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Summertime!

28 Jul

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Time to break out the sprinkler and have a little fun in the heat.

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We also got our best blossom of strawberries this year. Thanks to the Chandlers for great starters when they moved! Here are the fruits of my labors:

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1. Pickings from only one day!!

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2. My favorite way to eat fresh strawberries—with as many as you want on vanilla ice cream.

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3. What I do with the less-perfect ones.

Freezer jam works great on whole wheat pancakes, or toast, or waffles, or back to the vanilla ice cream… I’ve decided freezer jam pectin is a crock because it doesn’t thicken the mix unless you don’t cook the berries first, and I like to cook the ones I make into jam because they are the squishy, or cut-off-the-bug-bite, or not quite ripe ones. So this time I made some with just sugar, which was fine though a bit runny. Then, I made some with plain gelatin. That worked very well so that’s the plan for next year. 

I also chopped off all the plants (at about 4 inches) after the June-bearing season was over and pulled out extra runners or old plants this year (3rd year of harvest) in preparation for next year. This was a huge help in cutting back on the amount of leaf spot and maintenance for the rest of the summer. The bed looks ready to go. And here’s my little strawberry girl. I can’t resist putting in this picture too.

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