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
*******
This past week we harvested over 34 pounds of goodness from our backyard garden bringing our total to just over 124 pounds so far for 2013. Will I make it to 2 tons? Who know, but I’m having fun and that’s what counts! 😉
Here is what I have harvested so far this year:
Basil – 7 ounces
Our second round of basil is poking through the soil in the greenhouse. I LOVE making fresh pesto.
Beets – 14 ounces
I planted yet another row of beets over the weekend. Looks like roasted beets will be on the menu this fall, that’s for sure.
Bok Choy – 4 oz
Check out this Asian Noodle Salad with Bok Choy I made. It’s pretty awesome.
Broccoli – 11 ounces
Our lone head of spring broccoli. Hopefully it will do better this fall.
Cabbage – 14 pounds 12 ounces
We harvested several heads of cabbage last week. I’ll be sharing my cabbage recipes soon. 🙂
Carrots – 3 ounces
I’m happy to announce our carrots are FINALLY popping through the soil. Hurry! This is the first time I can remember having to plant them so many times. Note to self: seriously amend the soil asap.
Chives – 14 ounces
We are picking about an ounce a week to use in recipes.
Egg Count – 1,514
We collected 64 eggs this past week. I’m not sure what’s going on with the hens, maybe they are on strike or just to bust taking dirt baths to lay eggs.
Kale – 3 pounds 4 ounces
Oh yum! 😉
Kohlrabi 9 ounces
It’s still sitting in the refrigerator! 😉
Lettuce – 28 pounds 2 ounces
We finally got around to harvesting most of the lettuce this past week from the pallet garden. Let’s just say we’ve had our fill of salad for a while.
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 – 5 ounce
Peas – 20 pounds 2 ounces
We can seem to stop eating sugar snap peas with garlic. Our snap peas are don for this season be we still have green arrow peas growing and I’ll probably plant some sugar snap peas again in the fall.
Potatoes – 3 pounds 6 ounces
While chasing after Lucy we stumpled up a compost heap with potato plants growing so we stopped and harvested a few new potatoes.
Radish – 22 pounds 2 ounces
I won’t plant radishes again until the fall, but they were sure nice when we had them. If you have some radishes and fresh peas on hand, you should try my sugar snap pea and radish salad.
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 2 ounce
The strawberries are still rolling in.Last week I made strawberry kiwi jam, strawberry freezer jam, strawberry pie, and another 2 batches of homemade strawberry shortcake. Plus we have had strawberry shortcake for dinner three times!
Swiss Chard 2 pounds 15 ounces
When my parents came for Father’s Day my mom went home with a sack full a Swiss chard and kale {thank goodness!}.
Wheatgrass – 7 ounces
Total Food Harvested in 2013: 124 pounds 6 ounces
Total Eggs Collected in 2013: 1,514
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 By Tanya L.K. Denckla.
Desi says
Definitely getting there. Our garden’s not doing so well. Everything got planted late. The beets and the onions are doing the best. It’ll be a while before we harvest anything but radishes.
Rachel says
Hey Mavis! Have you tried kohlrabi in beef stew? I recently harvested some kohlrabi and my family loved it in beef stew with carrots and potatoes.
We also ate it just cut up and dipped in Ranch dressing – super yummy! Hope this helps!
Thanks for all your inspiration!
Mavis Butterfield says
You know what? I bet it would be great in beef stew! Thanks!
Erin M says
Hi Mavis
Could you tell me what the variety of curly kale you are showing here? I’ve been looking for a variety name of plain ol green super curly kale. My favourite.
Erin
Mavis Butterfield says
Hi Erin, here is the link {Drawf blue curled kale }for the seed packet I grew my kale from. I really like this plant because it doesn’t get super tall. 🙂
Erin M says
Thank you so much Mavis. You’re the best!!
Mavis Butterfield says
You are welcome. 🙂 By the way, mu lemon tree has oodles of baby lemons trying to grow. I’ll try and post a picture tomorrow so you can see them.
Erin M says
I can’t wait to see it Mavis. I suppose this makes us citrus geeks!