Reaping the Blessings From the Garden

Since moving to the midwest almost 4 months ago my family and I have experienced a dramatic shift in our lifestyle. The change we have experienced has been a huge blessing.  Because this move was sanctioned and shepherded by our Heavenly Father, the blessings that have bestowed us are because of Him. While the blessings in our new life and plentiful, in this article I want to focus on the bountiful blessings from our garden.

Early this Spring my Mom and I tilled the soil, weeded, expanded her garden to provide for the extra food needs my average sized family needs, planted our seeds and seedlings, and finally said a prayer over all of our hard work. My prayer included the typical things you would say over an area of land that could potentially burst with fresh foods for my family but it also included a closing line of "grow or die". Sounds odd I know, and in my family it is more of a running joke. But when you think about it, it is true. You want your seeds and seedlings to either grow with heartiness or quickly wither and die so you can replant. In the midwest a potentially bountiful garden can be quickly destroyed by a strong storm full of wind and hail. The storm can wipe out all of your hard work in a matter of minutes. Fortunately, for us a storm of this magnitude has not come to fruition this summer. As a result, our arms are over flowing with the bounty of our hard work early this Spring.

As I am quickly coming to realize is that the vegetables from the garden are more numerous than we can consume before they spoil. As a result, canning has taken on a whole new magnitude in the past month or so. In the coming weeks I will begin sharing my canning recipes, many of which have been handed down from previous generations and have stood the test of time. My canning recipes will include salsa, tomato sauce, apple pie in a jar, refrigerator pickles, dill pickles, pickled beets, spicy pickles, spicy carrots and peppers, and many more!

If there is a canning recipe you are in need of and do not have a recipe just let me know and I will see what I have stashed away in our family canning book.

As a side note, I want to apologize for not posting lately. Reviews have deadlines so when I am busy with country life they take precedent over other postings. I miss posting desperately though. As our homeschool starts ramping up I will share more about our new journey of homeschooling in the midwest.