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