In a fit of idle curiosity, I counted the blueberries while I waited for the coffee to start bubbling up, and then I did the maths. They cost me 7.87 cents per blueberry, including the little shrivelledy one. And I'm going to eat them very very slowly.
It's The Sparrow Factor (and any other bird) - the grower has to put costly mesh between your blueberries and all the wildlife that also knows they are so very good for one.
Tomorrow I will buy and count the berries in a can so I can do that math. bon appetit!
A. Duck is correct. Also, I think they need better soil and more looking after than they would get chez tortoiseshell.
On the other hand there is a berry farm of renown (Beerenberg, no less: Berry Mountain) within walking distance of my best mate's house up in the hills, where they have teh microclimate, or the Central Market where they'll have been picked and driven in that morning. In both cases the berries are much, much, much better and probably cheaper as well. I bought these on a whim and like most whims it was a mistake. They were horrible -- the combination of past fresh and not properly ripe is particularly gruesome, especially at that price.
Josh on Gardening Australia was growing blueberries in Perth, so you never know your luck if you can find a suitable variety.
That doesn't solve the watering & soil preparation issues, but growing conditions in your garden don't have to be optimal for it to be worthwhile. You're not trying for commercial viability, just ripe organics at less than $5 a berry. Even if you got half a dozen berries, the $12.50 bush is looking economical.
Oh, and like Barry, I miss having a friend in a house with a big fig tree.
Your doorbitch is "hable", as in "you may be hable to grow blueberries in Adelaide".
Still Life With Cat is an all-purpose blog containing reflections on whatever is going on in the realms of literature, politics, media, music, dinner, gardening etc. Its original incarnation is Pavlov's Cat (2005-2008).
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8 comments:
Oh, nice: someone else who likes to use words like “shrivelledy”! Yes, you definitely had me at “shrivelledy”.
A crime, what they charge for some of this stuff. I adore fresh figs, but I'm not often willing to buy them.
Whereas a blueberry bush is only $12.50....
It's The Sparrow Factor (and any other bird) - the grower has to put costly mesh between your blueberries and all the wildlife that also knows they are so very good for one.
Tomorrow I will buy and count the berries in a can so I can do that math.
bon appetit!
Hate to be a party pooper, but I don't think Adelaide would be cool enough for blueberry growing. They like a shiver or two.
A. Duck is correct. Also, I think they need better soil and more looking after than they would get chez tortoiseshell.
On the other hand there is a berry farm of renown (Beerenberg, no less: Berry Mountain) within walking distance of my best mate's house up in the hills, where they have teh microclimate, or the Central Market where they'll have been picked and driven in that morning. In both cases the berries are much, much, much better and probably cheaper as well. I bought these on a whim and like most whims it was a mistake. They were horrible -- the combination of past fresh and not properly ripe is particularly gruesome, especially at that price.
Josh on Gardening Australia was growing blueberries in Perth, so you never know your luck if you can find a suitable variety.
That doesn't solve the watering & soil preparation issues, but growing conditions in your garden don't have to be optimal for it to be worthwhile. You're not trying for commercial viability, just ripe organics at less than $5 a berry. Even if you got half a dozen berries, the $12.50 bush is looking economical.
Oh, and like Barry, I miss having a friend in a house with a big fig tree.
Your doorbitch is "hable", as in "you may be hable to grow blueberries in Adelaide".
canned blueberries
worked out to 2c each.
I did the same equation just last week. About fresh berries.
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