The Backyard

The Backyard

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Harvest Monday - September 3, 2012 - Closing in on 1/2 Ton

896.75 pounds with this week's 59 3/4 pound harvest.  I never, in a million years, thought someday I'd be hauling in a half ton of food into our house from the backyard.  I have to be honest though - I'm tired!  I've never wanted frost to come as I am wishing for it this year.  I even started pulling live, producing plants out of the ground.  Two peach tomato plants were pulled that were vining everywhere --  into the sweet potatoes, onto the other tomatoes, on the pepper plants -- they were truly invasive and just lost their life.  But don't fret folks, there's about 3 other plants still producing WAY too many peach tomatoes.  Oh, and the green  beans are about to die too.  I hit 33 pounds of green beans with this week's 10 pound harvest.  That's plenty of beans to get me through the winter.  So here's the tally for the week:

3/4 pound Kidney Beans (disappointed with the kidneys: only got 1 3/4 pounds total)
5 pounds carrots
1/4 pounds mixed greens
10 pounds green beans
6 3/4  pounds peppers
1 pound red beets
18 pounds tomatoes
16 1/2 watermelon
1 1/2 red raspberries

59 3/4 total for the week

896.75 total for the year


10 comments:

Cristy said...

Wowee, zowee. Almost half a ton? That's a lot of food. Does that get you through the year? How does that work out? Do you give lots of it away, or save it for winter? Congratulations on a great harvest year. I can see why you would be rooting for frost to come.

Robin said...

I will be rooting for you to hit the 1/2 ton mark!! It's definitely the time of year when you have had enough of some things and just want to pull the plants!

kitsapFG said...

Totally understand how the peak of harvest in late summer can take it's toll as it continues on week after week. I try to think about how I will be feeling December - February when I am crawling the walls from impatience to be outside doing something rather than be trapped in the house during the dark short days of winter. Helps a little with the end of summer harvest "wearies".

Good work on all that you have brought in this year. Very impressive.

Chili said...

No Crafty Cristy, that will likely NOT get me through the year. There were some crops that didn't produce like I would have liked, so I'll be buying dried beans, corn, and likely some spaghetti sauce at some point next early summer. I save most of my harvests for winter, but give some away at this time of the year when I feel like I have enough of one item (like green beans this year). Tomatoes and peppers are usually given away too at this point in time.

Sustainably Modern said...

38That is awesome! Isn't it amazing how much food we consume? You see all the harvest coming in and thing it will last a while and ... well, it doesn't. This year I decided to put up all of our harvest and buy local. Then during the off-season (when grocer prices are high), I'll start taking out my harvests....bc we just can't produce enough to feed us (yet!).

Mary Hysong said...

What a great harvest; your garden is certainly giving you plenty this year!

Anonymous said...

That amount certainly caught my attention! I haven't had the attention span to track our harvests, and appreciate knowing that 1/2 a ton is even possible!

Jenny Rottinger said...

Great harvest! Love that you have so many green beans and tomatoes. And congratulations on nearing 1/2 ton of produce!

Jayant said...

Greetings from New Delhi, India!

My grandma used to feed us the vegetables grown in her backyard when we were kids and at that time I was stupid enough not to appreciate it. When I look back at it now, I'd prefer that any day over the commercially cultivated, unhealthy stock that is grown for earning profits rather than feeding people. Half a ton really sounds like a lot. I would probably sneak into your backyard some time and run away with some of it. :)

Chili said...

Nice to hear from India! My dad often tells the stories of his mother feeding all 8 children from the garden in the backyard. It's all they had growing up in the depression. They couldn't afford to buy food. Yes, I'd take the backyard ANY DAY vs mass produced, commercially grown. I simply don't buy it.