Even though the heat and storms last weekend put a damper on some events, the farmers’ markets around Sullivan County were fully stocked and packed with people. Peaches and blueberries were popular fruits and seasonal fresh vegetables like lettuce, beets, broccoli and cucumbers were seen in many shopping bags. 

In my garden, we have already harvested some zucchini which I had started in our greenhouse early in the spring and then Vicki transplanted in the garden after the risk of frost. They have taken off much faster than we expected, and I can see a lot of zucchini bread in our future. Our blueberries are still green and probably will be another two weeks before they are ready for picking. We have bird netting over the blueberry bushes because Robins love blueberries and can pick a bush clean in just a couple days. I will share my coveted earthworms with them but not my blueberries. I have one black currant bush that has been producing an amazing amount of fruit for several years now. We started picking last week and will probably finish up this week with the berries that weren't quite ready last week. 

My black currant is so productive I would think about planting more but a gallon of black currants go a long way as the flavor of the black currant is very strong. When I use them in jelly, I make a jelly that is one quarter black currants and three quarters blueberry. The pulp of the currants that is left over from pressing the juice for the jelly, I use for making scones. The pulp is still loaded with flavor and the dark color gives the scones a purple color which gets even my granddaughters eating them. 

Currants of all colors are great fruits for cooking and canning. Last month while taking a cruise with my daughter and her family we strolled through a craft fair and farmer's market in Croatia and picked up a fruit cup because Emery, my youngest eighteen-month-old granddaughter, loves grapes and there were plenty to choose from, but there were also red currants. Well, my oldest granddaughter Alayna decides she loves red currants, even though she called them cranberries even though she knew they weren't. I was surprised a little, but since kids like sour candy so much these days, currants are just nature’s “Sour Patch Kids.” A couple years ago I planted a pink champagne currant, and this year it finally started to produce fruit. These currants are sweeter than red currants and much more likely to be eaten fresh as well as cooking. 

All currants are loaded with antioxidants and have more vitamin C than oranges. Currants are starting to become more popular, but because blueberries and raspberries are much sweeter, they will always be the berries of choice for fresh snacking. Vicki already yelled at me because I didn't mention strawberries, which are her favorites, but that is only because strawberries have been available for over a month already.  

June is always the biggest month for strawberries because there are two types of strawberries; June bearing - that fruit heavy, but only in June and Everbearing - with fruit lighter starting in June but continue to fruit through September. Both types produce the same amount of berries each year; it's just the timing is different. If you plan on canning or freezing, get June bearing so you can get everything done at once. If you are looking to snack on strawberries through the summer, then Everbearing are for you. Then, of course, you can just get both and enjoy strawberries all the time, unless your chipmunks get them first.