Cherries!

I managed to snag a few cherries from our tree the other day. Yum! Finally after a month later than usual.

We have what look like Rainier cherries, but I have heard that most cherry trees of this type in Seattle are techincally the Queen Anne variety. And it's an old tree. This year was supposed to be a heavy-yielding crop. Not so for some reason, and what a disappointment after having to wait for so long! I have tried to figure out why my tree is so stingy this year.

The blossoms were quite prolific this spring I thought for sure I was going to have a bumper crop. But, as the fruits started to develop, I had a ton of "drop." Spent flowers with barely a hint of a cherry fell all over the ground. Maybe it was the weather? Too much wet and cold to get things going?

My other theory is that a major add-on happened next door. My cherry tree is quite close to the fence. And to my horror, the contractors took the liberty in "pruning" the branch that hung over the fence. I wish someone had told me it was in the way. I would have gladly done the job myself. Now, I don't think the pruning of the branch is the cause of low yield. I do wonder if all the heavy equipment and the new foundation pour lead to stress. I have quite a bit of suckering in my garden that makes me lean towards this theory.

Anyway, enough of that. I savored these wonderful cherries in the little sun we've had lately. I just need a taller ladder to reach the rest of them before they all fall to the ground!

Brrrr!

Apologies for not having posted since the 1st of this year. I'll blame it on the weather; this being the coldest spring on record.

Let's catch up on what's happened since I last wrote.

My culinary laurel is evidence of that. I was hopeful that I'd have a flush of leaves from the buds. After looking more closely, the little shrub was toast. It looked so ratty, I removed it immediately.

My Queen Anne cherry is finally blooming as of Saturday--our warmest day this year. I had no blooms on Friday. When I came back Saturday afternoon, about half of the flowers are open. This is the year when we're supposed to have a heavy fruit year (stone fruits have "alternate bearing years"), but I'm not getting my hopes up.


Cardoon and rhubarb are doing well. I have yet to make something with cardoon. I better act fast while the leaves are small and workable. Rhubarb on the other hand doesn't intimidate me. I made a wonderfully tangy sauce for our Easter breakfast waffles. I peeled and sliced 5 small stalks (remove the leaves! they are poisonous), added about 1/2 cup of brown sugar, a splash of water, and 6 strawberries over medium heat in a saucepan. I cooked it until the rhubarb was soft. So easy and so delicious!



I planted a patch of Early Purple Sprouting broccoli and sowed a patch of the "3 Root Grex" beet mix from Fedco Seeds. I can't wait to see how these turn out. The drizzles of rain in the last two days have at least helped relieve me of my watering duties. But really, I'm ready for some sun!