This year my goal is to grow 2,000 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables. I think I can do it. With 16 raised garden beds, a greenhouse, a raspberry patch and a few more planting beds sprinkled throughout our property, I believe growing 2,000 pounds of food is an attainable goal. Even if I do live right in the middle of high maintenance suburbia, and my neighbors think I’m nuts. ~Mavis
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Cue the music… We are finally passed the kale, chard and lettuce stage. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still picking all of those things, but this past week we picked our first crop {albeit small} of sugar snap peas and strawberries. It shouldn’t be to much longer until we can transition from sampling little bites from the gardening to harvesting bucket loads and scrambling to figure out what the heck to do with it all. I can’t wait!
Summer is on the horizon, and it makes me feel like singing. Although I won’t.
But I will say this, if you still have not planted your garden seeds yet this year, you still have time. So get out there and plant some beans, cucumbers, zucchini, or whatever tickles your fancy. Because growing your own food is super cool.
Here is what I have harvested so far:
Basil 1 lb 1 oz
Broccoli Rabb 1lb 6 oz
Chives 8 oz
Kale 11 oz
Lettuce 7 lb 8 oz
Butter Crunch 12 oz
Mixed Greens 4 lb 2 oz
Romaine 2 lb 10 oz
Mint 1 oz
Onions 6 oz
Green Onions 3 oz
Oregano 3 oz
Mushrooms 9.25 oz
Shiitake 9.25 oz
Go HERE to read more about how I grew mushrooms.
Peas 2 oz
Sugar Snap Peas 2 oz
Radish 11 lbs
Easter Egg Radish 2 lb 3 oz
Crimson Radish 1 lb 5 oz
French Breakfast 7 lb 8 oz
Spinach 14 oz
Sprouts 10 oz
Strawberries 6 oz
Sprouts 10 oz
Mung Bean Sprouts 7 oz
Sandwich Sprouts 3 oz
Swiss Chard 20 lb 5 oz
Total Food Harvested in 2012: 46 lbs 15.25 oz
I have spent a total of $$473.47 on seeds, soil, plants and supplies for this year.
Thinking about growing a garden this summer but don’t have a lot of room? Check out Sugar Snaps and Strawberries: Simple Solutions for Creating Your Own Small-Space Edible Garden. It’s the perfect book if you don’t have a lot of growing space to work with, and Amazon currently has it in stock.
Challice says
That is just. Wow. We are thinning our carrots right now and enjoying the baby carrots we get from that. 😉
Was able to eat 2 Zucchini, have blossoms on one plant and 3 more plants coming up since the heat killed my other 3. 🙁 They look healthier this time so maybe it wasnt JUST the heat.
Basil- what are you going to do with all that basil? Got any idears for Parsley? I am up to my neck in parsely… my cilantro died though (yeah, the herb I use the most, of course)
WE got 3 green beans! Was so ecstatic about that… hopin’ to get more.
TEmp is running 120F here… praying that the harvest will survive in spite of it. Lots of water and TLC. 😉
Mavis says
120? Holy Cow.
Do you like hummus? You can use parsley in hummus. 😉
alliegator says
I just picked a small bowl full of strawberries (our strawberry bed was damaged in a really bad wind storm over the winter, so I’m happy to be getting any!), a half gallon bucket of peas, and 2 eggs (our chickens all seem to be broody!).
we’re going to just eat most everything this afternoon for snacking, but I’m going to save some peas for dinner (I’m going to pick garlic scapes tonight too!) and some for a pasta/feta salad tomorrow.
I love this time of year!
Mavis says
I love this time of year too! 🙂
Lisa says
Just wondering how much your water bill has increased with having to water all the crops?
Mavis says
One of the benefits of living in Western Washington is that it rains all of the time. I think I have only had to water my garden about 3 or 4 times so far this year. 🙂
Michelle says
I decided early in the spring I wasn’t planting anything that wasn’t in a pot. My mother in law has nearly 1/3 of an acre and she put a small garden so I gave her most of my seeds. Then I got planters remorse. I planted some zucchini, baby water melon and pumpkins in my small patch yesterday. I wish I hadn’t waited so long I could have planted my rainbow carrots too. Now I have to wait till fall.
Lisa says
I’m envious of those of you who have already harvested from your gardens. Here in CT, I’ve only been able to pick lettuce and basil. I do have some itty bitty strawberries coming in but I would’ve thought the sugar snap peas and broccoli would have started to fruit by now. I guess I’m just impatient! 🙂 I just ordered some radish, carrot, and spinach seeds and although it’s late in the season for those, I’m hoping I’ll get some yield. I’ll probably plant more of those seeds at the end of the summer for an early fall harvest too.