Summer = Strawberries

Summer has officially arrived! This morning I went out and gathered enough strawberries for my oatmeal.

And so it begins....

 I have big plans this year!  We are starting a lot more under grow lights so we can do more mulching.  Currently under grow lights: leeks, lettuce, peas, kohlrabi, beets, and tomatoes.

Garden Total by Crop

In pounds... 

beans = 17.8 

cherry tomatoes = 4.3 

tomatoes = 126.5 

okra = 18.4 

garlic = 5 

broccoli = 1.1 

carrots = 10.4 

zucchini = 43.3 

kholrabi = .4 

bell peppers = 1.5 

beets = 3.4 

radishes = 1.5 

peas = .5 

cucumbers = 39.3 

snake melon = 18.5 

Total 292.1 

Not weighed: chives, lettuce, oregano, basil, thyme, kale, and mint. We got LOTS of kale. 

Total cost for the garden this year = $503.82. 

Wow - that is WAY more than we usually spend! But we had a bunch of what I call capital improvements, including a new arrangement for our grow lights, PVC and plastic for hoop tunnels, fresh strawberry plants (cultivar = Sparkle), a new trellis (fence panel + T-posts), and, most expensive of all, $150 worth of goumi berry bushes. Despite this sky-high cost, we still came out with a total of $1.73 per pound of fresh, organic produce. That is actually not too bad. Next year we might add more hoops. Or we might not. The original plan was to add some each year until every bed has an option of hoops, if we want them, but I'm not sure we made very good use of them. In any event, next year's costs should be much lower.

Don't Throw Away... Old Calendars

 You can use old calendars as wrapping paper for small gifts.  I like to find a theme and chose a month that matches the recipient.

2022 Garden Total....

We harvested 292 pounds this year! Not bad, but last year's was 365. However, we bought a new scale this summer, so we're not sure how much is the scale and how much is just less of a harvest, and how much of it is me confusing the "fluid ounces" and the "grams" on said scale..... More details coming soon!

Probably our last harvest

We harvested this today. It's just a little above freezing, and boy are my hands cold!

We still have some kohlrabi and some peas in the garden under shelter, but I'm not optimistic.... We should have Garden totals soon!

Happy Harvest Homecoming, Handsome Husband!

My handsome husband returned from Europe yesterday! He had left on Sept 8, and meantime, the garden went nuts. I harvested and processed 43 pounds of food while he was gone! (With help from Mom - thank you!) That doesn't count the stuff I don't bother to weigh: kale, lettuce, basil and green onions. Between that and the fact that he had bad turbulence both trips and it rained in Germany practically the whole time he was there, he is never leaving in September ever again! So glad to have him back!