I love oysters. They make me think of berries in the spring.

With the buds breaking we’re entering four weeks where the berries are at their most vulnerable and they get a lot of pampering. In a conventional field, this is a time for a systemic fungicide that soaks into the tissue and prevents fungal respiration; in a field managed with natural practices, as ours is, this is the time for fish and Neem oil and lactobacilli.

By covering the branches and coating every nook and cranny we are creating an environment resistant to the perils of moist wet days with mixed cool and warm nights when fungal diseases would love to inhabit blackberry tissue. Tonight I may be in a blackberry field but it’s as decadent as being at any oyster bar.

George Elder