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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This past week I pulled up four more kale plants for the chickens {almost 5 pounds worth}, and harvested a few basil leaves for a pot of soup.

I was letting the chickens out in the backyard to free range and forage for garden scraps, but I quickly noticed they really liked digging in my newly planted raised flowers beds more than the garden.  So for now I’m just letting a few out at a time so I can keep an eye on them.

I’m still working on my garden plans for 2013 and will hopefully have them wrapped up soon and then I’ll be ready to share.  After a month or so off from any major gardening, I’m starting to get excited again about taking on some new projects.

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Here is what I have harvested so far this year:

Apples 6 lbs {how to make applesauce}

Banana Squash 6lb 2 oz

Basil 1 lb 9 oz {how to make pesto}

Beans 21 lbs 3 {green bean salad, how to can green beans, dilly beans}

Beets 58 lb 20z {how to can beets}

Blueberries 4 lb 9 oz {mixed berry pie recipe}

Bok Choy 9 lb 14 oz

Broccoli 11 lb 10 oz {pasta salad with broccoli, carrots, and sun dried tomatoes}

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

Brussels Sprouts 8 oz {Brussels Sprouts with Balsamic Vinegar}

Cabbage 58 lb 4 oz {how to make sauerkraut}

Carrots 117 lbs 6 oz {carrot cake jam recipe}

Cauliflower 7 lbs 3 oz {cauliflower hummus rocks!}

Chives 1lb 3 oz {chalkboard painted herb pots}

Cucumbers 55 lbs 5 oz {cucumber salad}

Anna Swartz Hubbard Squash 184 lbs 1 ounces {Hubbard Squash Pie}

Butternut Squash41lbs 6 oz {Butternut Squash with Spinach and Pasta}

Golden Hubbard Squash 22 lbs 5 oz {Hubbard Squash Soup}

Sweet Meat Squash 15 lbs 1 oz

Kale 16 lb 5 oz {how to make kale chips}

Lettuce 15 lb 11 oz {bbq chicken salad}

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

Onions 41 lbs 11 oz {Kentucky Fried Chicken Cole Slaw}

Oregano 4 lbs 15 oz

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

Peas 38 lb 13 oz {fresh peas and bacon recipe}

Pears 8 lbs 15 oz {how to make pear jam}

Peppers 5 lb 8 oz {Homemade Salsa}

Potatoes 129lb 11 oz {potato soup recipe}

Howden Pumpkins 59 lbs 11 oz

Cinderella Pumpkins 45 lbs 4 oz {roasted pumpkin seeds}

French Pumpkin 13 lbs 4 oz

Jarrahdale Pumpkin 39 pounds 7 oz

Spaghetti Squash 36 lb 10 oz

Sugar Pie Pumpkins 3 lb 10 oz {how to make pumpkin puree}

Misc. Pumpkins 352 lbs 11 oz.

Acorn Squash 12 lb 14 oz {stuffed acorn squash}

Radish 16 lb 6 oz {how I bartered radishes for avocados}

Raspberries 2 lb 10 oz {how to make a raspberry buckle}

Spinach 2lb 7 oz {garlic spinach dip recipe}

Sprouts 10 oz {how to grow sprouts}

Strawberries 18 lbs 9 oz {strawberry basil jam}

Swiss Chard 32 lb 2 oz {rainbow Swiss chard recipe}

Tomatoes 186 lb 11oz {roasted corn salad with tomatoes and feta}

Zucchini 257 lb 11 oz {how to make zucchini relish, zucchini salad, zucchini brownies}

Miscellaneous 50lbs 9 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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Total Food Harvested in 2012: 2028 pounds 9.25 ounces

I have spent a total of $524.20 on seeds, soil, plants and supplies for this year.