Last Saturday's windy, rainy, freezing market day culminated in a hard frost that evening. Teresa got her strawberries covered (with the cloth row covers pictured here, next to the blossoming chamomile) after returning home from the market, but even so, some of the leaves got singed and blossoms nipped. Nipped blossoms will fall off without forming a fruit, but the fruit that is already set will be fine, and new blossoms will come along . . . so we are still looking forward to a good strawberry harvest in a few weeks. When you have six siblings it's easier to be two places at one time. So this Saturday, Teresa and Henry will be in Evanston while Terra will be selling Teresa's vegetable and herb starts (like the lavender starts below),as well as the hanging strawberry baskets and aronia jam, at the new market in the beautiful atrium of Methodist Hospital in Peoria.
This weekend promises to be sunny and warm, so come on over to Evanston or Peoria, whichever is closer, and check out all the starts -- see April post for the full listing of varieties. There's nothing as satisfying, or delicious, as growing your own food, so stock up on starts this Saturday.
