I look around this little town and I see so many “yards” with so much potential for growing food. We here in the Far North are at the mercy of transportation companies to bring our fresh produce to us. And we are really far away, which equates to: just how fresh is fresh? Now I know that we are graced with a genuine farmers market that is open Wednesday evenings and Saturdays, and it is chock-full of glorious things. But then you would not have grown it yourself. You will have missed out on the joy and pleasure of gardening.

What about fruit? Growing tree fruit is something that you need to be really committed to. But raising berries is so easy that it’s actually fun.

Raspberries and strawberries leap to mind. They produce tons and tons of fruit and it hardly matters what kind you get. There are gardeners out there with way too many plants and will be more than willing to give you a few of each. And a few will soon develop into too many, and you, in turn, will be giving away plants. The Homer Garden Club’s Annual Plant Sale is a very good place to get clumps of raspberries and strawberries.

Both of these berries freeze just beautifully. I buy milk in half gallon containers. When I’m finished I wash them out and save them to recycle as cartons for the berries. Their rectangular shape fits perfectly into the freezer, no wasted space and a magic marker labels it. I make sure that I have four gallons of each kind of berry frozen before I start making jam. I seldom buy fruit at the store. Each morning I shake out a serving of berries into a bowl. A couple of hours later they are thawed enough to eat. Excellent. Organically grown and handled only by me or John (he is a power picker).

What about gooseberries? Not familiar with them? They are tasty and if you pick them just before they are about to fall off they won’t need much sweetener. Which is the lovely thing about strawberries. These are so sweet that I mix the less sweet berries with them and no sweetener is needed. Really. Trust me.

Red and black currants are not only delicious they are so beautiful. The bush itself is lovely and then the berries are so gorgeous it is almost a crime to pick them.

The verdict is still out on blueberries. I know they grow with abandon on the other side of the bay. But last year I made the move to put in four different kinds of domestic cultivars. I am crossing my fingers that they will make berries this year. They came bare-root (no soil around the roots; if you do this be sure to plant them as soon as possible) with blooms already on them. Of course these blooms produced berries, but I am not so sure how they will do on their own.

There is one avid berry grower east of town who has built a clear plastic shelter over his blueberry shrubs and gets a nice harvest. I am not sure I am willing to go that far. It is my intention to give them a chance to see how they do on their own. I am looking forward to the experiment.

There is a beauty to growing berries. They are easy and they produce masses of fruit. You can’t miss.

I have my strawberries in a raised bed (actually, two raised beds) 3-feet-by-15-feet. I let them grow in mat (just altogether). This seems to keep the weeds under control because there isn’t enough room for them. First thing in the spring I pull out plants that look old, then I pull out plants that look young and give them to anyone standing around, then I spread compost (which I don’t think they even need), then I cover the whole thing with ground eggshells to keep the slugs at bay. And that is all I do. Period. Except eat beautiful, delicious, organically grown, perfectly ripe strawberries. And there is nothing more satisfying than watching kids pick and eat berries with their little cheeks stuffed full. There are even enough berries for our terrier, Paris, to delicately pick and eat.

Let’s not overlook rhubarb. You may want to consider planting this large leafed perennial in your flower border. The huge leaves will add architectural interest and the stalks are a boon. Rhubarb cake or crisp in the dead of winter is a joy of joys. Mix with strawberries and you have a classic combination. Look for the red variety. Be sure not to overplant. I have just one plant and that is more than enough.

There is a huge, random bed of raspberries out East End Road with nary a stake in sight. That bed has been there for years and years. It produces tons of berries. The owner will occasionally prune out dead canes.

But not me. Stake I will. I like things neat and tidy. Random just won’t do. I started with 10 clumps of Lathams dug from a friend’s plot. They are planted in a double row and this is the year that they get thinned to one and only one row. I want to be able to walk around them for the harvest. They also need more air circulation. And I really and truly love to cut the spent canes in the fall (or spring if I didn’t get to them). They look so revitalized when the spent canes are removed.

So there you have it. Fruit galore.

Rosemary Fitzpatrick has been gardening with gusto in Homer for 27 years.