In Pursuit of Just Plain Fruit

Today, my dear husband and sons (9 and 5 1/2) planted two cherry trees and two cherry bushes along with three blueberry bushes on our land. (We got them from Tim Hensley at Urban Homestead in Bristol. Tim's wife, Donna, assisted when dd#2 was born! We highly recommend them: 276-466-2931.) I am so excited! Anyone who knows me knows that I just adore anything that has cherries on it or in it. My family loves to eat anything that has cherries or blueberries. One of our favorite poems to read aloud as a family is Robert Frost's Blueberries. Great poem. I suggest reading it to your family this summer as you enjoy those delectable fruits in a freshly baked pie! Talk about an easy way to create a love of poetry in your children! Isn't homeschooling great?

We also planted two varieties of carrots this Monday. An hour later it began to snow. It snowed all day. We, being the novices that we are to raising carrots, thought it would ruin our crop for sure, but two people so far have told us that this only means that the carrots will be sweet! Ooooooh, I can't wait to taste them in a roast, or simply sauteed with some butter! If they are anywhere near as good as the sweet corn we grew last year, we are in for a treat!

Below are some pics of my dh and sons planting the carrots. In a couple of weeks we will be planting our peas and lettuces on either side of our carrots. Gardening is such an adventure in learning and working together as a family...I highly recommend it if you haven't already done it. A simple way to start is to have a salad garden. Over at Large Family Logistics, Kim Brenneman has listed an easy salad garden to start. There is nothing hard about it. You just simply get out there and get in the dirt and do it. You will be thanking yourself later on when you get to eat the fruit of your labors!

Let the planting begin

Daddy helps ds#2 plant

Make-shift watering can (see instructions below)

Snow on the carrots—making them sweeter!

More fruit...

Very sweet fruit!

Make-shift Watering Can Story/Instructions
After planting the carrots, Jim Bob came in and asked if we had a watering can. We do... but we don't know where it is! (Ah, the joys of moving!) So, since necessity is the mother of invention, I came up with this solution (and my children loved it!):

• Take one milk jug (make sure it's empty), wash out thoroughly.
• Poke about 25 holes in the curve leading up to the neck of the jug, imitating the holes in a watering can spout.
• Poke one hole in the top of the handle as a vent
• Fill with water, replace lid, and...
• Voila! A watering can!

Make this one with your children.