The Cheap Vegetable Gardener

Tomato thief in the garden

Aug 28, 2010 pests, tomato 6 Comments

Given our 7 foot fence around the yard, have to rule out deer…my best guess is a raccoon scaling the fence for a snack. 

Probably the same one who decided that my first tomato looked too good to ripen to save for seeds and pulled the branch off.  It was nice enough to leave the green ones on the fine which I have hung up on my garage where they are turning orange last time I checked them.

Butterfly in butterfly garden

Uncategorized 3 Comments

My daughters and I started a butterfly garden a couple of years ago, though we have seen a few butterflies pass by this was the first time we have been able to capture one on camera. 

This butterfly was visiting our butterfly bush, which for by many standards is basically a noxious weed.  But it doesn’t need much water, makes pretty flowers, and butterflies/bees like it so seems like a good plant to me.

How to make Peach Jam

jam, peach, recipe 4 Comments

While heading to a friend’s house we came across a local fruit stand selling fresh peaches.  With the great quality and low prices I couldn’t help leaving with a couple dozen peaches.  By the time I made it back to the car, I knew there is no way we were going to eat this many so Maddie (my recently turned 6 year old) and I decided to make the homemade peach jam.

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How to make your own Stevia sweetener

herbs, stevia 7 Comments

Stevia is an ultra sweet sweetener that has no calories and is grown natively for ages in South America that is 300 times more sweet than other sweeteners.  The good news you can grow your own in your backyard and make some in your own backyard.

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Making homemade strawberry syrup

recipe, strawberries 4 Comments

Though not the best summer for tomatoes, our mild summer has been great for strawberries.  Until recently I was picking about a pint a day from our modest “strawberry patch”  Many became a quick snack, smoothies, and others got frozen for consumption this summer. 

This morning the kids wanted something special for breakfast so decided on making some homemade strawberry syrup.

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First Tomato 2010

tomato, upside down planter 10 Comments

This is an unfortunately record, being the latest I have gotten my first ripe tomato.  In case if anyone was wondering, this was on the 1 gallon milk carton upside down garden planter.