SHIFTING ROOTS

home, garden, food, and prairie lifestyle

  • About
    • Contact
    • Work With Me
    • Features
    • Privacy Policy
  • Blog
  • Gardening
    • How to Start a Garden: Especially if you’re in Zone 3 or Zone 2
    • Seed Starting
    • Vegetable Gardening
    • Perennials
    • Cut Flowers
    • Small Space Gardening
  • Recipes
    • Canning
    • Preserving
    • Prairie Fruits Cookbook
    • The Best Pumpkin Recipes
    • How to Make a Tempting Christmas Cookie Tray (Plus Recipes!)
  • Popular Posts
  • E-Books
    • Pretty & Practical Garden Planner
    • Cut Flowers Made Simple
    • Constant Colour Perennial Garden
    • Small Garden, Big Harvest
    • Growing Roots Online Gardening Course
    • Frost Proof Flower Garden
    • Bouquets Made Beautiful
    • Savvy Seed Saving Annual Cut flowers
    • Prairie Fruits Cookbook
    • Online Gardening Consultations
  • Seasons
    • Christmas

For the Love of Berry Picking

July 16, 2017

Pin12
Share
Tweet
12 Shares

It’s a hot sticky morning in July and I wake up to the bright sun at 6:30am.  Why am I up this early?  Oh yes, it’s berry picking season.

Yesterday I spent 2 hours in the scorching sun only to pick one pail of Saskatoon berries.  Today I’ll be picking raspberries at my Mother-in-law’s acreage.  Two hours later I emerge hot, sticky, dirty, and profoundly happy from the raspberry patch.

Why?

I love going berry picking every summer. Saskatoon berries, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, sour cherries. . . you name it, I love to pick it. Over the years I've learned that while picking berries is about food security, it's also about love and passing down traditions.

Saskatoon berries, Weeding, and the Summers of My Youth

As a young girl I helped my parents plant hundreds of Saskatoon berry bushes on our acreage.  I hated those bushes.  Not only did I have to spend hours of my summer planting them, but I had to pick the rocks around them and weed them for hours on end.  There was a point every summer where Mom and I just gave up.  The weeds were taller than our 5’5″ frames and took every ounce of strength we had to pull out.

Normal kids in normal families got to have fun during their summer.  Sigh.

Related: 28 Plants You’ll Likely Regret and How to Plant a Garden When You Literally Have No Clue

Finally, after 5 years of waiting, the berries were ready.  It was a bumper crop that year.  I picked pails and pails until my hands turned blue and I thought I would never get the stain out.  Saskatoon berries had never tasted so good.

It was glorious.

I love going berry picking every summer. Saskatoon berries, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, sour cherries. . . you name it, I love to pick it. Over the years I've learned that while picking berries is about food security, it's also about love and passing down traditions.

Berry Obsessed

Once I caught the berry picking bug, I was hooked.  I loved to go out picking berries with my Grandma, who was even more hooked than I was.  She knew all the spots where the wild Saskatoon berries grew and wouldn’t leave until every last one was picked.

Sure, sometimes it was boring.  Yet the thought of Saskatoon berries on my oatmeal, raspberry pie, or eating sour cherry jam spurred me on.

Related: Simple Raspberry Jam & The Ultimate Easy Cherry Pie

This morning as I picked raspberries, I couldn’t help but think of the generations of prairie women before me–picking berries in the heat, waving off their children’s cries of “I’m bored,” chatting with their fellow berry pickers, and dreaming of what they’ll make with their berries.

I also couldn’t help but think of my sweet grandma, who would have been so proud to see me in her straw gardening hat and a sensible long sleeved, loose shirt appropriate for berry picking.  The hat is starting to fray and the shirt is ugly, but I wear them as badges of pride.

I love going berry picking every summer. Saskatoon berries, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, sour cherries. . . you name it, I love to pick it. Over the years I've learned that while picking berries is about food security, it's also about love and passing down traditions.
This is my grandma’s straw hat, but for blogging pictures I left out the shirt.

Growing up, I always wondered why my grandma and mom planted such a huge garden, canned ridiculous amounts of jam and produce, and stayed up late into the night processing “just one more batch” of corn.

Now I know.

Yes, it is food security for your family.  But I know now that it’s also an expression of love.

Berry picking is an expression of love.Click To Tweet

What’s your favourite summer fruit to pick?  I’d love to hear your stories in the comments.

Pin me for later!

I love going berry picking every summer. Saskatoon berries, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, sour cherries. . . you name it, I love to pick it. Over the years I've learned that while picking berries is about food security, it's also about love and passing down traditions.

Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

9 Comments
Filed Under: Fruit Season, Harvest, Outdoor Life Tagged: berry picking, berry season, Grandma, mom, raspberries, saskatoon berries, Sour cherries, Strawberries

About Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

Comments

  1. Cheryl says

    July 16, 2017 at 2:15 pm

    I used to pick berries with my mom and grandma too every summer. I've got away from picking Saskatoon even though I love them...buy a bucket at farmers market...but my raspberries will need picking every other day now for a few weeks...yum! Today is not the picking kind of day with thunder showers, rain and cool wind..hoping for a drier day tomorrow to get at it again. Love the hat!
    Reply
    • Kristen Raney says

      July 17, 2017 at 8:45 am

      Glad you like the hat! I hope you get decent weather soon.
      Reply
  2. Sarah Althouse says

    July 17, 2017 at 7:20 am

    These look so good! One of my favorite memories growing up is going to the local farms to pick berries with my mom. TO this day I still prefer warm strawberries over ones stuck in the fridge :)
    Reply
    • Kristen Raney says

      July 17, 2017 at 8:45 am

      Me too! Nothing beats fresh picked berries!
      Reply
  3. Erin says

    July 17, 2017 at 7:27 am

    Love your thoughts here! Also, your photography is beautiful!
    Reply
    • Kristen Raney says

      July 17, 2017 at 8:44 am

      Thanks so much!
      Reply
  4. Amy says

    July 17, 2017 at 3:03 pm

    I like to pick strawberries and blueberries. I find raspberry picking to be a bit scratchy and I don't like Saskatoon berries (that might be because I am not from Saskatchewan so I was never exposed to them) I feel like they are the poor mans blueberry.
    Reply
  5. Leslie says

    July 17, 2017 at 7:07 pm

    I plan to pick some plump berries this weekend. I can't wait to put the fresh blueberries in pancakes.
    Reply
    • Kristen Raney says

      July 19, 2017 at 6:46 am

      It's so hard not to have pancakes every day when it's berry season.
      Reply

Leave a Reply to Amy Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Grow roots with us

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Welcome!

Hi, I'm Kristen and I help new gardeners learn to grow their own vegetables and beautify their yards. I also share recipes that use all that delicious garden produce. Grab a coffee (and your gardening gloves) and join me for gardening tips, simple recipes, and the occasional DIY, all from the lovely city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

P.S. First time gardener? You'll want to download the quick start gardening guide below!

Recent Posts

  • 26 Best Flowers to Grow for Dried Flower Arrangements
  • 17 Perennial Flowers That Love Shade
  • How to Design a Cut Flower Garden in Raised Beds
  • How to Start a Cut Flower Garden
  • How to Make Watercolour Decorated Sugar Cookies

Welcome!

Hi, I’m Kristen and I help new gardeners learn to grow their own vegetables and beautify their yards. I also share recipes that use all that delicious garden produce. Grab a coffee (and your gardening gloves) and join me for gardening tips, simple recipes, and the occasional DIY, all from the lovely city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

Connect with Shifting Roots On. . .

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Find What You’re Looking For. . .

Privacy Policy

Do you tend to plan out your garden to the nth deg Do you tend to plan out your garden to the nth degree, do you just wing it, or are you somewhere in-between?⁠
⁠
I tend to plan it all out, and then when I actually get out in the field, so to speak, the plan changes a little bit. ⁠
⁠
If you need a garden planner that's both pretty & practical, my garden planner is available in the ebooks section.  It's only $9 and has lots of upgrades from the previous planner.  Use code CANADA if you're Canadian to account for the exchange.⁠
⁠
P.S. You can see exactly what you're getting in the video--no surprises. ⁠
P.P.S  I get my planner bound and printed at a printing place.  Lots of people just print their own and put the sheets in a binder.
Are you gardening in containers this year? When y Are you gardening in containers this year?  When you're shopping for vegetable seeds, look for varieties that have names with words like patio, tiny, small, etc.  While lots of vegetable varieties will do fine in a container, you'll have an easier time with ones that are specifically bred for that situation.⁠
⁠
📸 by @blushbrandphotography
I'm living the pepper dream in this photo. While I'm living the pepper dream in this photo.  While these ones are a bit on the small side, who doesn't want ripe peppers in July in zone 3?!?! ⁠
⁠
Over the years I've gotten better at growing peppers, and I promise I'll spill my secrets in February when it's actually time to start them.  Until then, get yourself all or one of my four favourite varieties: ⁠
⁠
🌶️Carmen⁠
🌶️Escamillo⁠
🌶️Candy Stripe⁠
🌶️Hungarian Hot Wax⁠
⁠
Do you have a favourite pepper variety?⁠
⁠
Have you flipped open a seed catalogue lately? It Have you flipped open a seed catalogue lately?  It's so easy to get completely overwhelmed, especially if you're new to gardening.  Why are there so many varieties of everything and which ones do I choose?⁠
⁠
Here's how I try to narrow it down.⁠
⁠
🌤️ Short growing season like me?  Try and prioritize varieties that have short dates to maturity.⁠
🥗 What do you or your family actually eat?  While I think you should always try a couple of new things, there's no sense in planting a giant garden filled with vegetables that you're not going to cook with. ⁠
🥒 Do you care whether your vegetables are heirlooms or hybrids?  Heirlooms are the kind that have been around for 50+ years and you can save seeds from.  Believe it or not, this year we're prioritizing hybrids for some of our garden.  The Hermit @mgsraney is obsessed with production this year, so anything that's going in "his" greenhouse better be able to produce a lot.  I'm using more heirlooms in my "glamour garden" as we call it, because I want things that are pretty and I can save seeds from.⁠
⁠
What do you prioritize when you're picking out seeds?⁠
Last week we started thinking about our plans for Last week we started thinking about our plans for cut flower gardening, now this week we start thinking about plans for our vegetable gardens.  Unlike cut flowers, there's not as many vegetables that need to be started ridiculously early.  However, it's still fun to plan and dream and get your thoughts sorted.⁠
⁠
I'm curious--what size of garden do you have to work with?  Are you on an acreage or farm, city backyard, or do you have a couple of pots on an apartment patio?⁠
⁠
As for me, I have quite a mix.  I have my container garden on my backyard deck, the small cut flower garden in my yard, then vegetables in raised beds.  We also garden at my Mother-in-law's acreage, so there's a giant garden over there where we're figuring out how to grow food on a larger scale.  Then finally, sometimes my Mom grows things for me in her garden if I'm nervous that I'll ruin them in my own garden--call it a backup garden if you will.⁠
⁠
📸 by @blushbrandphotography
I hope you've enjoyed this week of chatting about I hope you've enjoyed this week of chatting about the best flowers to plant in a cut flower garden.  There's so many options, these 5 that I talked about all week don't even come close.  If you need more help creating a small cut flower garden, I created this plan intended for a raised bed (but you can plant it in-ground too.⁠
⁠
Head over to my insta links page on my profile, and you'll see the button to click on that will take you directly to it.⁠
⁠
#cutflowergarden #cutflowers #raisedbedgarden #raisedbedgardening  #growyourown #greenthumb #raisedbeds #urbangarden #urbanfarm #squarefootgardening #slowflowers
Hey friends! There's a lot of new faces in this l Hey friends!  There's a lot of new faces in this little corner of IG, so I wanted to introduce myself.  My name is Kristen and I'm the gardener & content creator behind Shifting Roots.  I'm wife to @mgsraney and mom to 3 kids, ages 8, 23 months and 7 months.  Needless to say, our house is BUSY.  I garden in zone 3 in Saskatoon, SK, so if I can grow it in my short growing season and cold temperatures, you probably can too.⁠
⁠
Here's a few fun facts, can you relate to any of these?⁠
🍅I don't like raw tomatoes, but I grow a ton of them because I like tomato sauce.⁠
💐I probably sound like every flower is my favourite flower, but my two favourites are peonies and zinnias.⁠
🌈I can't pick a favourite colour--I love so many of them in different circumstances.  If you force me to choose, I think I've got it narrowed down to coral and turquoise, but even then I still want to throw in yellow, emerald green, fuchsia. . . ⁠
🖤Even though I love colour to the moon and back, you'll often find me wearing black and white in real life, because it's just easier and I don't have to think about it going together.
Load More… Follow on Instagram

Theme Design By Studio Mommy · Copyright © 2021

Copyright © 2021 · Beyond Madison Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in