Sunday, January 8, 2012

Harvest Tally 2012?

So, I think my Harvest Tally 2011 went pretty well in terms of giving me a goal for this year.  I'm happy with what I was able to grow this year considering I wasn't able to harvest any squash, other than maybe one, due to the vine borers.  I think they hit me the hardest in terms of lost harvesting.  I'm hoping to solve that problem by growing Zucchino Rampicante, which I've read is resistant to vine borer attacks.  My big coup was my peach harvest, which I hope to replicate next year provided I can keep the tree rats under control.  I ended up with 305.5 pounds of produce and 1011 eggs.  That's an average of 5.875 pounds of produce and 19.44 eggs each week.  The produce numbers are not great, but not too bad either.  For most of the year, we had 4 laying hens, so that's almost 5 eggs a week per hen.  Not too shabby! 

Overall, I'm pleased, but I know I can do better.  One of my goals this year is to increase my food preservation in variety and volume.  To do that, I need a more productive garden and a longer growing season.  I've never been a big early spring or fall/winter gardener, but I'm working on that too.  One reason I don't grow too much in these seasons is because my garden beds sit on the north side of my house.  They don't get any sun until summer time.  I hope to remedy this slightly by taking down trees in my neighbor's yard and one in my yard.  This will open up some south facing space and the potential to extend my growing season.  It will also give me more sunshine in the summer on an area of my yard that gets only a few hours a day.  I have some big plans, but all in time.

Until this year, I've never kept a tally of my gardening efforts, but I found it fun to see the number grow, so I'm going to continue keeping a tally of my harvest for 2012 to see if I improve.  What I want to know is if you, my readers, are interested in seeing it as it progresses as well.  Are you interested in a Harvest Tally 2012 on the side bar?  Chime in, if you please!

Teaser:  We started working on the rabbitry, and it's coming along quite nicely.  I hope to have it finished in the next week or two.  Pictures and post to follow. 

Happy homesteading,

Candace   

  

2 comments:

  1. I didn't keep a harvest tally this year but have found them to be a great help in the past! Funny, but I didn't do well with squashes this year either. In fact, I need to really address this next year because I definitely want squash, especially the winter variety for storage. Great job on your garden. It's fun how even successes can challenge us on to new heights.

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  2. Leigh: I really missed having squash this summer, and I've yet to successfully grow winter squash. As I was buying some winter squash a few days ago, I was thinking about this very subject. Maybe this is the year! With the harvest tally, I hope to see if all the work I'm doing is paying off.

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