Wednesday, June 18, 2008

in the strawberry patch

Picking the strawberries has become part of my daily afternoon routine. Although it's a bit cool today, it is sunny and the skies are deep blue with big puffy 'cotton ball' clouds--perfect for yard work.
For those who asked questions about our strawberry patch, here's a little bit of the raised wooden box pictured that Mike built. After the ground freezes, I mulch/cover the plants well with straw. In the spring I pull the straw off the plants but still leave it around them for mulch. Once the plants fill in, I have had virtually no weeds. Last year, beside this raised bed, I covered the ground with landscaping fabric, poked holes in it, and planted the 'daughter' plants from the originals. Then I covered it well with straw also - and no weeding!

I was fixing supper the other night and was too busy to bother with individual shortcake biscuits for our dessert, so I found this recipe and made it in an 8" square baking pan. I just gently pressed the dough into the buttered pan, and then brushed the melted butter over the top. I think it baked for 20 - 25 minutes and is absolutely delicious with strawberries and freshly whipped cream!

In an effort to justify the eating of more than one strawberry shortcake a day, I found this information on the great benefits of strawberries...see eating healthy can be fun ;)


10 comments:

  1. Your strawberries are lovely. I just got finished canning strawberry jam and I love the look of the red jars glimmering on my counter tops!!

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  2. Oh they look yummy!! Our berries are gone for this season but getting ready for blueberries!!

    I have always made my shortcake biscuit dough into 2 big "Hoecakes" and layered them with the berries and whipped cream. Wish I had one right now!!!

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  3. Wonderful! Do you have any tips for keeping the birds off the ripe berries?

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  4. Hi Jen,
    I take you mean wild birds and not the chickens. The chickens are not able to free-range when the strawberries are on--they love strawberries!
    So far, we have never had any problem with other birds eating the strawberries.
    For blueberries, I do cover the bushes with netting and that works well.
    Deb

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  5. Anonymous7:29 PM

    Yum. Your strawberries look delish. Ours are just starting to form and I hope to get a nice crop this year.

    God bless.

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  6. Deb, you have a lovely patch and I am going to try that receipt for the cake--thanks!

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  7. Luscious! We've had our share of strawberry shortcake & then some...but looking at these pic's makes my mouth water for another!!Yum!!

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  8. Beautiful photos, our strawberries won't be ready for a few weeks here, but am looking forward to it!

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  9. Nothing beats strawberry shortcake.
    I don't have many berries this year but the pick your own farms are open and that means jam!
    I posted the recipe for those rhubarb muffins I mentioned.

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  10. Oh! I hope my strawberry patch fills in like that next year!

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Thank you for taking time to leave a comment--I love reading each and every one! I will try to answer any questions you have in the comment section. Due to the amount of spam, I am sadly no longer able to accept Anonymous comments....Kindly, Deb

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