[Good guy]

These looked so attractive when I brought them in to the kitchen, I thought them worth photographing. The gooseberries were very ripe - the last of the crop - as were the white currants. They could be eaten without sugar.

[James Kilkelly]

Looking well, Good guy.
Make a nice print for the dust cover of your first vegetable gardening book.

[Sive]

That makes a really beautiful still life, good guy....like a detail from an old Dutch painting.

[Good guy]

Glad you like it.

[robbie checker]

Are they blueberries in the picture?

[Good guy]

Yes, Robbiae checker, they are. I've had 2 bushes for a few years, but it's only since I got my fruit/ veg garden properly organised this year that I've benefitted from them.
They are in good, slightly acid soil with plenty of compost and in sun for a good part of the day. I netted all my fruit for the first time this year. The "fruit cage" was a fairly Heath Robinson affair and harvesting was awkward, but at least the birds didn't get them. If I can source a better quality of net, I'll try to build a cage I can stand up in, next year.
I got a great crop of blueberries, and they were delicious, so much tastier than the shop ones. I made a blueberry sherbet using buttermilk from some of them. It's very good, texture a bit like a sorbet. Most of the rest I've turned into a coulis for use in desserts or icecream making later. There are a few still left to ripen, on the bush.
Do you grow fruit? If so how do you use it?

[Greengage]

Well done looks good

[Good guy]

Thanks for your comment, Sive. The colours are so vibrant, aren't they.
Have you seen the incredible potager at Villandry in the Loire valley? I was there last year and it just blew me away. I'd seen photos on the net and thought: "Remarkable, but so what?" but to stand in the middle of it was truly jaw-dropping!

[robbie checker]

Well that's a fine bowl of blueberries!

I had 3 in pots of ericaceous compost that I bought 2 years ago. Also had them netted this year and got a reasonable crop which lasted about 6 weeks (but nothing compared to that bowl of yours although a blackbird did get into my net and helped himself). My soil is black (boggy) soil which is great for veg. I was told it would be good for blueberries. I bought one of those soil testing kits this year as I was curious as to the ph level of my soil. It turned out to be 7 which is more alkaline than acidic. I purchased some more blueberries last week as Mr Middleton had a 20% off sale and I bought 6 more ( 3 different varieties including a pink one), some of which will crop later in the summer as my other 3 cropped in July/early August. As a result of the soil test, I decided to continue with the ericaceous compost in pots but to sink the pots in the ground and see will this help with retaining moisture as the roots will be cooler. I bought a couple of smaller blueberries in Aldi last year and sowed them in the ground but these haven't done well so far but maybe they will do better next year (they were quite small when I bought them). I was curious as to whether you sowed them in pots or in the ground but you have answered that so thanks. I probably should have watered mine in pots more this year particularly during the dry weather but I had enough to do with the rest of my garden.

I also have a glasshouse and polytunnel and have experimented with growing tomatoes/peppers in pots and the peppers in particular do much better in the pots which are actually chicken pellet buckets. I have some melons in the tunnel which I am looking forward to although the plants are showing signs of decline with the cooler weather recently. Also have apple trees, pear and plums outside. Had a huge crop of plums but a couple of branches broke off so I'm not sure how they will fare out. I probably should have thinned them. My apples trees suffer with the apple scab even though I sprayed them several times. Have a nice crop of pears this year.

[Greengage]

I also saw potager at Villandry in the Loire valley magic took loads of photos, lots of work there to keep it to the standard, loved the Apple trees as step overs, climate excellent for growing plants.

[Sive]

No, Good Guy I haven't been to Villandry though I think it featured on some TV programme...was it Monty Don's series ? Your still life, in its own way, is just as beautiful....just on a different scale !

[Good guy]

Yes, it was on Monty Don's series, which someone has deleted from my TV (growl, snarl). You are very complimentary, Sive! But seriously, those gardens have to be seen to be believed. I was told they have a staff of nine, including two apprentices, to look after them. The use of power tools for cutting hedges, for instance, has resulted in much saving of labour in recent times.
I loved the step-over apples, too. I intend to plant one this autumn, at the top of the bank at the edge of my veg garden. I left it too late last year.
One of these days I'll post some of my photos of the gardens.

[Sive]

I think Monty Don was talking about those step-over apples recently, and why they crop so well, something to do with bending down the branches to a horizontal position which makes them far more fruitful. I have no idea why that should be, but there you are, you'll have great crops and you won't have to climb any ladders !

[Good guy]

And they might prevent me from falling down the 8ft bank if I step back injudiciously while weeding! A safety barrier with apples growing on it: what's not to like?