{Summer 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
We didn’t harvest a stinkin’ thing last week. Boooooo.
Something I definitely want to work on this fall is planting a winter garden. One that will get us through the winter months, and will give me a reason to putter around outside in the garden when the days are short {and boring}.
As long as we don’t have a harsh winter {which is rare for the Seattle/Tacoma area} I should be able to grow a steady supply of root vegetables and kale in the garden boxes and lettuce in the greenhouse.
We’ll see.
Here is what I have harvested so far this year:
Beets - 14 ounces
We missed these during our fall harvest, but luckily the chickens found them for us.
Carrots – 3 ounces
Egg Count – 173 {3.5 per day average}
The chickens have finally started to lay again! We are now getting a steady supply of 7 eggs a day, but twice last week we found 8, and on one lucky day we found 9 eggs in the nesting boxes. Unbelievable.
The longer days are putting the hens in the mood to lay and we are loving it!
Lettuce – 6 ounces
The microgreens are almost ready to harvest, so I predict another salad will be on the menu later this week.
Potatoes – 2 pounds 9 ounces
We found these beauties in the garden and made potato soup.
Sprouts - 8 ounces -
Sprouts are great in stir fry and sandwiches.
Wheatgrass - 7 ounces
Total Food Harvested in 2013: 4 pounds 15 ounces
Total Eggs Collected in 2013: 173
Do YOU have chickens? Did they take the winter off from laying eggs? Are they back in action yet?
~Mavis
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Hope you do plant over the winter. Broccoli and cabbages are still being harvested out of the garden now. Some of those cabbages would up your weight goals.
I’m in Seattle, and problem with winter gardening in our area is the lack of daylight. Plants won’t grow with less than 10 hours of daylight they will just sit there. We hit the 10 hour limit in the middle of November and break out in the middle of February. So your winter garden needs to grow in August, September and October. I harvested broccoli from my garden yesterday.