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
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This past week we were able to harvest a little over 5 pounds of radishes, 4 pounds of lettuce, a wee bit of bok choy and some chives. Oh and eggs, let’s not forget about those.
It’s starting to get a little exciting around here with the summer planting almost done and the garden boxes filling up with shades of green. It won’t be too long before I’ll be hauling in buckets of peas and zucchini’s.
I don’t know about you, but I’m excited!
~Mavis
Here is what I have harvested so far this year:
Basil – 4 ounces
Beets – 14 ounces
Bok Choy – 4 oz
Check out this Asian Noodle Salad with Bok Choy I made. It’s pretty awesome.
Carrots – 3 ounces
Chives – 8 ounces
Egg Count – 1,171
We collected 80 eggs this past week. Do you have chickens? Do you have a fancy container to collect your eggs? We just seem to use whatever is handy. A box, a basket, a planting tray, sweatshirt pockets, whatever. Sometimes I think we need to have a designated container or something.
Lettuce – 6 pounds 8 ounces
We basically had a salad every day last week. Homegrown lettuce has a totally different taste to it. Growing your own food is kind of weird that way. You learn what real food is suppose to taste like.
Microgreens 5 ounces
I need to grow some more of these. My favorite way to eat microgreens is with egg salad sandwiches.
Oregano – 2 ounce
Potatoes – 2 pounds 9 ounces
Radish – 6 pound 4 ounces
My favorite radish of all time is the French breakfast radish. The taste is very mild and they are fun to look at.
Spinach – 3 ounces
Sprouts –1 pound 2 ounces
Here are instructions for growing your own sprouts.
Swiss Chard 11 ounces
Wheatgrass – 7 ounces
Total Food Harvested in 2013: 20 pounds 4 ounces
Total Eggs Collected in 2013: 1,171
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
Heather S. says
Wow – that’s a lot of eggs – you will have a ton of them here in a few more months 🙂 Also, you get to jump up to 22 pound (and one ounce) – I think???
Dawn says
I had to go back and look at that once I read your comment… made me chuckle that I didn’t notice. Clearly I was not a stellar math student. You are most definitely right!!!
Cecily says
Am I missing something? I get a total of 20lb. 4oz.
Mavis says
Hey thanks for catching that! I need all the help I can get. 🙂
Sherry says
What does one do with 5 pounds of radishes? I like a few in my salad, but wouldn’t know what to do with the rest. Do you cook with them? Or can you preserve them somehow to use later in the season?
Mavis says
I’ll be posting a radish recipe soon. 🙂
Maia says
That is a lot of eggs. And you are so right, food does taste different from the garden. I’ve found lettuce and carrots have the biggest taste difference.
Susie in DeLand says
I harvested over 2 lbs of basil yesterday and made 5 1/2 lbs of pesto with it. I’m not sure what that works out to in quarts or whatever, but it was way over a gallon! Some went to neighbors, the rest into the freezer.
Mavis says
WAhooooooooO!