I be a farmer

My husband and I decided to grow a few plants on our balcony this year.  The above is the pepper that we will be getting to harvest!  We are delighted.  I haven't been much of a gardener in the past.  I've killed one to many avocado plants in my day.  But there is something about seeing something recognizable and edible grow. 

...even if it's just one little guy.  Peppers can be expensive.

(the orange stick is a pencil, it rained too hard last week and knocked them over, so he's holding them up)

We also have oregano and basil...

Okay, I confess, I have no idea which one is which above.  Any gardeners out there?  Help please?

All I know is that the dried basil in my kitchen is running out (too many homemade pizzas), but having planted oregano and basil, I lost track of which I planted where.  And those little guys on the bottom don't seem to be very fruitful anyway.

So really, if any of you have any tips, it would be much appreciated.  I'm guessing the big guy is the basil.  Am I just supposed to pull of the leaves?  How do I use it?

-Becka (who is really hoping there is someone out there who knows a little more about herbs than she does)

mmmm jam

And what does one do with fresh strawberries?

Well this time I made homemade jam!

This was a feat for me because the only other time I have made jam was with my mother by my side.  She came from a family of ten children, and my grandmother made jam making into an art.  So finding myself across the country without either of them to guide me, I spent a lot of time on the phone, reading directions, and cooking it up with a friend.

This friend was a little adventurous, and decided to make hers with reduced sugar.  This meaning we bought special pectin, and only ended up using half a cup of sugar for each of our batches.  Usually a batch of jam can requires up to 6 or 7 cups of sugar.  Well guess what?  It turns out that strawberries and apple juice are quite sweet on their own.  These jars turned out great!

Now what to do with my left over strawberries?  I'm so tempted to try the dried yogurt with pretzels thing.  My great cousin left a comment on my last post with a recipe for this I would like to try.

Or maybe I could make fruit leather?

Eat them plain?

S

Last time my husband and I tried planting a garden on our balcony, we ended up with 1 inch long carrots and onions that were so tiny you had to bite down hard to get the taste out of them.  This time we are keeping it simple.  

Peppers.

And basil and oregano.  

I am so excited about the herbs.  I was completely flabbergasted when they sprouted like this.  I could have sworn we only planted a couple of seeds, and they took forever to sprout.  But maybe that's how they work?

I have a lot of farming to do before I become a pro...