Strawberry Forte

I came across these already sprouted strawberry plants at Wal-Mart. They were affordable and cute. I couldn't help myself. Since I'm feeling pressued for time I decided to purchase 6 (already grown) plants. I planted them in 2 of my buckets I had purchased for $5 each. I think they look adorable. Living a self-sufficient lifestyle doesn't mean you have to sacrafice on looks.

"My first white flower blossomed."

"Is that cute or what!"

"I didn't realize the flowers turned into strawberry's...I'm lame. lol"

"Can't wait to eat them!"

"Red and Turquoise are the future colors of my new kitchen."

I found a canning recipe for Strawberry Lemonade Concentrate. So simple.

6 c. hulled strawberries

4 c. freshly squeezed lemon juice

6 c. granulated sugar

The only bummer is the granulated sugar. I'm trying to cut it out of our diets. It's so hard because it's in everything. I would LOVE a canning book that had recipes that didn't need any sugar. That's a thought, what if you could make all of the jellies and jams without sugar...when you opened a can to use (unsweetened) you then added something like Agave Nectar. Hmmm.

Sincerely Sour Strawberries,

Monica ;0)

Spring is here!

It's finally here. Spring!...and all it's...coldness. I never realized how long it remains cold when you want the weather, i.e. sunshine, to reign in all it's glory. I've never looked forward to heat or summer for that matter. But, since I've taken such an interest in gardening...I can't wait. Yesterday we had a major rain. I'm a bit in shock since about a couple of weeks ago it seemed like summer wanted to take over. Today, it's overcast with a few bouts of sun. I can't wait to check in on my new plants. Speaking of plants,

I've purchased many new varieties to add to my garden.

*Orange Tree

*Avocado Tree

*Lemon Tree (I have a mini lemon tree.)

*Another Blackberry plant

*2 Blueberry plants (they say to plant 2 different varieties for better production.)

*2 Grape vine plants

*6 Strawberry plants

*1 Habanero plant

*1 Spearmint plant

*1 Peppermint plant

"My latest additions. Avacado tree, Blueberry plant, Lemon tree and Orange tree."

"My Avacado tree upclose. So pretty!"

"Eureka Lemon tree! Dare I say Lemonade!"

"I'm so excited this Orange tree has new leafage already!"

"Blueberry pie anyone?"

I'm not proud of the fact that I didn't grow these plants from seed, but when it comes to trees and vines, I'm ok making an exception. It takes SO long for them to grow. And, maybe they haven't been treated organically during their beginning life stages...but they will be now. lol

Welcoming in the Spring,

Monica ;0)

Blackberry Delights!

Having big dreams of growing blueberries, rasberries, stawberries and any other kind of delicious berry in my backyard has been a realization in far reach. Berries were the first plants I looked for when gathering purchases of seed varietys. (mostly vegetables) To my dismay, I was unable to find any berry seeds. Experienced gardners are probably chuckling about now since they probably know that these berries are not sold in the same fashion as say vegetable seeds. And, they are not sold all year long.

I was SO excited to find blackberry and 2 kinds of raspberry plants on sale at Orchard Hardware Supply! I also found strawberries for sale...10 plants in a bag of soil for $4.50ish. I was dissapointed to see how expensive stawberries were, yet at the same time I was excited to see how they were sold. The blackberry plants and raspberry plants were $6.49 each. I grabbed a blackberry plant and plan on going back for the raspberry plants later.

I was also excited to find that OHS carried watermelon radish seeds. Until today, these were seeds that seemed non exsistant. So, I grabbed a bag of the dainty seeds, with much enthusiasm, for planting this summer.

My garden find for the month!

"This plant is already 2 years old!"

"I have a recipe for these already!"

Berry Wishes,
Monica ;0)