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

*******

This week we harvested a boatload of radishes, 6 heads of lettuce, peas, strawberries, chives, indoor sprouts and collected 74 eggs.  26+ pounds of veggies plus eggs! Holy cow things are starting to look up.

Because we had house guests, the Mother Earth News Fair and several garden tours, I didn’t get much done in the garden this past week. But, the weather is suppose to be awesome all week {in the 70′s} so I’ll be out there attempting to get a tan and planting some seeds.

The pumpkins and winter squash need to get planted as well as another round of beets, beans  and lettuce.

The fun never stops!

~Mavis

Here is what I have harvested so far this year:

Basil – 7 ounces

We started more basil seeds in the greenhouse gutters last week and I can’t wait. I LOVE making fresh pesto.

Beets - 14 ounces

Bok Choy – 4 oz

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

Carrots – 3 ounces

Chives – 10 ounces

Egg Count – 1,317

We collected  74 eggs this past week. Coo-Coo and Piggey are still sitting on eggs, waiting for babies to hatch. They are seriously missing out on some good veggie scraps!

Lettuce – 12 pounds 4 ounces

This past week we harvested 6 heads of endive and tonight I am planning on harvesting the rest of the freckles romaine for a salad. The wood pallet garden is going to look a little depressing for awhile until we can get some more stuff planted and germinating.

Microgreens 5 ounces

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

Oregano - 2 ounce

Peas – 7 ounces

Sometimes it’s really, really hard to get a basket of sugar snap peas in to the house. The Girl and I picked a bunch last night and immediately weighed them. What you see is what made it to the back door after snacking on them for a few minutes.

To me, fresh peas and strawberries, feel like the beginning of summer.

Potatoes – 2 pounds 9 ounces

Radish - 21 pound5 13 ounces

We have just enough radishes left for a salad and then they’ll all be gone! Eeeek! I totally forgot to plant more. Now I’ll have to add that to the list.

Spinach – 3 ounces

Sprouts -1 pound11 ounces

Here are instructions for growing your own sprouts.

Strawberries 9 ounces

Swiss Chard 12 ounces

Wheatgrass - 7 ounces

Total Food Harvested in 2013: 54 pounds 14 ounces

Total Eggs Collected in 2013: 1,317

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.

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

*******

So far so good! As of today we have harvested just over 28 pounds of fresh, wholesome produce from our backyard garden. We still have a long way to get to 2 tons of food by the end of the year, but I’m pretty stinkin’ excited. Sure, it could be the fumes from the compost pile, but hey, whatever keeps me going, right?

This week we harvested quite a few radishes, some basil and chives. The Handsome Husband found a whole sack of potatoes I forgot to plant when he cleaned out the garage this weekend. I’m thinking about harvesting some new potatoes and re-planting the area with the seed potatoes. What do you think? Is it to late to plant taters?

~Mavis

Here is what I have harvested so far this year:

Basil – 7 ounces

We made another batch of pesto the other night and it was delicious. I’ll be posting the recipe soon. Did you know you can also make pesto with spinach? How cool is that?

Beets - 14 ounces

Bok Choy – 4 oz

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

Carrots – 3 ounces

Chives – 9 ounces

Egg Count – 1,243

We collected  72 eggs this past week. The count was a little lower than we are used to and I’m wondering if it has something to do with the weather. It’s basically been raining off and on for the past week and a half. Do chickens get seasonal depression? Hmmm.

Lettuce – 6 pounds 8 ounces

I need to get out there and harvest the rest of the salad. I’m having house guests this weekend… Guess what’s on the dinner menu?

Microgreens 5 ounces

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

Oregano - 2 ounce

Potatoes – 2 pounds 9 ounces

Radish - 12 pound 13 ounces

My neighbor and her family came by yesterday to pull weeds and help harvest radishes. She took a few of them home and now I have a boatload of them sitting on my kitchen counter trying to figure out what the heck I am going to do with them.

Spinach – 3 ounces

Sprouts -1 pound 2 ounces

Here are instructions for growing your own sprouts.

Swiss Chard 12 ounces

Wheatgrass - 7 ounces

Total Food Harvested in 2013: 28 pounds 6 ounces

Total Eggs Collected in 2013: 1,243

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.

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

*******

This past week we were able to harvest a little over 5 pounds of radishes, 4 pounds of lettuce, a wee bit of bok choy and some chives. Oh and eggs, let’s not forget about those.

It’s starting to get a little exciting around here with the summer planting almost done and the garden boxes filling up with shades of green. It won’t be too long before I’ll be hauling in buckets of peas and zucchini’s.

I don’t know about you, but I’m excited!

~Mavis

Here is what I have harvested so far this year:

Basil – 4 ounces

Beets - 14 ounces

Bok Choy – 4 oz

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

Carrots – 3 ounces

Chives – 8 ounces

Egg Count – 1,171

We collected  80 eggs this past week. Do you have chickens? Do you have a fancy container to collect your eggs? We just seem to use whatever is handy. A box, a basket, a planting tray, sweatshirt pockets, whatever. Sometimes I think we need to have a designated container or something.

Lettuce – 6 pounds 8 ounces

We basically had a salad every day last week. Homegrown lettuce has a totally different taste to it. Growing your own food is kind of weird that way. You learn what real food is suppose to taste like.

Microgreens 5 ounces

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

Oregano - 2 ounce

Potatoes – 2 pounds 9 ounces

Radish - 6 pound 4 ounces

My favorite radish of all time is the French breakfast radish. The taste is very mild and they are fun to look at.

Spinach – 3 ounces

Sprouts -1 pound 2 ounces

Here are instructions for growing your own sprouts.

Swiss Chard 11 ounces

Wheatgrass - 7 ounces

Total Food Harvested in 2013: 20 pounds 4 ounces

Total Eggs Collected in 2013: 1,171

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.

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

*******

Lettuce and radishes were the super stars in the garden this week. We harvested  1 pound 7 ounces of lettuce for the pasta feed we hosted over the weekend, as well as another 9 ounces of radishes. We munched on our radishes and also used them in a delicious asparagus salad I’ll be posting a little later today.  Things are really starting to look up in the backyard garden these days and I’m loving it.

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention the herbs. We snipped chives, basil and oregano from the garden this week too. Wahoo!

~Mavis

Here is what I have harvested so far this year:

Basil – 4 ounces

Beets - 14 ounces

Carrots – 3 ounces

Chives – 7 ounces

If you have never grown chives before, you should. They are seriously super easy to grow from seed.

Egg Count – 1,091

We collected  78 eggs this past week. Piggey, Awkward Martha and Squirrely are all still broody. Either that or they’ve decided the nesting boxes are their new clubhouse. I’m not sure which at this point. All I know is they puff up like turkeys when we try to steal their eggs then cluck loudly so everyone knows we are a bunch of egg thieves.

What a bunch of characters!

Lettuce – 2 pounds 5 ounces

Microgreens 5 ounces

Oregano - 2 ounce

Potatoes – 2 pounds 9 ounces

Radish - 1 pound 2 ounces

My favorite radish of all time is the French breakfast radish. The taste is very mild and they are fun to look at.

Spinach – 3 ounces

Sprouts -1 pound 2 ounces

Here are instructions for growing your own sprouts.

Swiss Chard 11 ounces

Wheatgrass - 7 ounces

Total Food Harvested in 2013: 10 pounds 13 ounces
Total Eggs Collected in 2013: 1,091

Botanical Interests is offering $5 off any orders over $25 {discount automatically applied at checkout} now through May 31st. I recently purchased their new seed sprouter and I’m loving it!

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

*******

Thanks to the food we have growing in the greenhouse gutters, we were able to harvest a few handfuls of romaine lettuce this past week.  I’ll post some more greenhouse pictures in a little while so you can see everything that’s growing in there.

The mesclun lettuce needs to be harvested {it grows back} so I think I’ll make a big salad for dinner tonight.

We also harvested a few French breakfast radishes {my favorite} plus some basil and chives as well. From now until the end of October we should be able to enjoy our own homegrown veggies and I couldn’t be more excited. Growing your own food is cool!

Now, if I could just figure out how to grow cinnamon gummy bears, I’d be all set.

~Mavis

Here is what I have harvested so far this year:

Basil – 2 ounces

Beets - 14 ounces

Carrots – 3 ounces

Chives – 6 ounces

Egg Count – 1,013

There were only 77 eggs this past week. I’m not sure why the hens slacked off, but there are still plenty of eggs for breakfast and baking and plenty extra to give to neighbors so I’m not complaining.

Maybe it had something to do with the heat?

Lettuce – 14 ounces

Microgreens 5 ounces

Oregano - 1 ounce

Potatoes – 2 pounds 9 ounces

Radish - 9 ounces

My neighbor Hudla and I both picked a few radishes.

Spinach – 3 ounces

Sprouts -1 pound 2 ounces

We harvested a bunch more sprouts this week, I’ll be posting about those a little later, but if you don’t already grow your own sprouts, they are super simple to grow. Here are instructions for growing your own sprouts.

Swiss Chard 11 ounces

Wheatgrass - 7 ounces

Total Food Harvested in 2013: 8 pounds 7 ounces
Total Eggs Collected in 2013: 1,013

Little House in the Suburbs: Backyard farming and home skills for self-sufficient living

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

*******

What a great time to be a backyard gardener! This past week we collected 80 eggs, fresh spinach, fresh basil, fresh chives and also grew some fenugreek sprouts as well. Being able to walk out your back door and collect a few ingredients to add to your dinner is pretty rad if you ask me.

I have a feeling that from here on out the weigh in’s will start to increase and I could not be more excited.

Yee- Haw. Let’s get farming!

~Mavis

Here is what I have harvested so far this year:

Basil – 2 ounces

First basil harvest of the season. Now I just have to figure out what to do with it.

Beets - 14 ounces

Carrots – 3 ounces

Chives – 5 ounces

Egg Count – 936

Not only are chickens super low maintenance, but they lay magical eggs too. This week our gals left us 80 fresh eggs. We could not eat them all so we gave a few dozen to our German neighbor Hulda as a thank you for helping us re-pot some seedlings in the greenhouse. Bartering with your neighbors is rad!

Lettuce – 10 ounces

Microgreens 5 ounces

Oregano - 1 ounce

Potatoes – 2 pounds 9 ounces

Spinach – 3 ounces

Sprouts -1 pound 2 ounces

We harvested a bunch more sprouts this week, I’ll be posting about those a little later, but if you don’t already grow your own sprouts, they are super simple to grow. Here are instructions for growing your own sprouts.

Swiss Chard 11 ounces

Wheatgrass - 7 ounces

Total Food Harvested in 2013: 7 pounds 8 ounces
Total Eggs Collected in 2013: 936

Little House in the Suburbs: Backyard farming and home skills for self-sufficient living

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

*******

Guess who harvested romaine lettuce last night? We had homemade lasagna and mini Cesar salads and it was awesome! Could I have waited a little longer to harvest the lettuce? But of course darrrrling,  but I just couldn’t wait. Nope.

I also harvested a wee bit of oregano from the container herb garden, sampled some spinach and brought in a boatload of eggs this week too.

But that isn’t the coolest part.

Are you ready for a story?

Last night I called my neighbor. I asked to speak to her older daughter who is about to graduate. She will be studying nutrition in college and I thought I’d see if she would be interested in helping me this summer in the garden.

What I didn’t know was that I had actually called her mothers cell number and not their home phone {it was meant to be I tell you!}.

Unfortunately {but good for her!} the daughter had  just accepted a summer job someplace really, really cool. I was happy for her, but also a wee bit disappointed because I could really use a farm hand.

Then something awesome happened.

Her mom had been thinking about approaching me and asking if she could work in my backyard garden in exchange for fresh veggies and eggs but wasn’t sure how much time she could commit and a weekly basis. And plus, we live in suburbia so the whole I can afford to buy my own food, but can I eat yours instead because I like working in the garden and want to learn more about canning and some other stuff – might come off as a little odd.

What? Did I just hear that right? You want to barter weeding and garden chores for vegetables and eggs? Are you kidding me? When can you start?

Tomorrow apparently. Wahooooooooo!

Life is good.

Here is what I have harvested so far this year:

Beets - 14 ounces

Carrots – 3 ounces

Chives – 4 ounces

Egg Count – 856

The chickens are egg laying machines. What can I say?

Lettuce – 10 ounces
Microgreens 5 ounces

Oregano - 1 ounce

Potatoes – 2 pounds 9 ounces

Sprouts -11 ounces

Swiss Chard 11 ounces

Wheatgrass - 7 ounces

Total Food Harvested in 2013: 6 pounds 11 ounces

Total Eggs Collected in 2013: 856

Get out there and grow!

~Mavis

Urban Homesteading -Heirloom Skills for Sustainable Living

{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

*******

Well, it was another snooze fest {harvest wise} in the garden this week. Chives and eggs. That’s it baby. The weather is starting to warm up though so we will be direct sowing seeds soon as well as setting out more broccoli, cabbage and lettuce  starts. I love working in the garden this time of year, even when it’s sprinkling outside.

Will you be planting seeds this week? If so, what?

Mavis wants to know.

Here is what I have harvested so far this year:

Beets - 14 ounces

Carrots – 3 ounces

Chives – 4 ounces

Egg Count – 722

Last week we collected 82 eggs. We are giving them away to the neighbors like crazy these days. It’s kind of fun too.

Lettuce – 6 ounces
Microgreens 5 ounces

Potatoes – 2 pounds 9 ounces

Sprouts -11 ounces

Swiss Chard 11 ounces

Wheatgrass - 7 ounces

Total Food Harvested in 2013: 6 pounds 6 ounces

Total Eggs Collected in 2013: 722

Get out there and grow!

~Mavis

Urban Homesteading: Heirloom Skills for Sustainable Living