Just Some Ramblings

Is it spring yet? As I type this, it was 46 degrees last night!! Way too cold for April in Central Florida. My poor garden is wondering what is going on!!

It’s blueberry picking season now and on one of the few warmer days, we headed out with our buckets. The bushes were so full and it didn’t take any time until we were back home with our bounty. I washed and let them completely dry on dark dish towels (blueberries stain) on a couple of sheet pans. When completely dry, I remove the towels, spread out the blueberries in a single layer and place the sheet pans in the freezer to flash freeze. I will then place them in reusable freezer bags to use throughout the year.

Every couple of years, the Garden Club I belong to in our community, has a Spring Faire. It is always so much fun to do. Club members grow the plants and bake the goods we sell. Even though I am a gardener, I usually contribute to the bake sale with cookies. As you can see from the picture above, the items for sale are beautiful blooming flower pots. There are also herbs, succulents, cactus and plants to attract butterflies. The sale started at 8:30 am and in about an hour more than 90% of everything was sold. WOW!

If you have never been to a garden clubs sale, check out your states Department of Ag website to find out what sales are near you. Club members know how to grow the right plants for your area.

My garden is about 6 weeks into its growing stage and everything is growing well. Even with the extremely colder spring than usual for this area, I think once the warmer days become more frequent, it will cause the garden to really grow. For those of you who are new to the blog, I have a 4′ x 12′ raised garden next to my home. For 2 people, this is a great size for us. The PVC tomato cage was built by my husband and oh boy has it been such a handy cage for my tomatoes. I never have to worry about them falling to the ground. I grow 3 or 4 plants in that cage. As you can see in the picture, I do use some metal tomato cages for peppers since they grow so tall and the winds here will break them in half.

Along with the tomato plants, I have cabbage, green bell peppers, cucumbers, squash and pineapples growing in my garden. You can truly grow a lot of food in a small area.

My neighbor gave me some Korean squash and cucumber starter plants to put in my garden. The blooms on those plants are about the size of 2 of my hands! She also told me that Korean squash is sweeter tasting than the local squash she has grown. I can’t wait to try them in a couple of weeks.

Around the corner from the garden is a row of azaleas and I noticed a tomato plant growing out from them. I guess a mangy squirrel took one of my tomatoes from my plants during the fall, ran into the bushes, left what he didn’t want to eat and the seeds germinated. Its a really healthy plant, so I will leave it there since the azaleas are holding the plant up.

You never know what you may find around your garden.

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MONTHLY RECAP OF POSTS –

• Composting for Gardens
• 11 Unique Gifts for Mothers Day
• Sweet Corn and Black Bean Enchiladas

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Just ramblin’ on,

Tammy