The Kind of Berries and Grapes Money Can't Buy

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Blackberries

This fruit makes wonderful jam and jelly. We put in about 15 bushes as a hedge. Blackberries have a reputation for being sour. This is because often times the berries you buy are picked as soon as they turn black - actually they are best when left on the bush until dead ripe. As in the case of other berries, it is important to mulch blackberries. The best time to do this seems to be directly after the berries have been picked. Blackberries don't need commercial fertilizer, but the soil should be kept moist and provided with humus. Thus the mulch.

Dewberries

This is really a blackberry. It is often called "creeping blackberry," the main difference being that it grows on a vine instead of a bramble. The dewberry is sensitive to frost and will not bear good yields unless you plant several varieties to insure cross pollination.

Home Wine-Making

Although the wines we've tried to make have been pretty terrible so far, there's no reason you can't make excellent wines at home. In fact Fortune Magazine says 30 million gallons of wine are made in American homes every year.

Our mistake was in trying to make wine on the basis of "heresay" instead of getting good, clear, authoritative information. If you'd like to make wine from grapes, the main point is to get the right grapes. This isn't difficult because every state produces wine grapes. (See Farmers' Bulletin No. 1689). Or you can make delicious "wines" from blackberries, raspberries, elderberries, currants, gooseberries, dandelions, rhubarb, almonds, apples, apricots, barley, cherries, pears, oranges, pea pods, potatoes, tomatoes, rice recipes for all of these and many more are in "Home-Made Wine Secrets".

Suggested Reading:

Homestead Way to Grow Strawberries, 35¢.
Homestead Way to Grow Raspberries& Blackberries, 35¢.
Home Wine & Cider Making, $1.00.

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