The wheat is looking more like wheat.

Strawberries are happening.

Tomatoes, lettuce, and more.

Ginormous rhody shows its ginormous flowers.

Basil needs to be planted.

Don Featherstone is watching.

Let’s compare May to February:

“There is no technological reason why any plant species should become extinct. We have every opportunity to pass on our entire botanical heritage—intact—for future generations.”

Via TED Blog.

I’ve never grown cabbage, nor onions and celery, which are in nearby trays.

I have 20 cabbage seeds started: 10 Copenhagen Market and 10 Chinese.

Have you started any seeds yet? Are you growing cabbage this year?

This is wheat, planted in early October.

It’s a small supply of hard red winter wheat berries raked into the soil.

What I find interesting is the punch of green, even in the dead of winter.

I have no idea what’s going to happen. Will it come out of dormancy in the spring and produce an early summer crop?

If you’ve been reading for a while, you may remember the first time I tried planting wheat. Sadly, that experiment was short-lived because we moved. These seeds come from that same supply.

Many of you are coming to The Suburban Farm because you want to know more about growing wheat in your yard. Have you tried? I hope you’ll share your experiences.

When the rhododendron’s leaves are curled.

This is more fun than looking at my thermometer.

It was 23-degrees Fahrenheit when I took these photos. The leaves open up when the sun warms them.

Here’s a little bit of reading on this thermotropic phenomenon. Interestingly, it’s an indicator of  leaf temperature, not the air temperature. A good explanation for why the leaves relax in sunlight, despite the persistence of low air temperature.

Do you pay attention to rhododendron leaf curling? What other plant phenomenon do you find interesting?

Now I won’t feel awkward when I show up somewhere with dirt under my nails. You know the kind, that dirt that stains your hands and refuses to be scrubbed away.

Dig in! For your own health’s sake.

One everyday thing I like to do is make homemade baby food. Even if the food didn’t come from our garden, it’s still an easy everyday thing. Or every other day. Once per week?

We’re busy and both work full-time, and aren’t shy about cracking open a store-bought jar of organic peas or squash and lentils. But, if there’s time, breaking out the blender is an easy option.

I pick simple fruits and vegetables to make into baby food. If you have a steamer and blender, you can make baby food. You don’t even need those things. A pot, some water, and a fork will do.

Peel it. Compost it.

Steam it.

Blend it. Add a little cooking water from the steam pot.

Like velvet!

One medium sweet potato yields 11 oz. of baby food.

If you’re keeping track of costs, that’s about $3 worth of store-bought baby food jars for the price of one potato (approximately $1.30).

Not only is it cost-efficient, but I can guarantee the ingredients, including whether it’s organic. When it’s food I’m growing, I can also guarantee the source.

Bigger batches can be frozen, and smaller batches can live in the refrigerator in small containers or recycled baby food jars. Our daycare loves it, too.

Do you make your own baby food? How do you involve children in good food?