This year I’m on a mission to grow 4,000 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables in my suburban backyard. In 2012 I was able to grow 2,028 pounds, and in 2013 I’m going double or nothing. I have absolutely no idea if I’ll be able to achieve my goal. But, as with any adventure, half the fun is getting there. ~Mavis
*******
A few days ago I made a deal with Mrs. Hillbilly that I am now regretting, or at least, I don’t think I’ll make again.
Her son is currently hooked on fresh eggs so I decided to trade her a weeks worth of egg rations for supplies to make smores and some sugar. Since we always have such an abundance of eggs, I didn’t think anything of it at the time. But now, I only have 3 eggs left in the refrigerator for my family to use until tomorrow. Yikes!
I guess it’s true, you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone. 😉
Luckily my bartering deal with her ends tonight.
As far as the garden goes, this past week we harvested cabbage, kale, Swiss chard, potatoes, raspberries, a few strawberries and a handful of herbs. Oh, and fresh peas too. We are now up to a whopping 198+ pounds of homegrown goodness. Life is good!
Here is what I have harvested so far this year:
Basil – 7 ounces
I LOVE making fresh pesto.
Beets – 14 ounces
I planted more beets over the weekend. I predict roasted beets will be on the menu this Thanksgiving.
Bok Choy – 4 oz
Check out this Asian Noodle Salad with Bok Choy I made. It’s pretty awesome.
Broccoli – 13 ounces
Is it normal for puppies to eat all their vegetables? Why can’t kids be this way?
Cabbage – 32 pounds 10 ounce
Here is my recipe for homemade sauerkraut
Carrots – 3 ounces
This is a picture of carrots we harvested last year. We had to plant our carrots 5 times this year due to slugs. We are just now starting to see a row of green tops.
Chives – 1 pound
We are picking about an ounce a week to use in recipes.
Egg Count – 1,546
Yes, more eggs were collected last week, but I have no idea how many. I forgot to ask Mrs. HB to count them. 🙁
Garlic 9 pounds 2 ounces
If you have never harvested garlic before, be sure and read my How to Harvest Garlic post. It’s super simple.
Garlic Scapes 11 ounces
We used these to make Garlic Scape Pesto. Yumm!
Kale – 3 pounds 11 ounces
The chickens like it! 🙂
Kohlrabi 5 pounds 10 ounces
All out spring kohlrabi has been harvested. Be on the lookout for a kohlrabi recipe soon!
Lettuce – 34 pounds11 ounces
All of the lettuce was harvested from the pallet garden last night. I forgot to harvest it before we left for our trip so it was a little past it’s prime. Luckily the chickens didn’t mind. 😉
Microgreens 5 ounces
I need to grow some more of these. My favorite way to eat microgreens is with egg salad sandwiches.
Mint 5 oz
I made some blueberry mint jam and also harvested some mint for tea.
Oregano – 6 ounces
Onion – 11 oz.
We are using our onions as we need them. They still have a ways to go until they are ready.
Peas – 29 pounds 11 ounces
Fresh shelling peas are the best. Out neighbor Hulda came down yesterday and harvested some for her family and Lucy the Puggle Dog and the Girl Who Thinks She’s a Bird have been munching on them like they were candy nonstop.
Potatoes – 15 pounds 12 ounces
We harvested these beauties yesterday. I think we’ll have potatoes for dinner tonight.
Radish – 22 pounds 2 ounces
Raspberries – 7 pounds 11 ounces
Our pup Lucy not only loves vegetables, but she loves her berries too. Blueberries and raspberries seem to be her favorite so far.
Sage – 14 ounces
Stay tuned to see what I’m doing with this!
Spinach – 15 ounces
Sprouts –2 pounds 2 ounces
Here are instructions for growing your own sprouts.
Strawberries 8 pounds 13 ounce
The strawberries have slowed way down. I’m not worried though, production will pick up again in the fall. So far this summer we made strawberry kiwi jam, strawberry freezer jam, strawberry pie, and homemade strawberry shortcake.
Swiss Chard 4 pounds 14 ounces
Chickens love it! 🙂
Tomatoes 3 ounces
Sun Gold tomatoes are the best cherry tomato on the planet. Nuf’ said.
Wheatgrass – 7 ounces
Total Food Harvested in 2013: 198 pounds 15 ounces
Total Eggs Collected in 2013: 1,546
If you are new to gardening or just want to learn more on the topic of organic gardening, my #1 favorite book is The Gardener’s A-Z Guide to Growing Organic Food
Susan says
Can’t wait for my girls to start laying! Should be happening within the next 4 weeks. We only have 3 girls, because “Fern” did turn out to be “Vern” 🙁
I re-homed him almost 2 weeks ago. I was really stressed about it, but found a small farm in Washougal that was specifically looking for a barred rock rooster for their 7 girls! It was still sad to see him go. He was doing a splendid job of crowing, and we didn’t want to come home
from vacation to find our front door plastered with citations from animal control 🙂 I procrastinated as long as I could, though.
Our lettuce is going gangbusters and I need to check this morning for green beans. We will have a LOT!
Mavis Butterfield says
I’m glad to hear Vern got a good home! 🙂
Kerry says
Cabbage take up so much room. Do you think it would grow in a pallet?
Amanda says
You can’t survive only having 3 eggs for a day? Won’t the chickens lay more today and tomorrow? I don’t even think I use 3 eggs in a week! Then again, my husband hates them, so I only use them for scrambled eggs, egg salad sandwiches, and baking.
Kara says
Mavis-
Do you have a root cellar?
Mavis Butterfield says
Nope. Do you? I’d love to have one.
joan says
Those garlic are huge! What kind are they?
celia says
Mavis I really enjoy your blog. Our garden had so many slugs this year. We put up copper tape and I went out with my children on a search and destroy mission every morning. It was not enough. However, we put out dishes of stale beer and they have been merrily drowning themselves. If you have not tried it yet, I encourage you to do so. You can use super cheap beer and usually everyone has some kicking around that is old. We had a six pack that was expired. We’ve caught about 60 slugs in a week. It’s amazing. They completely destroyed our strawberry crop, and made our lettuce….unappetizing.
Toni says
I love your blog and it has inspired me to expand my garden, living in the city. I grew up in the country on a hobby farm, and when I got married and moved to the city I felt like there was no room to grow anything. But I got rid of the pine bushes in front of the house and planted strawberries, and kiwi berry vines (that have not produced… (I think they are still too young) and an herb garden. This year we turned most of our yard in to 2 large raised beds, and they are coming along nicely. I do have a question though… What do you do with 22 lbs of radishes?
I like the idea of weighing all your produce, I am trying to do that this year, but so far I have failed with the strawberries, my husband eats most of them before they get in the house. Thanks again for your blog and inspiration. Toni
Mavis Butterfield says
Eat what we can and giveaway the rest. 🙂