Frugal Babe

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Chard And Beets And Turnips, Oh My!

July 20, 2011 By Frugal Babe

Our garden is in full swing now, and I’m loving being able to go out the back door and harvest all sorts of fresh goodness.  Here’s a picture of an average harvest, which I usually do twice a day:

IMG_1629

Not shown in this picture are yellow summer squash and turnips, both of which we’re harvesting every day now too.  That pic includes a beet and beet greens, mint, mustard greens, lots of chard, and a zucchini.  We also harvest romaine lettuce, kale, and parsley every day.  Tomatoes, peppers and carrots will be coming soon, but they’re not ready yet.

Our fruit has started to produce a bit this year too, which is very exciting.  We harvested a few cups of cherries from our trees earlier this month.  Unfortunately, the birds got to them before we remembered to put the netting on the trees – we would have had a lot more if the netting had been in place one day earlier!  Our blueberry bush has also been producing this year, and the berries are fantastic.  Our apple trees are covered in ping-pong ball-sized fruit, although the peach and apricot trees didn’t make any fruit this year.

With 27 raised beds, most of which are at least 48 square feet, the garden maintenance can feel a bit overwhelming at times.  But I spent several hours over the last few weeks weeding all the beds, and I’m staying on top of it now by going out every day and pulling 100 weeds.  We put down straw in some of the beds this year as mulch, and although it was much better than the hay we used last year (don’t ever use hay as garden mulch unless you want to turn your garden bed into a thick mat of grass), it did sprout some grass that I’ve been pulling out.  Some of the plants, like the potatoes and tomatoes and chard, are big enough now that weeds don’t really grow in around them, as there’s not much room anymore.

My task for today is to take our little push mower and mow the grass in between all the beds.  If you’ve never used a push mower, I highly recommend it – much more fun than a gas-powered mower, much quieter, no fumes, and a good arm workout!

Anyway, the garden is doing great, and I’m noticing that our grocery cart only has about half as much stuff in it as it does in the winter.  The only produce I’m buying these days is fruit, potatoes (ours aren’t ready yet), and things we don’t grow like fennel and mushrooms.  Having all of our veggies growing right outside our back door is such an awesome thing.  Not to mention the fact that our three-year-old goes out there and munches on spinach, mint, and peas (and of course, blueberries!) anytime he wants.  He loves to harvest squash and zucchini and then eat them raw.  He’s always been a good eater, and eats any veggie I put in front of him, but growing the veggies in our garden makes it even more fun for him.  We gave him his own little garden plot this year, and he thinks it’s awesome to pick stuff out of it.

Northern hemisphere folks, how’s your garden season going?

Filed Under: Debt 7 Comments

Comments

  1. Regina W says

    July 20, 2011 at 12:08 pm

    Our little raised flower bed garden (renters without much of a yard) was doing pretty well. Then our landlord informed us that they would have to tear it out to do some repairs. I started moving things into pots scavenged here and there and the big, evil neighborhood raccoon started knocking the pots over and digging through them. Now I’ve pretty much lost all motivation to keep trying to grow stuff. Between the impending repairs (which have been hanging over our head for a month), the raccoon, and being 7 months pregnant, there’s just no hope of keeping the garden going. I’m disappointed, but at least we were successful for a while!

    Reply
  2. Sam says

    July 21, 2011 at 7:35 am

    FYI – the grass coming up with your straw is probably wheat.

    Good to hear your raised beds are doing good… I’m hoping/aspiring to get mine going next year. Your posting has perked me up a bit, reminding me what I have to look forward to when all my work is done.

    Reply
  3. Meg says

    July 21, 2011 at 8:10 am

    We harvested the last of our snow peas and strawberries last week. Next year, we will be planting ALOT more of the snow peas. I have also harvested a couple pounds worth of green beans, 2 nice-sized zukes and just a dozen cherry tomatoes. The red raspberry bushes are producing more than ever! We get about a cup every couple of days, which is nice, because in the past, they didnt produce until August!

    Our fruit trees that we bought last year have not produced anything this year, so maybe next year. I am going to try to grow and plant several blueberry bushes by the end of the season along with concord grapes. I know it will take at least 3 years to even start producing on both of those, so the sooner the better! I went to a pick-your-own place for blueberries this year and paid $2.95/lb! I look forward to the day we can go out back and pick our own as we do with the red raspberries.

    I love to harvest. Looking forward to planting more bush green beans this week to harvest closer to the end of the season, and harvesting more tomatoes and green peppers.

    We got chickens this Spring, and they started laying eggs July 1st. It is so exciting to go out and see breakfast in their roost! :-) So much fun (and a great way to keep bugs in the garen down!)

    Life. Is. Good!

    Reply
  4. Frugal Vegan Mom says

    July 21, 2011 at 10:09 am

    We’re in MN… I’ve been eating kale for awhile, and already exhausted 4 lettuce plants. Cherry tomatoes are just starting to come in, as are ground cherries. If you’ve never heard of ground cherries, look them up, they’re so fun!

    The zucchini plant is huge but no zukes yet!

    Reply
  5. Meg says

    July 21, 2011 at 11:20 am

    FrugalVeganMom,

    I’m not sure if your zukes have flowers yet, but we have had to self-pollinate ours due to the lack of bees! I have a video on my blog showing how to do just that. It’s super-simple and we have 5 zukes producing now as we speak! (We live in Ohio)

    I am looking up ground cherries.

    Reply
  6. Patricia Polk says

    July 22, 2011 at 11:35 am

    Are those veggies really from your garden? They are beautiful. I love summer because there are so many opportunities for fresh produce!!!

    Reply
  7. Crystal @ Wallet Watcher says

    July 22, 2011 at 1:38 pm

    We only have one raised bed and I do not maintain it like I should. That is why the squirrels and a mouse are getting more of my tomatoes than we are. Congrats on making a dent in your grocery bill and best wishes for more!

    Reply

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