Tuesday, September 06, 2011

Our mini-farm

I thought I'd show all of you what we have grown this year on our mini-farm. We have very limited space because of all the trees we have in the backyard. So we are using the south side of the house and it is surprising how much we have been able to produce on such a small strip of land.
The picture below, obviously isn't food to eat. It's a blossom off our Rose of Sharon tree. This year it has tons of blossoms and is beginning to really be beautiful. We planted two of them about 4 years ago. They are now beginning to look very nice.

This is the stip of yard we are using. We grew lots of onions which store well throughout the winter. Jim fertilized the rasberries this year and some are taller than I am. They are just beginning to come on so I have lots to pick tomorrow. In front of the raspberries, we put wire fencing for the peas to grow up and we got a lot of peas once the weather was dry enough to plant! We have taken that fencing down now so we can get into the raspberries.





We have carrots coming up - a lot of the seeds didn't germinate so we won't get too many of those. We won't pull the carrots probably until snow comes. We planted 4 green pepper plants and I already have enough frozen chopped and sliced green peppers to last us through much of the winter. Still a few more to go that are coming on.



We have more tomatoes than I know what to do with. Anybody want some? I'll make some fresh salsa this weekend. If I could find a good salsa recipe, I would bottle some but I don't have a good recipe. We'll give lots away. (That's how to make friends.) :) Unless you are a Clark child and don't like tomatoes.



The onions were the first thing we planted this spring. They are huge. Adam dug them up for us and they will lay on the ground while the tops dry up and then we'll store them in the pantry for winter.



If any of you Utah kids want to come pick some raspberries, let me know. We have tons and tons! I will freeze most of what I have this year and maybe make jam at a later date.


We are trying to raise as much food of our own as we can. I like to bottle fruit a lot more than vegetables because I don't like canned/bottled vegetables. I either like them frozen or fresh. Our strawberries were a bust this year - we only got about 6 berries total. We're going to have to address that problem by next spring. This just proves that you can produce a lot in a small space. I'd encourage all of you to grow whatever you can. (And Chelsey or Jen, I'd be happy to help you bottle some fruit if you buy some. It's not hard, just time consuming. With more than one person working on it, it goes quickly.)

5 comments:

Mike said...

It looks like you all did pretty well. Our total harvest for this year will be one golden delicious apple (assuming it doesn't disappear/get nasty before it is ripe in a couple of weeks), and a bunch or raspberries (assuming the birds don't eat the large quantity that are green right now). Hopefully next year we'll have more apples, some cherries, some plums, and some vegetables. I'll write a post about my thoughts on fruit trees and composting as soon as I finish the composting book.

Jess and Jen said...

I was just telling Chelsey today that we need to can together! Jess helped me the first time I canned peaches, but last year I did it by myself during the day and I think it was much better when there was someone to talk to and help! I don't like to eat fresh tomatoes, but I do want to try canning spaghetti sauce. So hopefully our tomatoes are ready soon so I can do it before our trip!

I'm jealous of all your raspberries...I just bought some today at the store...not nearly so great as growing your own! -Jen

Dave and Tana said...

I am very jealous of your garden! You have gotten so much food out of it. I am just thinking about all of the money we could save..plus it is a great "skill" to have.
We are going to have to have some long talks before the next planting season so Dave and I can start our own little garden. Im sure our landlord wouldn't care.

The Duke said...

Jen, don't buy raspberries!! I really do have a lot. We'll bring some up to you. We want to go to the State Fair (do you guys want to go?) and we'll drop some off if you want.

gillian said...

I cant wait for dad to make my salsa!!!! mmmmmmm!!!!!!!