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Hi Reader,

Look what I get to share with you this week:

Lots of apple tree blossoms to go along with the plum blossoms I shared with you a few weeks ago!!

This is a four year old apple that has never bloomed, just like the plum, so this is a big deal for me. Fertilizer for the win!!

I have two other apples, but they were just planted last year and I don't see any buds on them yet, so they may need another year.

We also have good bloom on our huge tart cherry tree that's been here for years - it looks decades old. Not like the crazy amount from last year, but we should get a decent harvest:

This is the area with the most blossoms - the rest of the tree has sporadic blooms.

So, we will definitely get cherries and maybe Italian plums, and a few apples and peaches this year from our little orchard after years of no blooms! 👏 👏

Here's what's going on in the veggie garden:

• Trays of both veggie and flower seedlings waiting to either grow bigger (on the left) or be planted (right).
• (top down on right above): overwintered Swiss chard - we've been harvesting this pretty much all winter!
• Fall planted, overwintered carrots, beets, and parsnips (I've been harvesting them gradually since the end of February).
• Newly planted and seeded spinach.

I've got peppers and tomatoes potted up that are still indoors under grow lights. We've got lows still forecasted next week in the 30s, so they are definitely not going to be hardened off until after that, depending on the weather.

How is your garden growing?

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April Seasonal Cooking Tips & Recipes

Spring lettuce, spinach, and of course rhubarb and asparagus are key foods that are at their prime in April (and May). Find seasonal food lists, plus preserved foods to use up this month, too - see it all in Seasonal Cooking for April, including printable planning pages to use it up and save money and waste!

The star of this month for me? ASPARAGUS! Here are some articles and recipes I've written all about this quintessential spring veggie:

​Pickled & Canned Asparagus​ I love having this pickled veggie on hand for salads and my favorite quick appetizer or lunch (equally good with beans or asparagus). Can also keep in the fridge for months without canning. ​

​Ultimate Asparagus Guide: Grow, Harvest, Cook & Preserve​ Tips for growing and picking to use in fresh food and to preserve. Lots of recipes from my site and others you may like!

​Asparagus & Ham Egg Cups​ Great meal prep idea to eat on the go or to use as shown with my favorite, easy fail proof hollandaise sauce!

​Asian Style Asparagus Noodle Salad​ Perfect side dish or main dish with added protein, this is ready in minutes with refreshing and spring like flavor!

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Heads Up

Reminder: if you're interested in ordering bare root fruit, nut, or natives through Food Forest Nursery, where I got the large-rooted, healthy berries I shared with you last week, you can get 10% off your first order with the code:

jboys10

From The Blog

​6 Sourdough Tips for Success​ Whether you bake with sourdough all the time or only occasionally, these tips will make things clearer and easier. ​ Read it all here! ​ ​

​Easy Sourdough Starter Recipe​ Would you like to start using sourdough - or need to begin again? Here's the 7-day tutorial I've used to start two different whole wheat starters that have each lasted for years. ​ Get The Recipe Here! ​

A Few More Things

We just got through watching the 3 Body Problem series on Netflix and it's really good - Brian especially loved it. He had listened to the book and so much went over his head, so he really thought they did a good job of making the story clearer and easier to follow. He's going to read it now - it was probably too much science to do as an audiobook, lol.

I just ordered more of this essential oil pain reliever after letting it run out because I wasn't sure if it was really working for the pain in my hands from knitting. Um, yeah - pain I hadn't had in months is back in full force! It seems crazy to me that this works, but the reviews are full of comments from people like me - I won't be without it again, that's for sure!

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Here's to a beautiful week!

P.S. Don't forget to save your recipe and gardening tips to easily organize them and find them in the future! (Also, this is a way to help my site - "voting" for favorites shows Google and Ad people that you like my content, like the recipe ratings and reviews do. 😀)

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