tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7237633934633144064.post7895851254920308783..comments2024-03-26T10:01:18.135-04:00Comments on Living the Frugal Life: Other People’s FruitKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18017959421018964001noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7237633934633144064.post-39069486005762093652009-06-26T08:17:00.143-04:002009-06-26T08:17:00.143-04:00Chile, I like that idea. Thanks for the suggestio...Chile, I like that idea. Thanks for the suggestion!Katehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18017959421018964001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7237633934633144064.post-33585291281801545772009-06-25T22:56:55.345-04:002009-06-25T22:56:55.345-04:00Try drying some of the mulberries, too, for a tast...Try drying some of the mulberries, too, for a tasty snack. I bought dried mulberries from the Middle Eastern store in my neighborhood and they were wonderful.Chilehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11406176434011890590noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7237633934633144064.post-83770231825499642012009-06-25T09:57:50.213-04:002009-06-25T09:57:50.213-04:00Rick, I'm sorry, I don't know much about t...Rick, I'm sorry, I don't know much about transplanting mulberries. I wish I did. We have plenty of saplings around here. But judging by the size of the full grown trees, we don't have room for them. This variety, at least, is no bush; it's a shade tree. I like the idea of the self serve mulberries for the chooks though.Katehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18017959421018964001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7237633934633144064.post-75135574849187863272009-06-25T09:55:49.865-04:002009-06-25T09:55:49.865-04:00Olivia, the pectin was fresh. He was just light-h...Olivia, the pectin was fresh. He was just light-handed with it. He later warmed it up and added some more. Now it's on the slightly stiff side, but we're still enjoying it.Katehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18017959421018964001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7237633934633144064.post-48043211294053549052009-06-20T13:01:06.647-04:002009-06-20T13:01:06.647-04:00Two suggestions:
1) Was your pectin fresh? Outda...Two suggestions: <br /><br />1) Was your pectin fresh? Outdated pectin will not set fruit. <br /><br />2) You say you "more or less" added the correct amount of sugar. If you are off one way or the other this can also cause problems with the gelling. <br /><br />Oldtimers just added sugar to the berries and boiled it down until a small amount dropped off a spoon onto a cold saucer would gell - then it was "done."Oliviahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12535709771684332389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7237633934633144064.post-28578683553332442422009-06-19T11:27:11.098-04:002009-06-19T11:27:11.098-04:00Anyone know anything about transplanting mulberrie...Anyone know anything about transplanting mulberries? I have had a hard time finding any to plant locally but know of a place I can dig a small one up. I am thinking of planting it inside the chicken run so any fruit I don't get to goes to the girls.Frustrated Farmer Rickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08367331507586316368noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7237633934633144064.post-56307106396289888022009-06-19T08:46:37.878-04:002009-06-19T08:46:37.878-04:00Thanks for all the comments, everyone. My husband...Thanks for all the comments, everyone. My husband appreciates them all.<br /><br />Drew, I don't think blackberries have any pectin. Perhaps you were a little heavy handed when adding it. In any case, you could probably warm it up to melt it a bit and then pour it over ice cream!<br /><br />Maureen, Good for you for your gleaning efforts. I often end up with lemon juice in the freezer. Sometimes I make a batch of lemon curd in the middle of winter. It's positively decadent over some shortbread! <br /><br />Sadge, aren't neighborhood fruit trees the best? I plan to do more varied things with our apples this year. I'd like to dehydrate some to add to my oatmeal over the winter, and just try storing some in the cellar as well.<br /><br />Meadowlark - I love, love, love blackberries/marionberries. I know they can be invasive and are often considered a weed. I wish for weeds such as that though.<br /><br />Jason, muscadines sound really interesting. And with jam, as with all things, we live and learn.<br /><br />Wendy, I never ask him to post. But I do mention it whenever something he's doing would make a good blog post. He's not as averse to writing as many engineers.<br /><br />Anon, the mulberries around us are far too big to shake. There's a huge one just over the fence line to the north of my garden. It overhangs our property line by at least 20 feet. The others are smaller, but still too large for our puny shaking to have any effect.<br /><br />Thanks for sharing the Depression era stories. I always appreciate hearing them.<br /><br />sensible vermonter, I encourage you to forage and glean wherever you can. We know the neighbors these trees belong to, and we know they don't mind us gathering the fruit. But I would exercise caution and courtesy if there's any room for doubt. Some people will put up signs announcing that the fruit is up for grabs. Others are happy to let you have the fruit if you only ask. <br /><br />Margaret, I don't mind you asking at all, but please explain a bit more. You want me to link this article to your post? Which one? And in what way? Don't be shy about clarifying, please!Katehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18017959421018964001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7237633934633144064.post-90127530654905482882009-06-18T18:53:56.177-04:002009-06-18T18:53:56.177-04:00I have just read your lovely post. I hope you don&...I have just read your lovely post. I hope you don't think it too cheeky but I wondered if I could ask you to link your page to a Friday post I do. The aim of the posts, called 'Buddy's Friday', is to help families that are suffering in today's economic climate by showing them there are ways of doing things well that may be frugal but are definately not cheap and nasty - they are usually of more value and most of all fun. Once again I hope you don't mind that I have asked you.<br /><br />MargaretMargaret's Ramblingshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11736694208684946814noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7237633934633144064.post-37048845604419786682009-06-18T08:09:30.663-04:002009-06-18T08:09:30.663-04:00I think I'm going to follow your thinking this...I think I'm going to follow your thinking this fall! Last year I found an area along the road near a swampy kind of area, next to a house that was, and still is for sale. No one lives there. I don't know who owns the land (maybe the town). But there were quite a few concord garpes growing in there! We picked a handfull last year and realized how amazing they were. We watched all fall and no one gathered them. So I think I'll go down this fall to that same place and have a go at them. :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7237633934633144064.post-5383139564048781652009-06-17T21:22:00.193-04:002009-06-17T21:22:00.193-04:00I grew up on a farm with a mulberry tree; maybe th...I grew up on a farm with a mulberry tree; maybe there was more than one. Shaking the mulberry tree was a family affair. Mom or Dad would strike the trunk of the tree with the pole we used to prop up the clothesline when the clothes were hung out to dry. We'd all hold an old mulberry-stained sheet to catch the falling berries, and some of them would splat on us. We'd pick out the unripe berries, leaves and twigs before taking the berries to the kitchen. Mom usually canned them with rhubarb or strawberries, as mulberries are quite bland by themselves. She told us many times that during the Depression and drought, the neighbors would come to gather mulberries from the mulberry trees on her parents' farm. It was the only fruit some of those neighbors ate during those hard times.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7237633934633144064.post-19974159100986110402009-06-16T15:20:20.292-04:002009-06-16T15:20:20.292-04:00We made hard apple cider a few years ago using app...We made hard apple cider a few years ago using apples from our neighbor's tree :). <br /><br />But, I'm curious, how you managed to get your husband to do a post, Kate? I want your secret ;).Wendyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04642417312794814066noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7237633934633144064.post-17135395981111335882009-06-16T14:17:25.128-04:002009-06-16T14:17:25.128-04:00We have muscadines on and around our land, and my ...We have muscadines on and around our land, and my dad has a couple of fig trees and pear trees that he never uses the fruit off of. I think I'll be trying my hand at jam making again as well, though my last attempt went like yours. It was more syrup, less jam...crowson2000https://www.blogger.com/profile/02141981418199024560noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7237633934633144064.post-29206077910195583262009-06-16T13:32:25.963-04:002009-06-16T13:32:25.963-04:00Hurray for the attempt!!!!!
We don't have mul...Hurray for the attempt!!!!!<br /><br />We don't have mulberries out here. We do have marionberries (blackberries on steroids) though. Can't wait for the season!Meadowlarkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17208672418814503032noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7237633934633144064.post-27983224666054097122009-06-16T12:42:52.582-04:002009-06-16T12:42:52.582-04:00I got no apples from my trees last year but a tree...I got no apples from my trees last year but a tree in the old part of town was loaded, with apples just rotting on the ground. So we gleaned boxfuls off that tree (and took some apples into the lawyers office where the tree is). I just made a batch of muffins from the last of those apples, stored in our cellar all winter, and still have enough applesauce to last me until fall.Sadgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01953324909028095434noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7237633934633144064.post-64422353756635002192009-06-16T12:08:17.648-04:002009-06-16T12:08:17.648-04:00We have a freezer full (ok, about 35 quarts) of gr...We have a freezer full (ok, about 35 quarts) of grapefruit and orange juice (not to mention the lemon ice cubes) squeezed from fruit that our neighbors and a couple friends were just letting rot on the tree. Yippee!<br /><br />ps. love your blogMaureenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13716619994168402985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7237633934633144064.post-79440388118323990242009-06-16T11:36:49.936-04:002009-06-16T11:36:49.936-04:00I made blackberry jam a couple of years ago, for t...I made blackberry jam a couple of years ago, for the first time since I was, uh, 16 or so. Not sure if I overboiled it, or if blackberries have a lot of pectin already, but it set like tyre rubber!<br /><br />Next time - hopefully this year - I'll try again with less boiling.Drew Shielhttp://www.rockinggrass.com/noreply@blogger.com