We purchased most of our seeds this year from Baker Creek Heirloom Seed company:
http://rareseeds.com/. We made our first trip to Green Acres and had a wonderful time despite none of their plants being organic... We purchased some tomatoes and eggplants from Green Acres and called it organic from then on!
This year I attempted to become extremely organized. I measured out each of the 7 rows into 12 foot sections, and marked them off with paint. Then I planned out what was going to go into each block. I used some crop rotation techniques from How To Grow More Vegetables, by John Jeavons. The idea is that certain crops deplete the soil of certain nutrients, so by planting the same plants in the same spots, year after year after year, the soil would be low in certain nutrients. It is usually applied in larger scale farms, but let's face it, this is a big garden! This guide I crafted rode frequently in my basket to the garden, and was used by garden helpers on planting days. I stuck to it, and also wrote down the days I planted, when the seeds germinated, and then ready for harvest. It was getting pretty trashed, eggs cracking on it and such so I stopped bringing it with me. Not sure where this ratty thing is now, but I'm sure its around here somewhere.
This plan worked out very well. All but 2 blocks were planted and crops growing in the sections. I also labelled each section with a reusable marker. I did have a garden gnome who would assist in moving these markers to make life a little more interesting.
Here is the list of crops and the loot results:
Eggs: 4-5 daily since 3/26, ~800 eggs, ~70 dozen
Purple Carrots: ~9#
Broccoli: 4 smallish heads plus 10 shoots
Snap Peas: 4 pounds of sweet snap peas
Leeks: 12
Radish: 20 bunches
Red Onion: 25
White Onion: 15 small
Garlic: 25 small
Romaine: 15 heads
Mustard Greens: 20 bunches
Cilantro: 8 bunches
Fava Beans: 10 beans :(
Dill: 20 bunches
Parsley: 62 bunches, and still going strong!
Red and Golden Beets: 20 single beets
Russet Potatoes: 8#
Fingerling: 4#
Red La Soda Potatoes: 6 #
Sour Tree Cherries: 3#
Plums: 12#
Chard: 3 bunches
Zinnia: 300 single flowers pink and green
Sunflowers: 45
Dino Kale: 30 bunches
Dwarf Kale: 25 bunches
Tomatillos: 250/30 green baskets
Green Zucchini: 22
Lungo Bianco Zucchini: 65
White wonder cucumber: 32
Lemon Cucumber: 60
English Cucumber: 30
Lemon Summer Squash: 45
Soy beans: 3 cups
Blueberries: 4.5 cups
Large Yellow Heirloom tomatoes: 25
Cherry tomatoes: 32 green baskets
Bull's Heart tomatoes: 25 medium
Okra: 125 pods
Black eyed peas: 4.5 ounces dried beans once shucked by O and I (seemed like it should be more!)
Holstein beans: 1# dried beans once shucked by O and I
Green Pole Beans: 20#
Dragon Tongue Bush Beans: 16#
Lemon Basil: 5 bunches
Basil: 40 bunches
Canteloupe: 2 small
Watermelon: 2 small
Spaghetti Squash: 8
Pumpkins: 2 (2 still growing)
Gourds: 2
Acorn Squash-3
Eggplant: 65
Roma Tomatoes: 8 green baskets
Amaranth: Many large heads that proved challenging to harvest. Still have a grocery sack in the garage waiting to be harvested.
Hot peppers: didn't tally
Marigolds and Cosmos galore
That's a lot of food...
Where did it all go?
1. We ate it fresh! Owen could be found eating the small green beans off the bush or stuffing his mouth with basil. I made a few dishes like lasagna, eggplant parm, and lots of zucchini soup when we had a surplus and froze them.
2. I Canned it~ Tomatillo salsa, green beans, okra, plum preserves
3. I Froze it~Green beans, hot peppers, kale, pesto
4. ISold it~ I did an unofficial CSA to see how it could work... It was pretty fun for me, yet challenging to coordinate garden loot, Owen, and delivering the goods. I made some "Farm Money" I called it, to go towards either next years seeds or reimbursing ourselves for this years. It was really fun and I appreciated my customers!
5. We Traded it~ Traded eggs for citrus fruits, veggies for canned applesauce, veggies for flowers
6. We gave it away~ You can't charge your mom or mother in law you know! Every year I check into donating to the local soup kitchen and I get a bag together and then someone comes to the house. I don't like letting anyone leave empty handed who makes the trip to see us.
7. We fed it to the chickens~ half eaten by critters, freezer or fridge burned, it all goes straight to the chickens. My compost bins are slightly neglected since our chickens get all of the veggie and fruit waste now.
Every year we learn so much and want to change it. I don't think my crop rotation efforts will be needed next year. This was too big of a garden for Owen and I to manage once Chris got us set up with the drip system and tackled the weeds. The harvesting is my favorite but it takes a lot of time. I started going to the garden once Owen was asleep at night (clad in my headlamp) or during his nap with the monitor blaring across the property. I feel like we can grow the same amount of food (or more) in a smaller space. The garden is CONSTANT entertainment. That is the beauty of it. We don't go to the park on a regular basis because we spend so much time outside as it is. I'd be rich if I had a dollar for every time Owen has fallen in dirt, picked up sheep or llama poo, said "Mama carry you (me)", said "More basil mama," and us changing >3 times per day due to mud/dirt/sweat/dinge. We wouldn't change it though. It is easy to spend 2 hours outside daily, and to get things done in the high season it is a minimum of 45 minutes per day.
So there you have it, the garden tally blog. I have mentioned that we are still getting loot. My basket was full today but I didn't include it in the tally. Eggs, green beans, tomatoes, tomatillos, zinnias, kale, and parsley. The only produce I have been buying is mushrooms, when you don't grow it you seem to crave it! Guess I will start looking into fungi.
Wow! So amazing! Wish I lived close! I would totally buy from you!
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