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 week we harvested a boatload of radishes, 6 heads of lettuce, peas, strawberries, chives, indoor sprouts and collected 74 eggs. 26+ pounds of veggies plus eggs! Holy cow things are starting to look up.
Because we had house guests, the Mother Earth News Fair and several garden tours, I didn’t get much done in the garden this past week. But, the weather is suppose to be awesome all week {in the 70’s} so I’ll be out there attempting to get a tan and planting some seeds.
The pumpkins and winter squash need to get planted as well as another round of beets, beans and lettuce.
The fun never stops!
~Mavis
Here is what I have harvested so far this year:
Basil – 7 ounces
We started more basil seeds in the greenhouse gutters last week and I can’t wait. I LOVE making fresh pesto.
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 – 10 ounces
Egg Count – 1,317
We collected 74 eggs this past week. Coo-Coo and Piggey are still sitting on eggs, waiting for babies to hatch. They are seriously missing out on some good veggie scraps!
Lettuce – 12 pounds 4 ounces
This past week we harvested 6 heads of endive and tonight I am planning on harvesting the rest of the freckles romaine for a salad. The wood pallet garden is going to look a little depressing for awhile until we can get some more stuff planted and germinating.
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
Peas – 7 ounces
Sometimes it’s really, really hard to get a basket of sugar snap peas in to the house. The Girl and I picked a bunch last night and immediately weighed them. What you see is what made it to the back door after snacking on them for a few minutes.
To me, fresh peas and strawberries, feel like the beginning of summer.
Potatoes – 2 pounds 9 ounces
Radish – 21 pound5 13 ounces
We have just enough radishes left for a salad and then they’ll all be gone! Eeeek! I totally forgot to plant more. Now I’ll have to add that to the list.
Spinach – 3 ounces
Sprouts –1 pound11 ounces
Here are instructions for growing your own sprouts.
Strawberries 9 ounces
Swiss Chard 12 ounces
Wheatgrass – 7 ounces
Total Food Harvested in 2013: 54 pounds 14 ounces
Total Eggs Collected in 2013: 1,317
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.
Carlie says
I always look forward to your posts filling up my inbox every day. But I saw that you had some strawberries already.. your count is in real-time right? If my strawberry plants haven’t produced fruit yet, are they doomed? I hope not, but eve if there is no fruit, they were pretty anyways!
Mavis says
Real time, yes. 🙂 My berries are the tri-star variety and the ones I’m picking are in the greenhouse. There are different types of strawberries and I’m sure yours will be fine. Hang in there. 🙂