Monday, September 5, 2011

Foraging After Irene Left.

Long before Hurricane Irene took shape in the Atlantic, I had planned to go foraging on public property looking for crabapples so I could make some crabapple jelly. I was going to be particular about selecting the fruits. Almost ripe, but not overripe and not bruised so I could get the best juice out of them. The more ripe they are, the lower the pectin, and we all know what happens when making jelly with too little pectin.

A couple of days after Irene left, I went to the median strip on a local street where I had found an abundant source for crabapples. The median is about 16 to 20 feet wide, and runs for about half a mile. All the way down the center of the median strip are crabapple trees. I think this was the first time they had been picked.

The end result was that I came home with 12 pounds of fresh "just ripe" and "not quite ripe" crabapples. That should ensure that the jelly will set just fine as the pectin level should be high. It appeared that all the crabapples that were just past ripe had been blown off the trees during Hurricane Irene, so mother nature had already done the "sorting" for me. After the high winds, all that was left on the trees was healthy young fruit just waiting to be picked. And pick I did!

Here is a pic of the 12 pound harvest from this foraging effort:


The next step will be to make crabapple jelly!

I hope everyone made it safely through Irene's path of destruction.

Have a great vegetable gardening day!
Veggie PAK

9 comments:

  1. That was so nice of Irene to do the sorting for you! I can't wait to hear about the finished product!

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  2. How lovely! I've never had crabapple jelly before.

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  3. I'd willingly give you some omy Crab Apples. The Crab Apple tree in my garden is currently dumping about 12 pounds of fruit onto my driveway EVERY DAY! When they go soft they make a terrible mess...

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  4. It's been a long time since I've had crabapple jelly. I don't remember what it tastes like - apple jelly?

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  5. good effort! That will be some great jam!

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  6. I have never heard of crabapple jelly... but kudos to you for making use of something that would otherwise have gone to waste!

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  7. Robin, it's finished and delicious!


    GirlRural.com, It's similar to apple jelly. Just has a little more zing in the taste.


    Mark Willis, Oh, thanks, but that would be a long drive! You're right about making a mess. When I was picking mine, there were hundreds of them on the ground under my feet!


    Karen Anne, Yes, like apple jelly with a little more zip.


    Wendy, Thanks, and it is!


    Prairie Cat, I had grown up being around crabapple trees, but I never thought of making jelly until a couple of years ago. Now I'm always on the lookout for fruit trees or berries that I can harvest as untapped food supplies.


    Thanks to everyone for visiting and sharing your comments!

    Have a great vegetable gardening day!
    Veggie PAK

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  8. Glad you survived the hurricane okay. We had lots of rain and wind in Newport News but were otherwise fine. We did lose power for 4 days, but the house and garden survived without a problem.

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  9. .09 Acres, 4 days? Ugh! Thankfully we didn't lose power, although it did flicker a few times. The garden did okay in general, but the cucumber vines took a beating. They looked like flags blowing in the wind. The evidence of that showed up a few days after the storm, as in yellowing leaves, holes in the leaves, vines drying up, etc. Over half of the plants have died... again!

    Happy for you to survive with no problems for house or garden!

    Veggie PAK

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