Productive.

From the beginning of the growing season in April through August, this 20′ x 20′ plot (plus a much smaller one in the back yard) has yielded (list below photo):

5.4 kilos of Chocolate Cherry Tomatoes

4.2 kilos of Piennolo del Vesuvio tomatoes

0.6 kilos of Purple Heart tomatoes

0.1 kilo of Beefsteak tomatoes

3.9 kilos of cucumbers

5.2 kilos of green zucchini

2.3 kilos of Cocozelle zukes

2.8 kilos of Kusa zukes

0.5 kilos of tomatillos

0.3 kilos of jalapeno peppers

0.4 kilos of Sugar Rush Peach peppers

0.4 kilos of Cayenne peppers

0.3 kilos of Scarlet Runner Bean pods (after a short harvest time we’re letting the beans go to 

4.7 kilos of asparagus

2.2 kilos of haskap berries

48 bulbs of garlic (huge aromatic cloves, enough for replanting and for cooking well into winter)

An unrecorded amount of rhubarb

Lots of lettuce

More tomatoes, tomatillos, peppers, and *maybe* some figs are on the way.

And from elsewhere in the yard:

1.5 kilos of blackcurrants

An unrecorded amount of redcurrants

More rhubarb

Some pole beans

Some chives and green onions

We’re very unlikely to have bought this volume of most if not all of this produce. The green zukes alone would have cost around $40 at the grocery store. We will never be self-sufficient yet we know our produce is pesticide- and herbicide-free.

A much more productive, healthy, green, critter-friendly, use of 400 square feet than growing, and mowing, turfgrass.

Bounty

From the garden, clockwise from top: a cucumber and three zucchini, Chocolate Cherry tomatoes, and Piennolo del Vesuvio tomatoes. We love the Chocolate Cherry tomatoes – they have good flavour, are a little crack-resistant in variable watering conditions, will ‘volunteer’ next year.

A photograph of vegetables from a home garden. Pictured are a cucumber with three zucchini, a basket of Chocolate Cherry tomatoes, and a basket of Piennolo del Vesuvio tomatoes.

Late season bounty.

Todays’ late season bounty, before the late afternoon rain arrived.

First cutting.

First cutting of asparagus, which actually occurred over a week ago. Second cutting happened today.

Bounty.

We grow a few of many things in our small garden.

Todays’ harvest: jalapenos, ‘ugly’ tomatoes (which are volunteers from last years’ effort), Chocolate Cherry tomatoes, tomatillos (also volunteers), beans, a cayenne pepper, ground cherries. Also growing: rosemary, spearmint and peppermint, basil and Thai basil, sage.

A little hard to see.

It is a little hard to see the seven asparagus spears in our small ‘spare grass’ patch. We have already enjoyed several fresh spears. The strawberries are starting to flower (though you cannot see the flowers in this image). The haskap bush in the background has flowered and should set fruit soon.

What a treat!

Dinner: Fresh greens from our garden accompany a piece of savoury bread pudding. What a treat to have on December 10!

IMG_1569

Dinner was served.

A recent dinner: Smoked pork tenderloin, smoked mashed potatoes, scarlet runner beans from the garden with red pepper grilled in a foil packet, and picked-that-day grilled corn slathered with a mayonnaise and sriracha sauce aioli.

It was as good as it looks.

DSCF9951 - Copy

Bounty

A recent harvest. Ham hocks and beef brisket home smoked; grilled jalapeno popper; and a poblano, jalapeno, tomatillo, and tomato from the garden. Simple yet wholesome fare.

DSCF6809 - Copy