{June 2012}
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
See that picture above? The photo was take on June 28th, 2012 on one of our backyard garden tours. It’s hard to believe that my garden will look like that in about 3 months. Holy cow. Growing your own food is awesome, isn’t it?
Although we spent a lot of time in the garden this past week, the only thing I harvested was a handful of chives and some sprouts. So far we have lettuce, broccoli, broccoli raab, cabbage, carrots, radishes and garlic in the ground. Strawberries, spinach and more lettuce is growing in the greenhouse gutters as well.
If you have not planted yours yet and you’d like to know how, you can find directions in the Growing Guides section on the blog.
I’m not sure what the weather is like in your neck of the woods, but as soon as you can break ground and plant something, Go For It!
~Mavis
Here is what I have harvested so far this year:
Beets – 14 ounces
{Last summers giant carrot harvest donated to the Tacoma Mission}
Carrots – 3 ounces
Chives – 1 ounce
Egg Count – 481 {5.6 eggs per day average}
This week we collected a whopping 79 eggs. OH MY WORD! We shared with Girly Girl and Mrs. Hillbilly and ate a lot of scrambled eggs this past week. I appears all the hens that are capable of laying eggs are laying now.
If you are wondering what we do with the hens that don’t lay very often {Black Fatty is one of them} we keep them of course. Just because they can’t lay, doesn’t mean we ship them off. Chickens are cool pets, and growing your own eggs is pretty awesome too.
Lettuce – 6 ounces
Microgreens 5 ounces
Potatoes – 2 pounds 9 ounces
Sprouts – 8 ounces
Swiss Chard 11 ounces
Wheatgrass – 7 ounces
Total Food Harvested in 2013: 6 pounds 3 ounces
Total Eggs Collected in 2013: 481
Get out there and grow!
~Mavis
Need some seeds? Botanical Interests is offering FREE SHIPPING on orders over $50 right now.
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Danielle says
Mavis,
I’m so touched by your generosity and willingness to give to St. Jude’s. That hospital has always held a special place in my heart and I aspire to become a play therapist there one day. My friends and I are actually planning on taking a ceramics class where we can make a gnome. We plan to send them all to you no matter how bad they look lol!
Mavis says
Awwww that is awesome! 🙂 So cool. Thank you so much! I hope you get to be a therapist there someday too. 🙂
Kathy says
Hi Mavis,
Based on your recommendation, I purchased quite a few seeds from Botanical Interests. Do you plan on doing a blogpost about either of these:
Squash Summer Baby Round Zucchini
Squash Winter Waltham Butternut Squash
I do mostly container gardening as I have limited space and sun. Wondering if I should give these seeds to a friend who has more room. If you have grown these, I’d love your input.
Thanks!
Mavis says
Yes I plan on doing a post. Here in the Seattle/Tacoma area zucchini isn’t typically directly sowed until around May 15th. I usually plant pumpkins and winter squash on June. I have grown both the seeds you purchased and they are both very strong and prolific growers. You will be able to plant the baby round zuchini in a container, but I would plant the butternut in the ground. I hope that helps. 🙂
Sandy says
I just went to the store looking for chives…they didn’t have any fresh so I looked at the dried. Sticker Shock! Anywhere between 5 and 9 dollars for freeze dried chives!
Mavis says
Holy canolies!
Halle G says
I’m so glad I have discovered your blog! My container garden has grown to one raised bed along side our deck and a 6×7 plot beside our shed…plus containers. I am totally addicted to homegrown produce so following your journey is going to be really fun!
Mavis says
WAhoooo! Congratulations Halle keep on diggin’. 🙂