It’s that time of the year when the garden produce is abundant and available for the asking or giving. The gardeners with green thumbs are bringing bags of tomatoes, squash and green peppers to share with friends and neighbors. Gardeners have been canning and freezing their produce but have decided they have reached their limit and are anxious to give it away. I am pleased when gardeners bring their extra produce to church, coffee time at the local cafe or to my house. My container gardening didn’t do well this year and so I am thankful for those willing to share.

————

What is the most popular fruit in America? According to information in the Successful Farming magazine, the winner is apples. I guess that isn’t surprising as there is nothing like a good ole American apple pie. There are apple fritters, apple Danish, a candied or caramel apple, applesauce and applesauce cake. There is nothing like biting into a ripe apple. In other fruit news; Florida produces 70 percent of America’s citrus supply with California accounting for more than half of the fruit bearing acreage in America. In 2020, the U.S. grew almost 6 million tons of commercial grapes. Last year America exported about 50 million pounds of fresh raspberries. Sounds like the U.S. is holding its own with fruit producing.

Speaking of fruits, I didn’t get to make any of my usual wild plum or chokecherry jelly this year. The wild berries didn’t do well this year. Maybe it was the extra dry and hot summer that limited the yield. Hopefully, I’ll have better luck next year.