"All sorts of Berries"
Supermarkets are selling more different varieties every day, and it's hard to keep up with all the new names! Of course many berries can be grown in the home garden and, space and climate permitting, many different varieties could be tried. And not all are small round and red! Look at the prices in the supermarkets, and markets, before you start growing your own. Then when you do get your yearly crop, you'll not only be enjoying the freshest food, organically grown if at all possible, but you will also know exactly how much money you are saving! Once the initial plants have been bought, very little money, if any, will need to be spent in later years.
 - The blackberry is a wonderful fruit that seems to be able to grow anywhere in any conditions. The bramble plant they grow on is also a good source of vitamins, although the thorns aren't too healthy! When you collect them, don't choose those near a road or too near farmers fields as they could be affected by chemicals or car polution. Thornless varieties are now available for garden growing. They are hardy plants and don't need too much looking after, and will produce plenty of fruit year after year. - Strawberries grow wild in wasteland and woodlands, but the wild varieties are nothing like hybrid cultivated types, in taste. Although all wild foods tend to be higher in vitamins and nutrients than than fruits from hybrid plants. As taste is important, wild varieties are probably better left to their own devices and cultivating a strawberry bed or two in your garden is the best way to enjoy them.
- Raspberries are probably one of the easiest fruits to grow in the garden, and they are well worth growing. These delicious fruits are often very expensive to buy in a shop and are also possibly not grown organically. Plant a few canes and, with a little care and attention, you will have more raspberries than you can possibly eat.
Amazon are a good place to start for US deliveries - this sunshine blueberry bush is one of many products:
Plan your fruit garden and encourage the children to get involved in growing berries. The plants are generally easy to maintain, and will be there year after year, producing fruit to eat fresh, cook with and even store. Freezing berries is possible although they lose their texture and a small percentage of vitamins. To get around the texture problem, you could try freezing fruit that is already cooked - for example blackberry and apple pie. What a treat at Christmas or on a cold day in January to be serving piping hot fruit pies. A great taste of summertime! Probably the best way to store excess fruit is by making jam. Home made jams are delicious and nutritous and, once you organise the equipment needed, isn't too difficult to get together.
 Happy Gardening! Grow Your Own Groceries: Producing your own food is not only rewarding but - in times of economic and environmental changes - increasingly a must! Nature provides everything the human body requires to thrive, and cultivating some of those natural products in your own back garden will not only produce the best food on the planet for you and your loved ones, it is also economical, environmentally friendly and more fun than shopping.
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Grow Your Own Pharmacy: If, like me, you want to be able to eat the best food on the planet, grow your own!  • Clear instructions on planning, planting, growing and harvesting the fruits, vegetables and herbs required for a healthy vitamin intake. • Recipes and menus to help incorporate the fruit and vegetables into your daily diet. Granny's Book Of Good Old Fashioned Common Sense is packed full of great ideas and tips. Granny brings traditional home-making up to date with cooking, gardening, needlecrafts and even games to play with the kids...Click on the link below to order your copy.  Cooking doesn’t have to be a chore and preparing nourishing home cooked meals for the family will certainly keep them away from the goodie shelf. Gardening encourages physical exercise and a good healthy dollop of fresh air. And you can get the kids involved too. Before the days of computer games and electronic pets, children used to have fun without rummaging about in the fridge every five minutes. Enjoy a few rainy-day games and crafts of yesteryear with today’s kids. They’ll love it and so will you!
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