Black Caps

If last year was the "Year of the Nettle" (Urtica dioica) for me then this year has to have been the "Year of the Black Cap Raspberry" (Rubus leucodermis) But don't worry, It's all connected.

We moved up Island since last summer, from around Shawnigan Lake to Nanaimo.  From rural life to urban living.  As a result, I had to rethink my patches and picking.  After last year's experiments with the berries, I was determined to have a bumper crop this year.

Unfortunately, It took a bit to get going.  I spent the start of the season commuting to my patches, which yielded impressive picks.  I eventually found the patches that live nearby and they are as impressive as what's down south.  Same thing:  Clearcut FULL of Black Cap shrubs.  Climbing over fallen stumps and trenches.  It's exciting picking! 

Also can be painfull.  Little barbs getting into the crevices of the hands and becoming infected after they get missed in the post-pick wash up.

Another plus is that the season was a little behind up here and so I got a little extra in terms of picking time... Though there's part of me that feels I didn't get enough done.

All in All, I've got about six Litres of juice which will be made into Candy and then We have a freezer full of berries.  So much so that we need more room.  My goal setting out this year was to gather enough berries to make 100lbs of candy.  I came about 90 lbs shy of that, not having been organized enough.  Now that I know where to go around me, and assuming a certain amount of stability into next year, I can get down and do a production run that will make enough candy for the masses.

Baby Steps.  I'm so excited to get this out there.  I can't believe how patient I am.  There may be a little bit for sale then this year (contact me if you want some... It's not cheap but it's soooooooo good) but mostly this year again was a research year.  A little bit on the marketing side but a LOT on the production side.  I'm figuring it all out.

And I will Keep you posted.