How to Grow Your Own Food – 7/31/2013 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

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This was a slow week for us with only 26 1/2 pounds of vegetables to harvest and 55 eggs to collect. Is it me, or does it seem like the days are getting shorter? What’s up with that anyway?

Before we leave on our road trip next week I’ll need to harvest more beans, potatoes, strawberries, raspberries, greens, zucchini, tomatoes, and if I’m lucky, a cucumber or two. We’ll see.

I hope you garden is growing well for you this summer,

~Mavis

Here is what I have harvested so far this year:

Basil – 10 ounces

I LOVE making fresh pesto.

Beets – 7 pounds 15 ounces

We harvested a huge batch of beets and roasted them. I need to get out there and pull up some more!

Bok Choy – 4 oz

Check out this Asian Noodle Salad with Bok Choy I made. It’s pretty awesome.

Broccoli – 13 ounces

I’m planting more in my fall garden. We’ll see if it does better.

Cabbage – 40 pounds 14 ounce

We are done harvesting cabbage until fall. There are more heads planted alongside the greenhouse and I started more cabbage seeds for a winter harvest so we should be cook for a while.Here is my recipe for homemade sauerkraut.

Carrots – 3 ounces

After having to plant our carrot seeds 5 times this year, we finally have a bed full of green tops.

Chives – 1 pound 1 ounce

We are picking about an ounce a week to use in recipes.

Egg Count – 1,663

Well it was another slacker week for the chickens. Some have gone broody and others would rather spend their time taking dirt baths than lay eggs. Still, 55 eggs from 12 hens isn’t that bad for this time of year.

Garlic 9 pounds 2 ounces

Our garlic has been harvested for this year. If you’ve yet to harvest yours, I have a quick post on How to Harvest Garlic.

Garlic Scapes 11 ounces

We used these to make Garlic Scape Pesto. Yumm!

Green Beans 4 pounds 12 ounces

Green beans are pretty much on the menu every night now. Although sometimes the kids just eat them raw right out of the garden. Do your kids do this too? Everything tastes so much better when it’s grown at home.

Kale – 10 pounds 15 ounces

I still have not changed my mind about kale. 😉 The chickens love it and I’m happy to grow it for them because it’s so stinkin’ pretty and that’s where the love story ends.

Kohlrabi 5 pounds 10 ounces

Lettuce – 34 pounds 15 ounces

I’ll be planting more lettuce seeds in a few weeks, so for now we have just a wee bit growing in one of the tomato beds that we clip every once in a while.

Microgreens 5 ounces

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

Mint 6 oz

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

Oregano – 11 ounces

Onion – 3 pounds 13 ounces

We pick onions as we need them. In hindsight I wish I would have planted more.

Peas – 42 pounds 9 ounces

Pea picking is over until this fall. 🙁

Potatoes – 15 pounds 12 ounces

The other day I noticed a bunch of potato leaves had turned yellow and fallen over. I guess that means it’s time to go dig some up. I’ll keep you posted on how many we collect.

Radish – 22 pounds 2 ounces

Raspberries – 21 pounds 7 ounces

We are still picking raspberries like crazy. If you’re looking for something a little different to make with yours, try this Qunioa with Raspberries and Oranges Salad. It’s delish!

Rhubarb – 19 pounds 5 ounces

Holy cow man! I keep forgetting to punch in my rhubarb totals for this year. So far we have collected over 19 pounds of the stuff!. We froze a few gallon bags of rhubarb, made rhubarb vanilla jam, rhubarb walnut muffins, and strawberry rhubarb pies. And the thing is, there is still more to pick!

Sage – 14 ounces

Spinach – 15 ounces

Sprouts –2 pounds 6 ounces

Here are instructions for growing your own sprouts.

Strawberries 10 pounds 15 ounce

The strawberries are starting to come back. So far this summer we made strawberry kiwi jam, strawberry freezer jam, strawberry pie, and homemade strawberry shortcake.

Swiss Chard 11 pounds 3 ounces

Chickens love it! 🙂

Tomatoes 2 pounds 10 ounces

Sun Gold tomatoes are the favorite around here, but now that they are finally starting to trickle in, we’ll take whatever we can get.

Wheatgrass – 7 ounces

Zucchini – 2 pounds 10 ounces

It’s about time! I feel like I’m the last person on the planet to have zucchini this year.

Total Food Harvested in 2013: 271 pounds 14 ounces

Total Eggs Collected in 2013: 1,663

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.