How to Grow Your Own Food – Weigh In Wednesday

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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 Bartering was the name of the game this week.  We was able to harvest more carrots, beets, peas and a ton of potatoes.  Well, not quite a ton, but definitely more than we could eat.  The zucchini has also started to roll in, and we are finally able to enjoy fresh raspberries on a daily basis now.

I’m hoping for a few cucumbers next week as well as some tiny green beans {fingers crossed}.

Here is what I have harvested so far:

Basil 1 lb 1 oz {how to make pesto}

Beets 46 lb 90z {how to can beets}

Blueberries 11 oz {mixed berry pie recipe}

Broccoli 4lb 14 oz {pasta salad with broccoli, carrots, and sun dried tomatoes}

Broccoli Rabb 1lb 6 oz {chickpeas with broccoli raab and bacon}

Cabbage 25lb 7 oz {how to make sauerkraut}

Carrots 98 lbs 0 oz {carrot cake recipe}

Cauliflower 2lbs 3 oz {cauliflower hummus rocks!}

Chives 1lb  {chalkboard painted herb pots}

Kale 1 lb 4 oz {how to make kale chips}

Lettuce 14 lb 6 oz {bbq chicken salad}

Mint 4 lbs 12 oz {Fresh Pea Salad with Spinach, Feta and Mint}

Onions 5 lbs 9 oz {Kentucky Fried Chicken Cole Slaw}

Oregano 4 lbs 15 oz

Mushrooms 9.25 oz {read more about how I grew mushrooms}

Peas 38 lb13 oz {fresh peas and bacon recipe}

Peppers 7 oz

Potatoes 37lb 0 oz {potato soup recipe}

Radish 15lb  12 oz {how I bartered radishes for avocados}

Raspberries  1 lb 15 oz {how to make a raspberry buckle}

Spinach 2lb 5 oz {garlic spinach dip recipe}

Sprouts 10 oz {how to grow sprouts}

Strawberries 6lb 6 oz {dehydrated strawberries are awesome}

Swiss Chard 24 lb 5 oz {rainbow Swiss chard recipe}

Tomatoes 3 oz {roasted corn salad with tomatoes and feta}

Zucchini 4 lb 9 oz {how to make zucchini relish}

Miscellaneous 8lb 2 oz {This means we let someone come and pick vegetables, or did not get a chance to weigh them individually, and this was the total weight of all the vegetables combined}

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So that’s what I’ve grown so far this year… How about YOU?

How is YOUR garden doing?

Total Food Harvested in 2012: 366 lbs 4.25 oz

I have spent a total of $496.58 on seeds, soil, plants and supplies for this year.

 Looking for a vegetable steamer? Amazon currently has the Hamilton Beach Digital Steamer on sale for $29.88 shipped and it has great reviews.