For people who want to grow more food with less work. 🌱 This is my weekly newsletter loved by 38,000+ subscribers—here's what one of them had to say: "These are not the regular run-of-the-mill garden-based emails. You actually touch on more unusual tidbits that encourage me to keep growing and learning."
scrape out the seeds from your cranberries and do THIS!
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I recently learned you can grow cranberries from seed. I mean, maybe that's obvious when you stop to really think about it, but I had to look this up because I was thinking it would be fun to add cranberries to our garden next year. (I'd been planning to get a few plants.) And whaddya know—you can start them from seeds from the bagged cranberries you get at the store! It's not as straightforward as starting other seeds, but still fun to try. Here's how ⬇️ The next time you buy cranberries, save a few and scrape the seeds out of them. The seeds are tiny and need to be soaked in water for a day. Then, mix them with a bit of moist potting soil, place in a zip-top bag, and stick them in the fridge for 90 days. Yes, 90! Cranberry seeds require a long period of cold stratification before they'll germinate (here's a list of other seeds that need to be stratified too). In early spring, plant the seeds in potting mix, place the pot in a warm place, keep consistently moist, and the seeds should germinate in a few weeks. (Be patient!) Your cranberry seedlings should stay in a pot for about a year before you transplant them. After that, it'll be another 2 to 3 years before they bear fruit. Of course, you don't have to wait that long. 😆 You can get a head start by buying a plant, which fruits in 1 to 2 years. I'm looking at this variety, which grows 6" tall and makes a really nice ground cover. (I'm planning to add it to my list of evergreen ground covers and cold-hardy ground covers that stay green in winter.) Whether you grow them yourself or buy a bag from the store, I've got a few delicious recipes you can try below. One of my greatest hits is this "tin can" molded cranberry jelly, a throwback to my childhood.This was when the cranberry sauce at the table came straight out of a can, ridges and all, and sliced into rounds for serving. I'm still nostalgic for that cranberry log because it brings back a lot of fun memories with friends, but these days, I like to make my own molded jelly (right in a can!). This also lets me add my own flair, as sometimes I'll add ginger, clove, allspice, or even a jalapeño to take things up a notch. What's your secret ingredient for cranberry sauce? P.S. Have a retro Thanksgiving with this "tin can" molded cranberry jelly recipe. P.P.S. Looking for the perfect hostess gift this season? Grab a signed copy of one of my books! |
Garden Betty
For people who want to grow more food with less work. 🌱 This is my weekly newsletter loved by 38,000+ subscribers—here's what one of them had to say: "These are not the regular run-of-the-mill garden-based emails. You actually touch on more unusual tidbits that encourage me to keep growing and learning."