Homemade fruit roll-ups (Fruit Leather)

I posted this on one of my other blogs but thought it was appropriate for this one as well! It was so easy my just-turned-4-year-old-daughter Jessalynne was able to help me make it. She added all the berries into the food processor, with my help "pulsed" the berries, then I poured it into the prepared pans, let her press the oven buttons and "bam!" then we just waited!

4 easy steps, Puree, Taste, Spead & Cook!

Puree: Puree all ingredients in a food processor. One amazing combination is raspberries with a touch of agave and almond extract. Holy heaven-in-a-food-processor. I froze all of our extra fruits from our garden (strawberries, blueberries and blackberries) so we pulled those out to make this delicious snack. We made two different kinds mixed berry (with blueberries, strawberries, blackberries and rasperries) and one with just strawberry & blackberry. I added about 1-2 tsp of organic agave as well for a little sweetness.

Taste the mixture after it’s smooth and add more sweetener if you need to. You need to be able to pour this mixture, so if you puree your fruit and it’s pretty thick, just add a little liquid. You can add water, or fruit juice. Both silicone and plastic wrap work the best other materials cause the fruit to stick.

Spread Puree: Use an offset spatula to gently spread the mixture in an even layer. The more evenly you spread, the more evenly it cooks. You’ll want it about 1/8″ thick. Your puree should be thin enough that it pours, but thick enough to stay put where you spread it.

Cook: Set your oven temperature to the lowest setting. Mine is 170, many ovens will go down to 140. 170 works great, and it will be a little faster than 140. You’re basically just warming the air, helping the fruit dry faster. This is where you will have to be patient. It takes about 6-8 hours, sometimes longer, for it to dry. If you aren’t going to be at home and you don’t want to leave your oven on, just keep the oven door shut and turn it off while you’re gone. Turn it back on when you get back and it will just keep on drying. II made my batch in the evening So when I was ready to go to bed, I turned the oven off and turned it back on in the morning until it’s done.  (or you can cook it in a food dehydrator in about 1/2 the time).

You can test it by touching the center of the fruit mixture- it should not stick to your finger, and not indent when you touch it.The edges will cook faster than the center; if the edges look like they’re getting crispy, you can cut those off later, or brush them with a little water or juice during the baking process to rehydrate. Or if you overbake the entire pan, you can also brush with a little water until it’s pliable again.Most of the little rolls will stay rolled, but if they need help, you can always attach a little piece of tape, or a twist tie to keep them all bundled up.

They make yummy little treats in lunch boxes... Or healthy snacks (for Mom and Dad too!)

Since the drying process is long, fit as many pans in your oven as you can! We love to do all different colors and flavors and experiment with flavor combinations. It’s also a good idea to make lots because these will be gone in a heart beat.

Vertical Cucumbers

Well a little about cucumbers to start with, they are very easy to grow and are very prolific. They need to be planted in a section of the garden that receives full sun and has an evenly moist, fertile soil. With that, success is almost guaranteed.

Like other summer vine crops, cucumbers are heavy feeders and demand a steady supply of water. Work plenty of organic matter (compost, well-rotted manure) into the soil before planting to help it retain moisture and to provide the nutrients the cucumber plants will need throughout the season. 

I read an article recently about growing vegetables vertically. I really like this idea because it keeps all the produce off the ground and according to research, it dramatically increases yields because the vines receive better air circulation and more sunlight than vines on the ground. I am trying this concept out with cucumbers. 

My grampa helped me make a trellis for them to climb. We decided 5" squares should work well. I'm hoping it will gives the cucumber plant a little more light by having more space, and plenty of room to fall through the holes for growing. (We also made one standing vertical for Jessalynne's green beans to climb and gave it a little extra support). If the cucumbers grow well, I am anxious to try the vertical gardening with some other fruit/vegetables like melon and tomatoes. I read that tomatoes grow really well vertical (or hanging). 

2014 is my garden guinea pig year. My year of trial and error. I am hoping to be successful as a new Floridian, but I know it will likely take a few years to workout all the kinks of what works, and what doesn't. My planting/harvest timing is also going to be a huge experiment this year!

RIP Vegetables (thanks to my son...) LOL

So most people plant their garden and worry about deer eating their plants, squirrels swiping their produce, bugs infesting, maybe even different molds growing... Well I planted my garden knowing I would have a constant and consistent fight with my son. He loves the dirt, and he loves to "help". Here's a funny little story about my son helping me with my garden.

I went out to water my garden the other day, and I found some of my plants were missing! They weren't eaten, or missing parts of the plant. They were literally dug up with a hole left in their place. "What on earth happened to my vegetables!?!?" I asked knowing immediately who the culprit was... Brixton, my 2 1/2 year old. Oh boy! He dug up several of my plants and put them back in the plastic containers we brought them home from the store in... Clever Brick, real clever! Unfortunately, they were not salvageable and didn't make the "re-transplant". I did promptly throw all the old containers out so he wouldn't try to replant any other plants in them again!


RIP banana peppers, tomatoes and marigolds, you will be missed!

Transplanting seeds!

So I finally the last of my beds filled with dirt so I could transplant my little seedlings! I bought these little white garden stakes off amazon (100 for $6) and my girls helped me make tags for all the garden items so we would know what everything was. We just wrote on them with permanent marker. (UPDATE: after a week they started fading drastically). We then picked out our transplant plants that seemed to be "thriving" the best, and planted them in the garden. The kids got to help with the transplanting and watering. I have 2 large garden beds, 2 small garden beds and several pots. I am picking up more buckets/pots today.

What are we growing you ask? Well, as of right now, almost everything is organic. So far we have 2 rows of purple dragon carrots, 2 rows of regular carrots, 1 full tomato plants, 1 cherry tomato plant, 6 bell pepper plants, 1 sweet pepper plant, 2 cucumber plants, 1 watermelon plant, 4 strawberries, 3 broccoli, 1 cauliflower, 1 celery, 11 tomato transplants (roma and beefsteak), 4 green bean, 2 blueberry bushes, 4 marigolds, and 2 citronella plants (hoping to ward off some of our mosquito this summer). It's a pretty good start, right?

Building Raised Garden Beds

My husband finally got a break from work and helped me finish the last of my garden beds. We used 2x4 and 2x6 pieces of wood with stakes in the corner to strengthen them and screws to hold everything together. My kids love helping, especially when it comes to the garden so even though it is extra stressful sometimes, and everything takes even longer, we try to let them help as much as possible. I hope by allowing them to help, plant, water and watch the seeds grow, maybe they will be more excited about eating (and better enjoying) the fruits of our labor. Jess (age 6) has been writing about it during her free writing time in school (kindergarten) so I know she has been thinking about it, and is excited to watch everything grow. Brixton (2 1/2) just likes to dig everything up and play in the dirt... but hopefully once the little red tomatoes start growing he will enjoy picking them and eating them! Chloee (age 4 1/2) loves to help, but said she would like to give her share away to someone else who needs it (so she doesn't have to eat it)... I'm hoping as stuff grows she will change her mind LOL.
Once we finished the boxes, I stapled weed barrier to the bottom of the bed in hopes of keeping my nice well composted dirt from mixing into our Florida dirt (sand) too much. *Fingers Crossed*. Then I will just need to pickup a little bit more dirt to finish filling them so I can start getting the rest of my seedlings all transplanted. Not a bad start... I'm anxious to see how this first year of gardening in Florida goes!