How to Grow Your Own Food – 7/10/2013 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 past week we harvested just over 29 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables from our backyard garden, bringing our yearly total up to 153+ pounds of homegrown goodness.

I know this will sound weird, but I am actually looking forward to zucchini season this year. We had to plant zucchini seeds 5 times this year because of slugs, but once I discovered the magic powers of Sluggo, it’s been full speed ahead. Our zucchini plants now have flowers and we should expect to see a few squash in about 2 weeks. Yee-Haw! Growing your own food is always an adventure.

Here is what I have harvested so far this year:

Basil – 7 ounces

Our second round of basil is poking through the soil in the greenhouse. I LOVE making fresh pesto.

Beets – 14 ounces

I planted yet another row of beets over the weekend. Looks like roasted beets will be on the menu this fall, that’s for sure.

Bok Choy – 4 oz

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

Broccoli – 13 ounces

Our lone head of spring broccoli. Hopefully it will do better this fall.

Cabbage – 23 pounds 1 ounce

We harvested a few more cabbages yesterday. Yee-Haw. This must mean homemade sauerkraut is on the to-list for later this week. If you’ve never made sauerkraut before, it’s super simple. Here is the recipe I use for sauerkraut.

Carrots – 3 ounces

I’m happy to announce our carrots are FINALLY popping through the soil. Hurry! This is the first time I can remember having to plant them so many times. Note to self: seriously amend the soil asap.

Chives – 14 ounces

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

Egg Count – 1,546

Since we were gone for 9 days the egg count is a little off. We’ve only collected 42 eggs since we’ve been home {the neighbors collected and kept them while we were gone}. I have a fun story to share with you later today about the chickens so be sure and check back.

Kale – 3 pounds 4 ounces

Oh yum! 😉

Kohlrabi 2 pounds 8 ounces

Be on the lookout for a kohlrabi recipe soon!

Lettuce – 34 pounds11 ounces

All of the lettuce was harvested from the pallet garden last night. I forgot to harvest it before we left for our trip so it was a little past it’s prime. Luckily the chickens didn’t mind. 😉

Microgreens 5 ounces

I need to grow some more of these. My favorite way to eat microgreens is with egg salad sandwiches.

Mint 5 oz

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

Oregano – 5 ounce

Onion – 4 oz.

We pulled up our first one!

Peas – 23 pounds 6 ounces

We have been picking fresh shelling peas left and right the last few days. But for some strange reason I’m having a hard time getting them to the dinner table. They are just so stinkin’ delicious!

Potatoes – 6 pounds 9 ounces

We harvested a few baby red potatoes from the square foot garden on Monday and they were delicious!!

Radish – 22 pounds 2 ounces

I won’t plant radishes again until the fall, but they were sure nice when we had them. If you have some radishes and fresh peas on hand, you should try my sugar snap pea and radish salad.

Raspberries – 2 pounds 3 ounces

We have been picking raspberries nightly since we got back. My neighbor Mrs. Hillbilly and her son came by last night and picked a few baskets. I’m looking forward to making a raspberry buckle later today.

Sage – 14 ounces

Stay tuned to see what I’m doing with this!

Spinach – 15 ounces

Sprouts –2 pounds 2 ounces

Here are instructions for growing your own sprouts.

Strawberries 8 pounds 9 ounce

The strawberries are starting to slow down. I’m not worried though, production will pick up again in the fall. So far this summer we made strawberry kiwi jam, strawberry freezer jam, strawberry pie, and homemade strawberry shortcake.

Swiss Chard 4 pounds 5 ounces

Ummm let’s just say, chickens love Swiss chard. 😉

Wheatgrass – 7 ounces

Total Food Harvested in 2013: 153 pounds 8 ounces

Total Eggs Collected in 2013: 1,546

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.