How to Grow Your Own Food – 9/18/2013 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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It’s been two weeks since I last updated this garden tally and let me tell you Bob, I’ve been busy. If I’m not in the kitchen whipping up another batch of heirloom tomato sauce, then I’m working in the garden harvesting vegetables for planting seeds for my fall garden. It’s a bust time of year and with the kids back in school you’d think I would have more time to get stuff done around here, but not so. There’s so much to do it’s crazy.

~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, I need to get some more seeds planted so we can enjoy fresh basil all winter long.

Beets – 106 pounds 0 ounces

We’ve been pulling up beets lately. There are still a lot left to harvest and I’ve been planting them in intervals so we should have plenty this winter.

Bok Choy – 6 oz

It’s time to harvest the Bok Choy we have growing in the pallet garden. Maybe today?

Broccoli – 13 ounces

The fall broccoli we planted is looking healthy. The slugs have not discovered it yet so I am hopeful.

Cabbage – 40 pounds 14 ounce

We are patiently waiting to harvest our fall cabbage!

Carrots – 17 pounds 10 ounces

Last night we harvest over 12 pounds of carrots. Carrots are one of Lucy’s favorite vegetables so we had to set some aside in the fridge just for her. Luckily she she hasn’t figured out how to dig them up yet, but when she does, we’ll be in trouble.

Chives – 1 pound 15 ounces

We cut fresh chives as we need them.

Cucumbers 8 pound 11 ounces

We’ve been picking cucumbers and slicing them up for lunch snacks {is that weird?} and in salads. I suspect we will have to pull up all the cucumber plants in the next 2 weeks though as the cooler temperatures set it.

Egg Count – 1,967

We collected 82 eggs over the past 2 weeks. The count seems a little to low to me so I’m not sure of someone collected eggs while I was in California last week and forgot to write it down or what. Oh well, as long as we have enough to eat, I’m happy.

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 15 pounds 11 ounces

We’ve been harvesting green beans from the tepee poles lately. Yumm a licious!

Kale – 25 pounds 7 ounces

Feeding it to the chickens every chance I get.

Kohlrabi 5 pounds 10 ounces

Lettuce – 36 pounds 13 ounces

We harvested a wee bit last week, and since we received all that iceberg lettuce from Mr. Produce Guy the other day I think we’ll hold off harvesting anymore until next week. Maybe I should get some bunnies? Hmm.

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

Last night I decided to pull up a bunch of onions. These ones didn’t get as big as the others so I thought I would go ahead and harvest them before it gets to cold and they rot.

And in case you didn’t know, all the cool people are storing onions in their pantyhose these days.

Pears 47 pounds 7 ounces

We had a bumper crop this year. Vanilla Pear Jam is awesome.

Peas – 42 pounds 9 ounces

We’ve got peas growing in the greenhouse and in a garden box. I wonder which set will be ready to harvest first?

Potatoes – 252 pounds 5 ounces

We have so many potatoes that we’ve decided to donate our extras to the food bank. Potatoes are super easy to grow, but next year, I don’t think I’ll plant so many. 😉

How to Harvest and Store Potatoes for Winter.

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 12 pounds 12 ounces

Last week we harvested a delicata squash, this week 2 acorn squash and another delicata squash. Pumpkins are next!

Spinach – 15 ounces

I planted more in the greenhouse last week 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 29 pounds 15 ounces

Chickens LOVE chard. 😉

Tomatoes 186 pounds 9 ounces

Over the last 2 weeks we have harvested over 41 pounds of tomatoes. When it rains, it pours right?

Wheatgrass – 7 ounces

Zucchini – 36 pounds 4 ounces

We haven’t had as many zucchini this year as we would have liked but oh well, there’s always next year, right?

Total Food Harvested in 2013: 967 pounds 15 ounces

Total Eggs Collected in 2013: 1,967

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.