Can you believe it’s fall already?
So far this year I have grown 1168 pounds of fruits and vegetables in my backyard, and holy cow man, it feels good. Learning how to be a little more self-sufficient each day, pretty much rocks in my book. I always thought you had to live in the woods, or on a big farm to do this sort of thing, but nope. If I can do it, YOU can do it. Right here in suburbia, one garden bed at a time.
The feeling of being able to walk out your back door and dig for your dinner is exhilarating, and I’m glad I’ve been bit with the garden bug.
With the cooler air, the warm weather vegetables are fading away and the fall vegetables like kale, Brussels Sprouts, Swiss chard and cabbage are thriving. Pretty soon we will be eating stir fry every night just to keep up, and I’m excited to see what our backyard will be able to produce over the next few months.
But for now, here are a few pictures of what’s happening in our backyard.
16 raised 8’x4′ garden beds and a newly planted strawberry plot to the left.
Potatoes in the oak barrel, squash, tomatoes and bush beans along the fence.
Fall superstars: red cabbage, Brussels sprouts, kale and cauliflower.
Fall potato patch.
Rear view of the raised garden beds.
Heirloom tomatoes trying to ripen.
The greenhouse is currently filled with tomatoes, peas, Swiss chard, strawberries, spinach, cucumbers and lettuce.
My daughters pumpkin patch. You can’t really tell from the photo but there are at least 20 pumpkins under those vines, and some of them are HUGE.
Bottom line… Growing your own food, is cool. And anyone can do it. Even YOU.
Peace Out Girl Scouts,
♥ Mavis
If I could only have one gardening book on my bookshelf this would be the one. The Gardener’s A-Z Guide to Growing Organic Food
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Sarah says
Mavis,
I have been following you for awhile as I am trying to be self-sufficient in a duplex with VERY LITTLE outdoor space that gets minimal sun. I LOVE your garden and have been curious- how much property are you working with for your gardens?
I need to buy some land and GET MOVING on my gardens. This small space I have has been fun but I am ready to go bigger and stop buying so much of my food.
Thanks and keep up the great website! It’s fun to follow along. 🙂
Mavis says
We have 16 raised garden beds, a greenhouse, and a few random patches of garden space. 😉
Random Person Named Melissa says
I saw something on youtube that was intresting… not as classy as a oak barrel but looks like it works great.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeH9uqqG-oU&list=PLy8L53WO7Obf22jQJOtVer9WC-xJFOXws&index=1&feature=plpp_video
My city is standardizing garbage pick up with these cans that have some sort of bar that the truck picks up instead of the garbage men. Anyways long story short I don’t have any use for the old cans… well before I found this. I was thinking of trying it but well…. I’m an expert procrastinator.
Anyways thought you might find it intresting… the lady got a nice amount of potatoes out of it.
Megan says
Hey Mavis, quick question….is that mulch all around your garden beds? It looks so nice and tidy….I have raised beds and can figure out how to keep the weeds from growning inbetween the beds….and I refuse to weed ground that hosts no produce! I’ve tried mulch, landscaping cloth, newspapers, etc. I just wanted to know how you are keeping it so tidy in there!
Mavis says
I put down landscape fabric 3? summers ago before we put down the mulch. There are very few weeds. I maybe pull up 1 or two weeks every day as I walk by them.
Julie says
Another question here. What is that surface on the floor of your greenhouse?
Mavis says
Some sort of breathable mesh fabric the greenhouse guy put down. I sweep it once or twice a month.
Erin says
I agree your garden is so clean. How do you control the weeds/grass in your garden? I have major issues with grass. And like Megan above have tried various combinations of newspaper, cardboard, carpet, landscaping cloth, mulch, plastic, you name it, and I cannot control the grass. I am now thinking of making mine all raised beds and I will just mow the grass in between.
olemike says
Great pictures. You are an inspiration to all would be gardeners.
Mavis says
Thank you. 🙂
Christey says
Hi Mavis, love your blog. Just curious your yard looks HUGE to me, do you know the dimensions? To me it looks like it’s like 500′ wide =) We currently have 3 beds, one of which needs to be moved b/c not enough sun but you are inspiring me to go out and build some more for next spring!!! We also got chickens this spring and have the Eglu Cube as well, I think saw you have one . The chicks are 25 weeks old so we are not so patiently WAITING for our first egg – any day now would be super nice!!!!