Delayed Fruit
Inside: Our peach tree won’t be producing fruit this summer. Some years are like that. . . Sometimes life happens that way, too.
We won’t get any fruit from our peach tree this year. After Mike gave it a severe pruning–which it needed, I hasten to add–there weren’t many peaches left. Leaf curl had gotten at the fruit last year, but after having a dry summer and fall, I thought we’d beaten it. Now the gnarled, misshapen leaves are back, and the few peaches we have are shriveled and falling off. We’ll have to work on the health of the tree this summer, spraying the leaves and around the base of the tree as well as the adjacent apple trees which are showing signs of leaf curl. No fruit on them, either.
Two years ago you wouldn’t have recognized the same tree. My outdoor table was filled with peaches for weeks, and I could barely keep up with them. I canned peach preserves, peach salsa, peach chutney. I froze peaches for shakes and desserts. I gave peaches away and had my sister-in-law picking some, too. We ate them fresh, juice dripping from our chins. We had way more than we needed.
But that was two years ago. . . This year there will be no harvest.
Life seems a lot like our peach tree these days. Disappointments and setbacks. Difficult people. Expectations unmet. Few, if any, results. Moments of wanting to quit. Frustration when it seems nearly everyone else is getting ahead but us. Wondering if we’re in the right place or if we somehow heard wrong and have wandered off course. Seeking, but finding no direction. Keeping our heads above water in a sea of doubt.
Weathering the Rough Patches
What it comes down to is not merely surviving but thriving. To do that it takes renewing my mind. Rebooting. Swapping a bad attitude for a hopeful one. Though it is difficult at times, here is my plan.
Redirect my Focus
Instead of reviewing the setbacks, turning them over and over in my mind like a rock in a tumbler, I’m focusing on other things. Doing my work, without worrying about the results. Forgiving people (work in progress) for no other reason than that I am forgiven. Not dwelling on bothersome details of what was said or hidden meanings that might or might not have been intended. Remembering what has been promised to me–namely that the One who has charted my path has done so for my good and not harm, to give me hope and a future.
Pursue Joy
I’m concentrating on what brings me joy right now. The challenge of taking photos for my photography class. Coming up with new ideas for posts and writing them. Gardening. Spending time with family and friends. For Mike it’s hitting the bike path early in the morning on the weekends. Doing what brings me joy can get my mind off of what’s not happening in my life right now to delighting in the simple everyday blessings right in front of me.
Resist Comparing
Comparing is an unhealthy activity. Taking a look at what others have is unproductive and often brings with it resentment, jealousy, unrealistic expectations, or self-critical thinking. I remind myself I’m on a journey, and sometimes the road is rocky and uphill, but I’ll get there and be stronger for it. And maybe develop a few muscles in the process.
Be Thankful
Being grateful can change my whole demeanor. Suddenly my narrow focus has enlarged to see the blessings that are at arm’s length, that I’ve been taking for granted. The glass is half full, not half empty. I have so much to be thankful for, and writing them down and spending time taking inventory of the good things in life can change my perspective quicker than anything else.
So how does that relate to my peach tree? I’ve got a growing, live peach tree in my backyard.
And next year I hope to see fruit.
How do you deal with setbacks? Tell us about it in the comments.
Related posts:
Is Perfectionism Holding You Back?
When Your New Year Didn’t Go as Planned
Return of the Stump Garden
Inside: Last year we turned an ordinary stump into a garden. . . Well, the stump garden is back, but with a few changes. We’ll show you how we put it together.
Back to the Stump
Last year I said it: If life gives you a fallen tree, make a stump garden. We did. And it was good.
Enter 2018. Not quite as much enthusiasm–life has been busy. Not as many funds. So this year I told Mom that we’d make do. I’ve had garden years like that, when I decide the plants that will be in my garden mostly by opportunity–free and heavily discounted plants, volunteers (plants, I mean) in my garden, seeds I’ve had on hand for a while. Plant gifts. (Thanks, Mom!) It’s a Doris Day style garden–“Que Sera, Sera.” Whatever will be, will be. (Sing along if you know it.)
Anyway, while this might sound like one of those economizing downers, it’s really anything but that. It’s fun to see what God brings to me for my garden. Some plants I would not have chosen for myself, but I end up being happily surprised. Gardening by the seat of one’s pants can be kind of fun, actually.
The Before Shot
As you can see from the photo, a few plants survived the winter. Silver mound, creeping jenny, two kinds of sedum, and Mexican firebush signed on for another year. Some of last year’s soil has washed away, so it’s a different game this summer. Up to this point I had been watering the plants once a week or so to keep them happy. Before we started inserting new plants, we wet the stump down well and brought extra soil with fertilizer already added in to help support the new additions. Basically we tucked flowers and vines into crevices and on the top, bottom, and sides of the stump, keeping in mind each plant’s growth habits–trailing, mounding, and height. Last year our sweet potato vines ended up hogging much of the stump, so we filled in with fewer plants this time around, knowing come August our stump garden will be covered nicely.
Ta-Da!
In the top half of our stump, from the far left to right, we have sedum, lime green sweet potato vine, unknown (to us) plant that looks like a spider plant with thicker leaves, purslane, trailing vinca (pink and coral), creeping jenny, bronze sweet potato vine. On the bottom half from the left we have silver mound, more trailing vinca, celosia, more creeping jenny, another silver mound, verbena, and Mexican firebush. What isn’t showing from this angle is the heliotrope, sedum, more pink vinca, Kong coleus, red salvia, and Mexican petunia.
So far so good. Now to let the sun and rain work their magic. We’ll help things along with an application of fertilizer.
I’ll keep you posted as our stump garden grows.
What unusual gardening methods, containers, or plants do you use? Tell us about it in the comments.
Related posts:
Cornfields, Stump Gardens, and Other News Fresh From the Farm
Unique Containers for Gardening
Building a Raised Garden 3 Ways
Gardening Advice from a Thirty-year Greenhouse Veteran
A Simple Fruit Dip for Strawberries, Plus 5 Ways to Use Up the Harvest
Inside: I’ve been meaning to give my friend Patty’s fruit dip recipe a low carb makeover. Just in time for strawberry season, plus five ways to use up the strawberry harvest.
*This post contains affiliate links.
Patty’s Simple (Low Carb) Fruit Dip
Every year for the last four years we’ve gone up to Deep Creek, Maryland, for a writer’s retreat my dear friend Patty hosts, and in between sessions we have the most wonderful meals and snacks. Everyone brings a covered dish and dessert or appetizer, and the food is amazing! Patty whips up a few things herself, one of which is the best fruit dip I ever tasted, served with strawberries. Not that I’m a connoisseur of fine fruit dips everywhere, but I know what I like. Even Hubs, who tries to closely follow a low carb lifestyle, succumbs to the lure of strawberries and fruit dip every year.
So my problem is that because of the sugar, this wonderful recipe can’t make a regular appearance in my repertoire. That is until now. . .
Enter Patty’s Simple Low Carb Fruit Dip. You know you want to try it. . .
- 8 ounce brick of cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup of Truvia sweetener (ground into powder to resemble powdered sugar)
- 1 cup of heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla
- Grind sweetener in a spice grinder until it resembles powdered sugar.
- Beat sweetener and softened cream cheese until smooth and add vanilla.
- Whip heavy cream until it is stiff.
- Fold whipping cream into cream cheese mixture and chill.
- Serve with strawberries or other fruit.
- Enjoy!
5 Ways to Use Up the Strawberry Harvest
Previously posted on June 8, 2017, as 5 Delicious Ways to Use Up Strawberries.
So it’s June and my strawberries have stopped bearing. (They’ve always been more May-bearing, actually.) It was a lovely harvest with plenty of fresh berries as well as a few gallons in my freezer for future use. The problem, if you can call it that, is I have limited room in said freezer. I need to start using up some of them to make room for the rest of the fruit and veggies coming my way this season. What follows are my suggestions for five delicious ways to use up strawberries.
Shakes. This is an obvious choice. Hubs has a shake nearly every morning for breakfast, which is a perfect use for some of the softer, less than stellar berries. I’ve been doing more shakes myself, and when I compare the price of organic strawberries with mine grown the same way, it’s a bargain. Not to mention the satisfaction that comes from growing something yourself!
Salads. Moving on to the midday meal, strawberries make a refreshing addition to a light summer salad. Take your favorite salad greens, slice about one fourth of a cup of strawberries per serving on to the greens, toss in a couple of tablespoons of pecan halves, and top with my homemade balsamic vinaigrette: 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, 2 tablespoons of a good extra virgin olive oil, 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard, and 1 or 2 teaspoons of sweetener of choice (sugar or honey for those without diet restrictions). Whisk these together until mixed and dress salad. Yum!
Pound cake. I love to serve cut up strawberries mixed with a little sweetener (to make the berries release their juices) over pound cake and topped with my whipped topping of choice. Here’s a fantastic low carb pound cake recipe I absolutely love. I often make this for Fourth of July.
Ice cream. In keeping with the dessert trend, I’m a fan of strawberry ice cream. We recently received an electric ice cream maker for a gift, and we’ve been making low carb versions of the favorite summer treat. For a really simple recipe, take two cups of heavy whipping cream and two cups of frozen strawberries, sweetener or sugar to taste, and blend in a blender. You can either finish making in an ice cream maker or freeze in a large container that you put in the freezer and stir every hour or so until it reaches the desired consistency.
Preserves. My best berries will be made into strawberry preserves that I’ll be giving away as gifts in Christmas baskets. I found this jam recipe on Pinterest recently from the website Return to Simple, and it looks pretty good.
So there you have my five delicious ways to use up strawberries. Try one of these simple ideas today!
What’s your favorite fruit? Tell us about it in the comments.
Related posts:
Turn Sprouted Sweet Potatoes into Plants
Inside: Don’t throw out that sweet potato! Learn how to turn sprouted sweet potatoes into plants in a few easy steps and harvest the gold come this fall.
I am a Sweet Potato Whisperer. . . It’s true. I’ve grown lovely orange potatoes the size of a small baby–no exaggeration. (I weighed the bounty.) I simply have a knack for growing them.
Years ago we couldn’t eat all of the harvest over the winter, and in the spring we noticed sprouts popping up on the leftover spuds. I’m not sure what possessed me to detach them and put them in a glass of water, but I did. That’s how I discovered they grow roots like any other plant cuttings. Within a little over a week I had sweet potato slips for planting in the garden for that year’s crop. I’ve done this lots of times over the years.
Two Steps
It’s really quite easy. First remove the sprout where it’s joined on the potato. Clean break. Second, put the sprout (or sprouts) in water. Within about a day or two you’ll see little white bumps forming on the part of the sprout that’s in the water. The little tiny leaves above the water line also start to grow. Pour out the water, replacing it with fresh water every other day or so. (I probably do it less often than that.) After about a week or two, the roots will be a nice size. You can plant these sprouts with roots (sweet potato slips) into the ground.
Planting Sweet Potatoes
Form a ridge of loose, well-drained soil about six to eight inches high. I make one long ridge row and plant the slips about 18 inches apart, with the roots in the soil and leaves above ground. Water often while establishing the plants, then not quite as often after they’re growing. . . In the fall we’ll continue the saga.
Need More Vines?
You might also consider planting these in containers for decorative purposes, much like I do with the red cabbage. Or try pairing them with other flowers, like you would the ornamental sweet potato vines, though I’m not sure how they will behave. Obviously you have a tuber you can consume at the end of the season, regardless. Might be fun to try.
Keep me posted on your sweet potato adventures!
Have you ever started sweet potato sprouts or other cuttings in water? Tell us about it in the comments.
Related posts:
Planting Sweet Potatoes in a Cardboard Box
Unique Containers for Gardening