2/25/2013

Grow Your Own Strawberries
by 
Becca Badgett











If you love the taste of strawberries and plan to use them in lots of dishes, perhaps you should start growing your own strawberries. Not limited to use for Valentine's Day, you can enjoy this great seasonal fruit for other holiday dishes as well. 


Strawberries grow in the ground, in rows, hills or as a ground cover in the bare spot in the flowerbed. They can be grown in barrels, large containers and on terraced hillsides. Patience is necessary to grow your own strawberries, but it is often worth the wait. 
 




Find more detailed information on growing in the article link below, and get those strawberry plants started soon.

Chocolate Covered

Roses and heart shaped balloons are frequent gifts for the romantic Valentine's Day, as are boxes of chocolates.  But if you're looking for something much healthier this year, consider strawberries. 


 


Heart shaped when sliced, the nutritious strawberry is used in a number of desserts that can be tailored to the heart-shaped holiday.


Dip room-temperature slices of the fruit, or whole strawberries, into a dark melted chocolate which will become  a delicate shell of chocolate as it cools. 
 





These can be eaten alone, used as garnishes for pies or cakes, dipped or hand decorated.  Follow detailed instructions in the articles linked below for delightful ways to use strawberries.  

Chocolate-covered strawberries can also be fanciful in other recipes, perhaps those you create yourself.

 










Strawberry Sauces

Make a strawberry sauce to top your favorite pie, cake or ice cream dessert.  Add fresh herbs if you have them available, as in the Strawberry Mint Sauce recipe linked below. 





Don't forget healthy fruit salads, smoothies and shakes using this nutritious fruit, also as linked below.


Maybe you're considering one, or all of these recipes as Valentine treats and goodies beyond the holiday. Perhaps you're calculating the cost of purchasing all those healthy berries, which can be very expensive.  You might want to start growing your own strawberry plants today, as instructed below.


See these articles for detailed instructions:




 
About Becca


 
Becca Badgett is an enthusiastic gardener who enjoys sharing information with others. She is certified as as a gardening expert and plant technician and writes how-to and garden articles for several sites online, such as Gardening Know How and Becca on Yahoo!

She is co-author of the book “How to Grow an EMERGENCY Garden”.
 

Her writing experience includes stints in newspaper and magazine writing. She has worked as Editor on several in-house newsletters, written press releases and worked as Director of Communications for a non-profit planetarium and nature center.


Find her on Twitter @Becca062 and visit her Facebook page Becca's Blooms for current information and to view her latest gardening articles.

Additional Links:



How to grow Avocados, Garlic, Tomatoes, Herbs & cool-weather crops