Teaberries

Broccoli Worm

This is one of the best ways to know that your food probably wasn't grown using any pesticides ... 

Garden Peas

Today I sat between the tomatoes and the peas, sweaty from having worked in the garden, and devoured all of the garden peas I could find. All of them. At first I felt guilty, but then I decided that is the gardener's prerogative - I'm growing it and I can eat it when and how I want. I've never grown peas before, but I have now decided that they are my favorite of the legume family. I like sugar snaps but am not a huge fan of the sometimes leathery pod. I like green beans, especially small tender ones right off the bush, but I LOVE english garden peas. I literally just ate all the peas off every vine we have, even the ones that were still really small. I just couldn't stop.

So, today's harvest photo is a little smaller than it should have been, but that is the joy of gardening.

Did you see those strawberries?!

They are just as delicious as they look! Our plants are finally starting to really produce - we're getting 15-20 strawberries every few days. I think I'm going to be able to start freezing some.

Harvesting Lavender

Last spring I started several lavender plants from seed, and I bought one larger plant from our local nursery. This year they really took off and even bloomed! 

I wanted to prune and harvest the lavender the right way so that next year the plant would continue to grow big and healthy. I searched on youtube for pruning lavender and found this informative video on the best way to do it. 

 

link

And voila - plenty of lavender! I spread it out on baking rack and put a cookie sheet under it to catch any blooms that fell off. I placed it on my kitchen counter, out of any direct sunlight, in a breezy area to dry. As soon as it finishes drying, I'll strip the blooms off the stalk to use in baking or scented bath products. 

Anyone have other good uses for dried lavender? 

Strawberries

Currently eating strawberries from the garden. Life is good.

Linky Love - Gardening

I have to confess that of the gardening blogs I follow, there is only one that I truly love. 

Chiot's Run - Susy Morris is the writer, photographer, and real-lifer behind Chiot's Run. Her posts are incredibly authentic, practical, and inspiring. She is an organic gardener in NE Ohio, so her growing climate is similar to ours. I have learned so many practical things from Susy, but here are a few of my favorites:

• Making your own potting soil
• The best gardening gloves
• Making your own toothpaste (someday I'll do an entire post on this one!)
• Making your own brown sugar
• Blueberry skillet cake (one of our favorites - I always make skillet cakes instead of muffins now!)
• Organizing your freezer
• Making maple syrup (this is definitely in the plans for next year!)

Honestly, I could go on and on with links to Chiot's Run, but I'll leave it at that for now. Trust me when I say that you will never find a more down to earth, comprehensive organic gardening blog, with some cooking, preserving, and simple living thrown in. Second only to SouleMama, this is one of my favorite blogs! Even if you don't garden, you will love this blog, and I bet you'll be inspired to at least put some basil in a pot on your front porch.