7:15 AM
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It is spring and I am planning my garden with all sorts of expectations about what it will bring. We purchased what many would call our hobby farm 11 years ago because we fell in love with the house. I have since fallen in love with the land.
Already awaiting our discovery were acres of wild blackberries, some grapevines, a couple of elderberry bushes and chokecherry trees as well as a pair of persimmons. Out in the woods we found black walnut and hickory nut trees. It was from this bountiful discovery that I decided to pursue food preservation. Why waste what God has so graciously supplied?
Each year I have attempted to add, with varying degrees of success, more to the landscape. Cherry, apple and English walnut trees have been added. Blueberry bushes, a mulberry tree and a strawberry patch have been added and a vegetable garden.
The garden has been a learning curve as far as figuring out what grows well here and what I can do to improve the soil and my harvest. Still, each year I approach spring with great expectations on all the tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and beans I will pick and then spends days canning, drying and freezing. Some sleep and dream of sugarplums, I dream of shelves filled glass jars bearing little white labels and shiny gold caps. Hopefully my expectations will be met and I’ll have extra food to share with friends and family!
1 comments:
I never had store-bought jellies or jams until I was in my teens because my great aunts used to make them from fresh fruits the whole time I grew up. What a difference those home-made jellies made. I never learned the process, and I search store shelves for something that comes close to my aunts' jams and jellies. I've come close to finding them, but still...If you would like to read my latest post for the A-Z Challenge, just click http://myheartblogstoyou.blogspot.com/ and look at the top blog.
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