Strawberry Preserves

REST

That is one of the best little words my weary mind and body can eagerly comprehend, especially at this time of year.  It seems after months of planning, preparing and planting the garden, I look ahead into the hot and sticky summer months and realize I've only just begun.

This week has been full of not only an abundance of garden work, but lots of work in the kitchen too.  We are just about done washing, hulling and preserving over twenty quarts of beautiful, luscious, juicy red strawberries.  

Is your mouth watering yet?

We have gone a bit strawberry crazy!

Trying to figure out what to do with all the strawberries even after making strawberry preserves and flash freezing several gallons, we turned to the ever trusty Pinterest for ideas.

First we made the strawberry preserves.

For My Ozark Neighbors

This is the time of year when all of the extra plants that can't find homes in my garden are available to everybody else.  Pictured above is a Millionaire tomato picked fresh from the garden last year.  To see how big the actual slices are, follow this LINK to the Plant List page and look under the Millionaire listing.

Also, you will see everything else that is available.  To place an order follow the directions on the Plant List page. 

You will find mainly Organic, Heirloom Tomatoes and Sweet Peppers, but I also have a few very nice, non-GMO tomatoes that are hybrid mainly for Farmer's Market purposes.  There are two special extras that are the Purple Coneflower and Chocolate Mint!

If you come back looking for this post and can't seem to find it, don't worry, I have placed a button for the Plant List in the top right sidebar.  

Happy Planting!!

Spring on the Homestead

Spring came early for us this year.  Sometimes it just seems early because of all the work involved, but this year, it just plain came early.  Every time I turned around, there was something I was behind on.  Ever feel that way?  

Growing Potatoes in Bags

Over the past several years, we have tried growing potatoes here in the Ozarks without much success.  Oh, we would get some potatoes, but they have never done very well.  If you know anything about the Ozarks, you well know what a pain it is to grow anything in this red clay.  This year, we are trying something completely different (for us).  I realize that this method has been out there for awhile, but it never occurred to me to actually try it.  Old habits die hard.

On the Hunt for Free Books?

Did you know that you can get a free reading app even without a Kindle or a Nook?

I sure didn't until now, or I would've been all over this months ago!

Recently, my dear husband got me a Kindle Fire and so I've been learning all about the best places to find free books, but you don't have to have one of these devices to get these freebies!  Simply click on this link: FREE APPS  to download a free reading app for your computer, then have fun with collecting all of the free books you can find!

Life On the Farm in March

Do you remember the our warm weather in January that led me to some winter planting by planting tomatoes in the milk jugs?  Well here they are ready to transplant.  Looks like I have my work cut out for me!  

Final Decision

First of all I have to say thank you to everyone who took the time to leave me their thoughts and stories about their machines.  It really helped me figure out which machine I should get.