I know I should be writing an update on our garden, but all I want to do is share pictures with ya’ll – I have taken so many of them this week! The garden is coming along beautifully and we have been getting some great fresh produce.

First though, the bad news. I must mourn the loss of my beloved dill and cilantro the pumpkin that is trying to take over the world garden tried to bury them. We attempted to transplant them to another spot, but they didn’t make it. The leaves on a couple of our tomato plants continue to turn brown and dry up. They worry me a little, but the tomatoes are still growing fine and I am seeing fresh green branches, so I am still holding out hope for them.

Unfortunately, our peppers did not survive the torrential rains we received earlier in the season. We noticed right away that they were not doing much, no change in size nor any blossoms, but we are optimists so left them alone, hoping that they would snap out of it. But, alas, still nothing is happening with them, so as far as we can tell, the bell peppers and the jalapeno peppers are a bust this year. So sad, because last year our bell peppers were so prolific, they just kept producing and producing, and I just kept harvesting, chopping and freezing them (and was hoping to be able to do the same this year).

Now, for the good news. We harvested a 2 lb. zucchini this week! Yep, 1 zucchini weighed 2 lbs. right out of OUR garden! I was so excited when I saw that big boy! Plus we got another 2.5 lbs. of zucchini besides, for a total of 4.5 lbs. of zucchini this week. We harvested 3 cucumbers, 1 lb. of mixed salad greens, 1.5 lbs. of onions and 1 lone little ol’ tomato that was ripe. Our watermelon and beans have little blossoms on them, and our pumpkins have teeny, tiny little pumpkins right at the base of their blossoms.

And here are the pictures I took this week:

Now that we are starting to harvest some veg, my thoughts are turning to preserving it. I managed to save up enough SwagBucks to “buy” a new pressure canner, and can’t wait to try it out. I have been collecting a few canning recipes (along with several used books found at the Goodwill and yard sales) that I want to try this year. Here are a few interesting ones I’ve found: Zucchini Refrigerator Pickles (about halfway down the page) and some links to pickling spice recipes I may try.

Here are our expenses so far the the 2011 season:

Seeds (approx): $ 6.00
pots/greenhouse starter trays: $10.00
11 tomato cages $25.00
bamboo stakes $ 2.88
2 straw bales $11.00
Plastic fencing $12.00

Plants:
12 tomato plants @ 3/$0.89 = $ 3.56
9 strawberry plants @ $0.89 each = $ 8.01
3 broccoli plants @ 3/$0.89 = $ 0.89
1 basil plant $ 3.00
24 seed onions $ 2.00
2 zucchinni plants @ $0.89 ea = $ 1.68
4 bell pepper plants $ 1.49
4 jalapeno pepper plants $ 1.49
1 flat leaf parsley $ 1.00
1 bronze fennel $ 1.00
1 lavender plant $ 3.00

Total: $94.00

Here are our harvest totals for the 2011 season:
Broccoli 24 oz. $1.50
*Leaf Lettuces ($1.50/lb.) 64 oz. $7.50
*Zucchinni ($1.25/lb. 5 lb. $6.25
*Onions ($1/lb.) 40 oz. $2.50
Radishes 48 oz. $3.00
*Cucumbers ($0.75/ea 3 $2.25

Total: $23.00

So for now, we are still in the hole by $71.00.

*New produce harvested this week.

Do you garden and/or can your produce as a way to stretch your food money? If you do, what were your results? Was it worth it to your family?

This post may contain affiliate links. View the full disclosure policy for more information.

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So, we went to Oklahoma last week to attend our Son-in-law’s graduation from boot camp. We were gone for 6 days, and evidently it rained nearly everyday. Not only did it rain, but our garden turned into a veritable jungle! This is what we came home to:

That’s hubby in the back working on the strawberry bed.

The garden is growing like crazy, and the pumpkins are trying to take over the world I mean garden!

We have so much leaf lettuce and arugula! Hubby just goes out with a pair of scissors and gives them a “hair cut” about once a week and we eat salad. If it keeps producing like it has been, I may just turn into a rabbit! If nothing else, maybe all this salad eating will help me lose a few pounds.

We harvested radishes this week, and ate some with our salad last night. YUM!

Which we had with our 3 little baby zukes, I added to our spaghetti.

I know, there are only two pictured here, but we really did get 3!

We plan on having a feast of radish greens (raw) today or tomorrow, maybe mixed with our lettuces and topped with a baked chicken breast.

Here are our expenses so far the the 2011 season:

Seeds (approx): $ 6.00
pots/greenhouse starter trays: $10.00
11 tomato cages $25.00
bamboo stakes $ 2.88
2 straw bales $11.00
Plastic fencing $12.00

Plants:
12 tomato plants @ 3/$0.89 = $ 3.56
9 strawberry plants @ $0.89 each = $ 8.01
3 broccoli plants @ 3/$0.89 = $ 0.89
1 basil plant $ 3.00
24 seed onions $ 2.00
2 zucchinni plants @ $0.89 ea = $ 1.68
4 bell pepper plants $ 1.49
4 jalapeno pepper plants $ 1.49
1 flat leaf parsley $ 1.00
1 bronze fennel $ 1.00
1 lavender plant $ 3.00

Total: $94.00

Here are our harvest totals for the 2011 season:
Broccoli 24 oz. $1.50
*Leaf Lettuces 48 oz. $6.00
*3 Baby Zucchinni 12 oz. $1.00
*Onions 16 oz. $0.70
*Radishes 48 oz. $3.00

Total: $12.20

So for now, we are still in the hole by $81.80.

*New produce harvested this week.

Do you garden and/or can your produce as a way to stretch your food money? If you do, what were your results? Was it worth it to your family?

This post may contain affiliate links. View the full disclosure policy for more information.

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Remember last week when I acted like such a dork about the zucchini blossoms? Well, this week I acted like an even bigger dork when I saw what they turned into:

Baby Zukes!

We have real baby zucchini’s growing now! Oh Yeah! And now, I think my neighbors really believe I am ‘tetched in the head! (Not really, they’re family, so they know I’m just weird.)

Not only do we have baby zukes, but we also have pretty little baby tomatoes:

We harvested the last of our broccoli this week, so we ended up getting about a pound and a half of broccoli crowns in all. We also harvested about a half pound of leaf lettuces with more ready to harvest soon.

I’m happy to say that our cilantro is growing fine, and tasting mighty good also. I made a corn and black bean salsa for supper this week and used fresh from the garden cilantro in it. Boy was it ever delicious! Here’s my recipe in case you’re interested:

Corn and Black Bean Salsa
based on a recipe I found here
1 lb. dried black beans, cooked until soft and drained slightly (a little water from cooking won’t hurt)
1 lb. frozen corn, heated up and then drained slightly (a little water from cooking won’t hurt)
1 10 oz can diced tomatoes with green chilies, juices and all
2-3 tomatoes, diced
1 medium onion, diced
1 medium bell pepper, diced
3-4 Tbsp fresh cilantro, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp cumin
zest of 1 lime
juice of 2 limes (about 4 Tbsp)
1/2 C oil
1/4 C vinegar
salt to taste

1. Whisk oil, vinegar, lime zest, lime juice, cumin, cilantro and garlic together in bottom of large bowl.
2. Add cooked black beans, corn, diced tomatoes with chilies and diced tomatoes, stir until mixed.
3. Add salt to taste.
4. Chill and serve with tortilla chips.

Here are our expenses so far the the 2011 season:

Seeds (approx): $ 6.00
pots/greenhouse starter trays: $10.00
11 tomato cages $25.00
bamboo stakes $ 2.88
2 straw bales $11.00

Plants:
12 tomato plants @ 3/$0.89 = $ 3.56
9 strawberry plants @ $0.89 each = $ 8.01
3 broccoli plants @ 3/$0.89 = $ 0.89
1 basil plant $ 3.00
24 seed onions $ 2.00
2 zucchinni plants @ $0.89 ea = $ 1.68
4 bell pepper plants $ 1.49
4 jalapeno pepper plants $ 1.49
1 flat leaf parsley $ 1.00
1 bronze fennel $ 1.00
1 lavender plant $ 3.00

Canning Expenses:
16 Qt. Pressure Canner retail cost: $64.99 my cost OOP: $0! (I used my Swagbucks earnings to buy it)

Total: $82.00

Here are our harvest totals for the 2011 season:
*Broccoli 24 oz. $1.50
*Leaf Lettuces 8 oz. $1.50

Total: $ 3.00

So for now, we are still in the hole by $79.00.

*New produce harvested this week.

Do you garden and/or can your produce as a way to stretch your food money? If you do, what were your results? Was it worth it to your family?

This post may contain affiliate links. View the full disclosure policy for more information.

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Our garden is coming along beautifully right now, as were the weeds. We finally decided to spend the money on some straw to put between our rows, to help keep the weed growth down. As an added measure, I laid newspaper sheets down first, and then covered them with the straw. I am hoping this will make our weeding chores easier.

We are growing things other than weeds, and I have proof. This is our first 2 harvests, two small heads of broccoli – weighing 8 oz. each:

And I went outside this morning to look at our lovely garden and look what I saw:

SQUEEEEE! Yes, those are zucchini blossoms! Aren’t they pretty? I was so excited to see them. I LOVE zucchini and now I know ours are gonna come in! YIPPEE!

So anyway, we spent some money this week buying a few poor pathetic looking baby plants that were on a 40% reduced price at our local Farm & Home store. I just couldn’t leave them there to die a slow and painful death! Just kidding, I found a bronze fennel, some lavender and a little pot of flat leaf parsley (mine never came up) that we promptly placed in the garden. We also bought the straw (as I mentioned up top) to help keep down the weeds. And our tomatoes are thriving, so we needed more tomato cages.

Here are our expenses so far the the 2011 season:

Seeds (approx): $ 6.00
pots/greenhouse starter trays: $10.00
11 tomato cages $25.00
bamboo stakes $ 2.88
2 straw bales $11.00

Plants:
12 tomato plants @ 3/$0.89 = $ 3.56
9 strawberry plants @ $0.89 each = $ 8.01
3 broccoli plants @ 3/$0.89 = $ 0.89
1 basil plant $ 3.00
24 seed onions $ 2.00
2 zucchinni plants @ $0.89 ea = $ 1.68
4 bell pepper plants $ 1.49
4 jalapeno pepper plants $ 1.49
1 flat leaf parsley $ 1.00
1 bronze fennel $ 1.00
1 lavender plant $ 3.00

Total: $82.00

Here are our harvest totals for the 2011 season:
Broccoli 16 oz. $1.00

Total: $ 1.00

So for now, we are still in the hole by $81.00.

Do you garden and/or can your produce as a way to stretch your food money? If you do, what were your results? Was it worth it to your family?

This post may contain affiliate links. View the full disclosure policy for more information.

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