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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What a great time to be a backyard gardener! This past week we collected 80 eggs, fresh spinach, fresh basil, fresh chives and also grew some fenugreek sprouts as well. Being able to walk out your back door and collect a few ingredients to add to your dinner is pretty rad if you ask me.
I have a feeling that from here on out the weigh in’s will start to increase and I could not be more excited.
Yee- Haw. Let’s get farming!
~Mavis
Here is what I have harvested so far this year:
Basil – 2 ounces
First basil harvest of the season. Now I just have to figure out what to do with it.
Beets – 14 ounces
Carrots – 3 ounces
Chives – 5 ounces
Egg Count – 936
Not only are chickens super low maintenance, but they lay magical eggs too. This week our gals left us 80 fresh eggs. We could not eat them all so we gave a few dozen to our German neighbor Hulda as a thank you for helping us re-pot some seedlings in the greenhouse. Bartering with your neighbors is rad!
Lettuce – 10 ounces
Microgreens 5 ounces
Oregano – 1 ounce
Potatoes – 2 pounds 9 ounces
Spinach – 3 ounces
Sprouts –1 pound 2 ounces
We harvested a bunch more sprouts this week, I’ll be posting about those a little later, but if you don’t already grow your own sprouts, they are super simple to grow. Here are instructions for growing your own sprouts.
Swiss Chard 11 ounces
Wheatgrass – 7 ounces
Total Food Harvested in 2013: 7 pounds 8 ounces
Total Eggs Collected in 2013: 936
Little House in the Suburbs: Backyard farming and home skills for self-sufficient living
Desi from Idaho zone 5 says
Wowza, that’s a lot of eggs. More than 10 a day! Bet your neighbors love your chickens eggs. Can’t wait for that total grown to go up, Up, UP!
Mavis says
Desi how many hens do you have?
Desi from Idaho zone 5 says
We started with 8. 1 was a rooster, he now lives at grandpa’s. We lost 1 last month to the neighbor’s dog, our chicken found a hole under the fence. I think we have another one that’s not going to make it. I think she is egg bound and I’ve done the water bath but that doesn’t seem to help her. We have 3 new chicks that are 8 weeks old. 1 is a rooster, I heard him attempt a crow yesterday but couldn’t tell which one it was. He’ll be living at grandpa’s soon too. So right now we have 9 but will probably loose 2, sad face.
Megan says
Mavis, I love how you show us what you harvest each week. Would you ever consider sharing how you also use it in recipes throughout the week?
Mavis says
Yes! o=Today I made a pasta salad that had spinach and chives in it from our garden. I am working on putting something together. 🙂
April Myers says
I absolutely love making a pizza that uses pesto instead of tomato sauce, with grilled eggplant, red onion and mushrooms. Pesto is really easy to make. I hear it’s good on pasta, too.