How to Grow Your Own Food – 11/14/2013 Garden Tally

It seems like it’s been a long time since I’ve updated my 2013 garden tally so I thought I would share with you what’s been happening in our backyard lately.

In a nutshell, not much. 😉 Besides the occasional salad harvest here and there, we are still in maintenance mode. Or lazy mode, I’m not sure which. Yes, there are still oodles of potatoes to dig up, and yes we have things like beets, carrots, leeks, turnips and some other vegetables growing, but for the last few weeks I’ve been taking a wee break from gardening to work on a few projects around the house instead.

A few weeks ago we have planted our lettuce starts in the greenhouse, and right now we have 4 containers of basil growing under the grow lights on my desk in the office.

Some of the leaves are ready to pick now, but I’m trying to hold off until Thanksgiving. I’ve never used fresh basil in any of my Thanksgiving recipes before so it will be a nice treat.

How about you? Are you in maintenance mode right now too, or have you already put your garden to bed for the winter?

Mavis wants to know.

Here is what I have harvested so far this year:

Basil – 1 pound 3 ounces

We’ve got basil growing under the grow lights. In the past we’ve enjoyed making fresh pesto and strawberry basil jam with it.

Beets – 133 pounds 12 ounces

We’ve got plenty of beets to dig up, but I’m holding off until Thanksgiving.

Bok Choy – 7 pounds

We didn’t end up growing too much bok choy this year, but it’s on the list for 2014.

Broccoli – 13 ounces

Cabbage – 40 pounds 14 ounce

We are still waiting to harvest our fall cabbage. I feel like I keep saying that, but cabbage totally has a mind of it’s own. Plus, apparently it’s frost hardy too, so why rush things. 🙂

Carrots – 43 pounds 11 ounces

I’m hoping these ones will be my Valentine Carrots.

Chives – 2 pound 8 ounces

We regular chives and garlic chives growing right now.

Cucumbers 9 pound 6 ounces

 I’ll be buying hothouse cucumbers at Costco until next summer.

Egg Count – 2,197

Sadly The Girl did not keep track of the egg count for the past 3 weeks!!!  so I can’t update it. Boo!!

Garlic 9 pounds 2 ounces

We planted our garlic a few weeks ago and we have tiny shoots popping up now.

Garlic Scapes 11 ounces

We use them to make Garlic Scape Pesto.

Green Beans 17 pounds 11 ounces

Kale – 42 pounds 14 ounces

I have it growing alongside the chicken coop and I grow it mostly for the chickens.

Kohlrabi 5 pounds 10 ounces

Lettuce – 37 pounds 13 ounces

Note to self – Harvest lettuce in greenhouse.

Microgreens 5 ounces

Mint 13 oz

I made some blueberry mint jam this summer.

Oregano – 1 pound 12 ounces

I used fresh oregano in my heirloom tomato sauce this summer.

Onion – 37 pounds 8 ounces

I wonder if we have anymore onions hidden in the garden beds?

Pears 47 pounds 7 ounces

Pear butter is AWESOME!

Peas – 42 pounds 9 ounces

Potatoes – 319 pounds

How to Harvest and Store Potatoes for Winter.

Radish – 22 pounds 2 ounces

Raspberries – 21 pounds 7 ounces

Rhubarb – 39 pounds 9 ounces

Sage – 14 ounces

Squash 230 pounds 10 ounces

After all was said and done we ended up with 230 pounds of pumpkins. Not what I was hoping for. My pumpkin crop totally failed this year due to poor crop rotation.

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

Swiss Chard 52 pounds 4 ounces

Gag. Our backyard chickens love it and it’s great for trading.

Tomatoes 234 pounds 15 ounces

Wheatgrass – 7 ounces

Zucchini – 72 pounds 13 ounces

Total Food Harvested in 2013: 1455 pounds 10 ounces

Total Eggs Collected in 2013: 2,197 {+more that we forgot to count}

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.