Blue Berries

Woo hoo the first ripe blueberries today!  They are huge and taste amazing.  I should have taken some pictures before they were swallowed up, the size of grapes they were.  There are still more ripening, I will have to get some photos.

I can't think of blueberries without thinking of The Bigsby Show Muffin Man song.

Weeding, pruning, picking

I spent a good bit of time tonight weeding beds (manure was full of weed seed apparently), pruning suckers off some tomatoes, and picking a few things.  We picked all of the peas off of most of the pea plants, all the purples.  I also plucked a good amount of basil, maybe a little bit of fresh pesto tomorrow will be in the plans.  There are several small summer squash growing well, lots of strawberry blossoms again, more beets ready, some loaded blueberry plants, good sized green early girls and cherry tomatoes, huge nasturtiums, and many other beautiful things happening out there :)

Glamorous Illusions by Lisa Bergren

Glamorous Illusions
by Lisa Bergren



Review coming soon...

Bountiful Baskets June 23rd

Another great basket today :)  Our biggest excitement was for the cherries.  This week there were cherries, celery, nectarines, tomatoes, bananas, cantaloupe, two heads of leaf lettuce, onions, spaghetti squash, blueberries, and a bag of potatoes.

We also got a Mexican pack add-on there are tomatillos, a couple small summer squash, two bunches of green onions, three avocados, an onions, garlic, jalapeno peppers, lots of large peppers (not sure which variety), cilantro, and limes.

I tried to get a tortilla add-on but they were sold out, they are pretty clean as far as ingredients.  I wish they weren't made with soy oil, but way better than grocery store tortillas. 

Pretty beets and a bit more harvested

We got to harvest another great veggie from the garden yesterday, beets.  Mainly they were the fun bulls eye target looking Chioggia.  God is so creative!  Some things I grow just amaze me at the fun design or color.  We also harvested more chard, some lettuce, and lots more peas.  I weeded the small bed that had gotten out of control a bit with weeds and planted carrots, lots of carrots, little seeds and little boys don't always go so well together.  I cooked up the beets as well as the yummy greens and threw in a green onion I harvested as well.

Unit Studies in the Great Outdoors

Some great specials on Unit Studies this week!  

Twisting Tornado $4

Volatile Volcanoes $4

Magnificent Moon $4

Tremendous Trees $4

 &

Gardens $5 for a 4 week study!

 Wonderful deals now through June 23rd.
The buy 5, save $5 is still going as well!

And the June and July specials of buy 10 get one free and buy 15 get two free!
Head on over to Unit Studies by Amanda Bennett to get in on this great sale :)

Bountiful Baskets June 16th

This week's basket included celery, a baby watermelon, mushrooms, apricots, plums, small spaghetti squash, pineapple, a bag of russet potatoes, bananas, head of lettuce, and grapes. I also got another great Asian pack add-on as well as a sourdough bread add-on.

Head to the beach with Unit Studies

There are some great deals this week at Unit Studies, so get ready to head to the beach!

Sunny Seashells is just $4 through 6/6/12


Whale Tales is $4 through Saturday as well


There are some more great deals as well.  It is a great way to have fun and make some learning opportunities this summer, whether you are going to the beach in person or just through these studies :)

To see all the weekly specials head on over to Unit Studies by Amanda Bennett!

There is also for a limited time--

in the months of June and July--

buy 10 studies in one month, we'll give you one free in the next month;
buy 15 studies in one month, we'll give you two free in the next month!

And

Buy 5, Save $5 More!

    
     So it is a great time to have a little fun this summer while learning some wonderful information or to stock up for the upcoming year!

Bountiful Baskets June 9th

Wow!  Today's basket is awesome :)  I am so excited for the Asian pack as well.  Regular basket included a honeydew melon, some apricots, several plums, several tomatoes, a large head of romaine, one bunch of kale, two cucumbers, lots of little granny smith apples, a few mangos, and celery.  In the Asian pack there is celery, bok choy, a white onion, a head of garlic, green onions, snap peas, huge Napa cabbage, Thai basil, several small ginger nubs, and fresh water chestnuts.  I know I will be giving the add-ons a chance from now on.


We ate a yummy stir fry for dinner using beef, bok choy, ginger, garlic, fish sauce, soy sauce, and Japanese steak marinade.  I also added some Shirataki noodles instead of making rice.

Garden, always a work in progress

We did some weeding and checking on things in the garden.  We planted some bush bean seeds and some crookneck squash plants, I need to stay out of the local greenhouse ;)  They had plants 20% off, so I bought the crooknecks, another 4-pack of Lunacy Orange marigolds, an Iceland poppy, and a Purple d'Oro daylily. 

I divided the daylily and put it in the flower section of the garden, I know they spread well and am looking forward to that.  I also put the poppy there, with the way they self-seed there will be many of them the future I hope.  I like to grow things that are low maintenance and reseed themselves, particularly when it comes to flowers.  I hope the bees are attracted to the poppies.  We also broadcast some echinacea, Mother of Pearl Poppy, and Pacific Beauty Mix Calendula in that bed.

I also scattered seed in what is becoming the herb bed.  It used to be herbs just on the end of the bed.  Where the marjoram, sage, chives, and thyme lived.  It is slowly becoming an herb bed where the perennials live as well as were the annuals can self-seed at will.  We tossed around some Summer Savory, echinacea, flat parsley, and maybe some other things.

Behind the back fence there is a large field and an old barn.  The garden is in front of and to the right side of the barn.  We planted some old dwarf sunflower seeds, as well as some more flowers behind the garden there.  I am hoping for the best, but this is not an area I am going to water or do much with, so it will be what can make it there.  With all the rain we are getting they will get a good start and I think they will do fine.  We planted some Mammoth sunflowers, State Fair Mix Zinnia, Giants of California Zinnia, and Sensation Candy Stripe Cosmos.

I am loving having some flowers around even though my main interest in gardening is growing food.  They just make me happy to look at them and the beneficial insects, butterflies, and bees enjoy them too. 

SchoolhouseTeachers.com

I am excited to have learned about a new resource for homeschoolers.  It is called SchoolhouseTeachers.com.   I learned about it from a friend and it looks like it is going to be really interesting.  It is a website with lots of information and help for homeschoolers.  It is from the same people as The Old Schoolhouse magazine.  So that tells me it will probably be good :)

There are some really experienced homeschool companies and teachers that are making their help available.  From what I can tell so far you can use it as much or as little as you would like and it is for children of all ages.  It includes the digital magazine delivered to your inbox monthly and access to back digital issues that are searchable so you can look for things that interest you.  There are many other benefits.  I am checking it out now, as the first month is only $1!  Then it is only $5.95 a month and I am sure there will be six bucks worth of information for me, but I will be scouting that out the next 30 days.

Peas, Strawberries, and Chard oh my

Today we found the first peas and ate them quickly in the garden, my children love them fresh off the plant.  The strawberries are also picking up production and taste so good.  There is also a fair amount of chard ready to eat.  Some of the potatoes are starting to get buds, I don't know that I am going to worry about hilling them, I might just let them go I think we will harvest plenty.  Oh and the iris are blooming in the garden, such a lovely addition.

Today's Bountiful Basket

Today was a good basket, it seemed like a little more fruit than veggies, but we will enjoy either way.  I will try and remember it all :)  There were three avocados, nectarines, a leaf lettuce, broccoli, strawberries, canary melon, two packages of grape tomatoes, bananas, two cloves of garlic, and oranges.  The basket is totally worth $15.  I also purchased omega 3 organic bread, a flat of strawberries, a pineapple and a box of cauliflower.  We are eating good this week and for a while after on some of these things.