Refreshing Mint Ice-cubes

Theres nothing like a nice, refreshing drink on a hot, sunny afternoon. A lemon ice tea with mint. Mmmm.

For those of you that grow mint, you will know that once it starts to get going, there is so much that you don't even know what to do with it all! Here is a nice way to preserve some of that mint, in a way that you will most definitely use!

So to start, pick your mint, and wash the leaves well. Get your ice tray.

Pull off the leaves, and if they are quite large, give them a quick chop. Then put the leaves into the ice tray. 

Fill it up as much as you like! Then fill the trays up with water and put them in the freezer!

Delicious!!!! Add these to amazing Homemade Lemon Ice Tea (recipe coming soon for all you lemon growers!), or even to cocktails, or just to water!

Another great combination is mint and lemon. So add some finely grated lemon zest to the mint before adding the water! AMAZING!!

And if you really wanna go crazy! Chopped strawberries and mint in ice-cubes! Super yummy! So go crazy with your not boring old ice recipes! :D

Strawberry fields forever - November 21 2012

I luuurrvvvee strawberries! I got given two strawberry plants for my birthday, but we decided that two was not enough! So we bought four more plants which means we have six! As a rule of thumb, you normally have five strawberry plants per person in your household so that you have a bountiful harvest enough for everyone to eat. BUT, we couldn't afford (space and money) to have 10 strawberry plants.

Strawberries need a lot of sun when growing, otherwise they cannot reach their full juicy sweet potential. So when we planted, we made sure that our pots were in the sunniest spot of our deck!

We planted the strawberry plants in a strawberry mix, which is just like potting mix, but with extra goodies for the strawberries mixed in. We also bought strawberry straw (or hay) and put it underneath the plants, so that the leaves (and fruit) are above and out of the soil so that they don't rot and so that the plant can conserve water.

When growing strawberry plants, the first season, fruit shouldn't be left to grow, as the plants need to put their energy into growing stronger and establishing themselves. However, when we bought our plants there were a few berries already growing. Removing the fruit before it can grow in the first growing season (when the berries grow) means that in the second growing season, the fruit will be more bountiful! YAY! Thats what I like to hear, even though I'm not patient!

So for this summer growing season, I will be buying my berries, rather than growing them!

And as much as I love berries, birds also love them! So when there are berries on the plants, make sure that the plants are covered with some netting so that the birds can't get to the plants!

Feeding the strawberry plants is very important when there are fruits growing. Normal plant food can be used, but finding a strawberry food can be more beneficial to the plant and berries as the perfect nutrients are in the food that will help the berries to reach their full potential! Sounds yummy!

Happy birthday to me!! - November 11 2012

Its always exciting having a birthday. This year was extra exciting as university had finished and we were on holiday, plus I managed to get the day off work and hang out with my hubby!

Our rocket is growing like mental! Which is good for us because it is almost going to be too hot to keep growing rocket, as we are heading into summer. Rocket doesn't do too well in summer as it goes to seed really quickly and the leaves can be really bitter because of the heat. So this is our last harvest of rocket for the year! And although we will miss this gorgeous green leafy monster, it gives us more room to plant new plants!!

 This is so exciting!!! For my birthday, my wonderful husband bought me a mandarin tree, an avocado tree and a lime tree, as well as two strawberry plants! I don't know much about fruit trees, but I do know that we won't be harvesting from these beauties for a couple of years, so that the trees can establish themselves and strengthen. Makes a lot of sense really! We will be planting them in some large-ish pots as we don't know where we will be in a couple of years, but we do know that we will be moving from where we are now, and I want my trees forever!

I am a very happy lady!