be poisoned.

Berries are a perennial, an easier food crop to care for. There is also a perennial bean, if you live in a warmer climate than Wisconsin, that is native to the Americas. That is the runner bean and for some reason it is far more popular in England than the United States. It will survive mild Winters.

Known as the Scarlet Runner Bean Thomas Jefferson grew them in his garden as an ornamental. They have beautiful scarlet flowers and produce continuously once mature. Their vines grow to ten feet. It is a favorite of humming birds.

The pods are eaten raw when very small and sweet. In England they seem to cook the sliced up pods when they are much bigger but before the beans begin to develop. If you let the beans mature and dry on the vine you get large beans from black, to pink, to purple, or a combination of colors. They are very large and attractive. Though it is said you can eat these beans, someone called them Oregon Lima Beans, I have found no recipes for the fully mature beans online. I did see one photo of the beans in a dish however. Of course you would have to soak and cook these beans, like other beans.

My wife and I made this baby, as is typical for making babies. She took it to a baby shower to the joy of many. Afterwards we enjoyed the leftover scraps, which I called baby bits. Very macabre of me I know but in my defense… 

Halloween is just around the corner. And you know in some cultures women did eat the placenta after birthing.

The $141 question: What were my three most favorite WORS races? Keeping the same question. Check out the Charity Jackpot Page link in the sidebar to possibly triple the amount.