05/20/2026
🍓👩🏻🌾 Before there were indoor plants and terrariums that I grew to love and create, there was me that grew up on a small farm in Cedarbrook, NJ and we always had veggies, fruits, including 8 rows of grape that we made and still make wine from every year and animals like chickens, goats, at one point pigs, a horse, geese and ducks. (Farm still there and there’s still goats, chickens, veggies and fruits).
This farm shaped me and my siblings. My sister and I most of all. We would have to pick the veggies and fruits in the summer and then get we got to swim in my grandparents pool which was also on the farm.
The memories of picking weren’t always the happiest- it was hot and I was little and just wanted to be in the pool! But, one thing I remember is picking strawberries, blackberries and raspberries with my Grandmom and mom by the pints and then we would drive me down to the local stand and we would sell our pints for $.50! I thought that was so awesome because then I could save up for an ice cream from the Cold Cow ice cream place!
Now, one of my most important things is that no matter where I lived I needed to be able to grow my own things. It’s a part of me. It’s how I was raised and I think it’s really awesome to see what sun and water can do! I don’t ever fertilize because I’m afraid of carcinogens and more so since my sister had leukemia, so anything additional to the soil makes me nervous outside of organic matter like eggshells, coffee grounds etc. but to see things grow in nature is just so beautiful and satisfying, especially in a world where everything is taken for granted and so fast paced.
So, these are my strawberries that I grew and they just do their thing and I get to enjoy them. Free of chemicals and sweet as can be! Super stoked about these as this is my first time with my very own successful strawberry harvest. What I learned is that you try it, if it fails- you learn from it. If it doesn’t fail, you learn from it!
Garden made by Backyard Gardens
Strawberry plants planted last spring from Fiorentino's Farm Market