How to Grow Your Own Food – 9/25/2013 Garden Tally

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

*******

It seems like we harvested a little bit over everything this past week in the garden. Everything from pumpkins and carrots to heirloom tomatoes and potatoes. Pretty stinkin’ awesome if you ask me. The temperatures are getting cooler though and before you know it there won’t be much left to harvest but carrots and kale, and let me tell you Bob, I’m not looking forward to that. 😉

~Mavis

Here is what I have harvested so far this year:

Basil – 1 pound 3 ounces

We are currently out of fresh basil right now. Although we’ve enjoyed making fresh pesto and strawberry basil jam this summer.

Beets – 120 pounds 8 ounces

We’ve been eating beets and giving them away like crazy lately. I didn’t like them as a kid, but I sure do now.

Bok Choy – 12 oz

The bok choy we planted in the pallet garden is finally ready. It’s a nice change from kale and Swiss chard that’s for sure.

Broccoli – 13 ounces

The slugs have not discovered our fall broccoli yet. I’m keeping my fingers crossed they’ll stay away.

Cabbage – 40 pounds 14 ounce

Still waiting to harvest our fall cabbage!

Carrots – 26 pounds 14 ounces

We are harvesting carrots daily now and we feed Lucy the trouble puggle the little ones.

Chives – 2 pound 1 ounce

We cut fresh chives as we need them.

Cucumbers 9 pound 6 ounces

We pulled up all the cucumber vines this past week after harvesting the last of the lemon cucumbers. 🙁

Egg Count – 2,018

We collected 51 eggs last week from our backyard flock of hens. Our baby chicks won’t stay laying for another 8 weeks or so, but once they do, look out world, we are going to have an abundance of eggs.

Garlic 9 pounds 2 ounces

Our garlic has been harvested for this year and I am using it in practically every dish now.

Garlic Scapes 11 ounces

We used these to make Garlic Scape Pesto. Yumm!

Green Beans 16 pounds 14 ounces

We didn’t get as many beans as I had wanted from of tepee poles this fall but there are still a few beans left t pick.

Kale – 28 pounds 14 ounces

Feeding it to the chickens every chance I get. {Shocking, I know}

Kohlrabi 5 pounds 10 ounces

Lettuce – 36 pounds 13 ounces

We have enough lettuce for one big salad before we’re out of lettuce. I’ll be planting more in the greenhouse pretty soon though so it won’t be too long before were have more.

Microgreens 5 ounces

My favorite way to eat microgreens is with egg salad sandwiches.

Mint 13 oz

I made some blueberry mint jam and also harvested some mint for tea.

Oregano – 1 pound 9 ounces

I been using fresh oregano for my heirloom tomato sauce.

Onion – 25 pounds 6 ounces

We still have a few onions left to harvest. Note to self- get out there and pull them up before they rot.

Pears 47 pounds 7 ounces

Pear butter is AWESOME!

Peas – 42 pounds 9 ounces

We’ve got peas growing in the greenhouse and in a garden box. I’m keeping my fingers crossed we’ll start to see tiny white flowers soon.

Potatoes – 263 pounds 15 ounces

How to Harvest and Store Potatoes for Winter.

We donated some potatoes to the food bank last week and have been using them like mad around here. Just for kicks I think I might wrap some up and give them to my Husband for Christmas since he loves them so much.

Radish – 22 pounds 2 ounces

Note to self- Plant more radish seeds.

Raspberries – 21 pounds 7 ounces

Raspberry season is officially over in our backyard. Boo!

Rhubarb – 39 pounds 9 ounces

Rhubarb is rad! I think we have about 5 or 6 rhubarb plants sprinkled around our yard. I’ll have to dig up the crowns this fall and move them all to one location.

Sage – 14 ounces

Squash 48 pounds 15 ounces

We harvested a few pumpkins this week and set them on the front porch to cure. We still have more pumpkins, sweet meat squash, Butternut squash to harvest. Hopefully it will stop raining soon so they don’t rot on the vine.

Spinach – 15 ounces

I planted more in the greenhouse for a winter harvest.

Sprouts –2 pounds 15 ounces

Here are instructions for growing your own sprouts.

Strawberries 23 pounds 14 ounces

Besides eating them fresh, so far we have made strawberry kiwi jam, strawberry freezer jam, strawberry pie, and homemade strawberry shortcake. There are just a few left to pick and then we’ll be done harvesting berries for the year.

Swiss Chard 40 pounds 12 ounces

Chickens LOVE chard. 😉 Me? Not so much. But it sure is pretty. 🙂

Tomatoes 206 pounds 0 ounces

Mama Mia! That’s a lot of tomatoes.

Wheatgrass – 7 ounces

Zucchini – 55 pounds 8 ounces

Can someone please explain to my why I didn’t see these before they grew this big? Holy cow, it’s looks like a few hundred loaves of vegan zucchini bread are in my future.

Total Food Harvested in 2013: 1095 pounds 8 ounces

Total Eggs Collected in 2013: 2,018

If you are new to gardening or just want to learn more about organic gardening, my #1 favorite garden book is The Gardener’s A-Z Guide to Growing Organic Food By Tanya L.K. Denckla.