Can you can?

I love when I get to harvest my garden. We rarely use all of the vegetables we grow, so I like to bottle what I can. I have never tried making pickles out of my cucumbers before, so I thought I'd give it a try this year! It was very easy and they turned out so yummy! Even the kids will eat them! So far this year I have only canned strawberry jam and pickles, but hopefully I will have plenty of tomatoes and grape juice to can also!

If you've canned a lot I'd love to hear your tips and tricks if you have any! What do you can?

Harvest day!

I just LOVE summer and the fresh produce that comes with it. I have had great success this year so far with the garden! We have had peas, strawberries, lettuce and cilantro. We have had about 10 bowls of that lettuce and I've made a batch of strawberry jam from our strawberries, and frozen everything we didn't eat while picking them! I've used the cilantro in lots of guacamole and burritos.

Now the raspberries are coming on and the peaches, apples, beans, corn, zucchini, squash, tomatoes, carrots, tomatillos, potatoes, brocolli, cucumbers, onions, dill and basil are on their way!

They're Ba-ack!

Already destroying my garden, the infamous grasshoppers are back and have begun their attack! I noticed them about 2 weeks ago when they were about 1/8 inch long and they are growing VERY rapidly! I got the yard sprayed and hopefully they are all going to be dead here in a few days. They better not destroy my garden this year, or else I'm gonna, uh, be really mad again, I guess. What can you do? Killing them one at a time by burning them, watching Dallas attack and eat them, sending the kids out to catch them, although very rewarding, is not too effective. Die grasshoppers, DIE!!!

Garden Fresh Dinner

If you read the previous post, you know that my garden sucks this year due to the grasshoppers. I did manage to get a few things, but this is about the last of it. I have a few tomatoes left, but everything else was destroyed. What a yummy dinner I was able to make though. Garden salad and fried squash. I added a side of fruit and some BBQ chicken for a complete meal, and it was a big hit!

Strawberry-licious

My favorite fruit has always been strawberries, so naturally I grow them at home.  I grew up with them in my garden and remember eating them all summer as a child.  I loved picking them fresh and having a little treat right there without having to go inside.  Strawberry is my favorite flavor in most candies and flavored drinks, etc.  I love it!

Two years ago I planted 5 strawberry plants in my back yard and they have spread to about a 4 ft. by 12 ft. area.  We already have tons of strawberries, and now my kids love to go out and pick them.   Nothing better on a hot summer day, or an extremely rainy summer day in our case this year, than fresh strawberries from the garden!