Days 571 - 626 Spring Back

Spring is back!! It really never quite felt like winter this year with 70 degree temperatures in the middle of winter and very little rain (until this week!!)

As we wind down the citrus harvest over the next couple of weeks, we will start to see the stone fruit start to develop and grow. Right now it looks like a large Aprium crop is coming and if the Peaches and Nectarines got pollinated before this rain, they too will have large crops. There sure were a lot of blossoms!! And the bees were out working early with all of the warm weather.

The pears and apples are still in the process of flowering. The Asian Pear tree is in full flower and I am hoping that the Bartlett flowers before the Asian Pear drops its flowers...since a pollinator is needed for both. The Cherry tree and the apple trees are just about to explode. I see the citrus trees blooming soon too. Hope there are some breaks in this rainy pattern so that they set a good crop too.

In the veggie garden, I took out the Kale and we now have lettuce starts, a bed of chard, and a bed of beets. Add that to the garlic which is doing really well this year and it looks to be a fine April/May. This is the time of the year when we run out of oranges and grapefruit, so the veggie garden needs to kick in soon.

I have to say, it is pretty cool that we have been harvesting citrus for 4 months solid and fruit since June 1st!! That is 10 months of uninterrupted fruit harvest. I feel spoiled :)

Hope to update this a bit more frequently in the future. Every 4 weeks seems fair...I was a slacker with this eight week delay!!

An eight-week summary if you do not want to read the details:
Lemons: 56 ($28.00)
Mandarins: 161 ($40.25)
Oranges: 154 ($77.00)
Grapefruit: 41 ($41.00)
Salad Greens: 1 salad

Year 2, Day 206
1) 1 orange

Year 2, Day 207
1) 1 orange
2) 8 mandarins

Year 2, Day 208
1) 2 oranges
2) 7 mandarins

Year 2, Day 209
1) 2 oranges
2) 6 mandarins
3) 3 lemons

Year 2, Day 210
1) 2 oranges
2) 4 mandarins

Year 2, Day 211
1) 1 orange
2) 2 mandarins
3) 2 lemons

Year 2, Day 212
1) 2 oranges
2) 4 mandarins
3) 3 lemons

Year 2, Day 213
1) 3 oranges
2) 4 mandarins

Year 2, Day 214
1) 2 oranges
2) 2 mandarins
3) 3 lemons
4) salad greens

Year 2, Day 215
1) 2 oranges
2) 4 mandarins

Year 2, Day 216
1) 2 oranges
2) 15 mandarins

Year 2, Day 217
1) 5 oranges
2) 5 mandarins
3) 3 lemons
4) salad greens

Year 2, Day 218
1) 2 oranges
2) 6 mandarins
3) 1 grapefruit

Year 2, Day 219
1) 3 oranges
2) 22 mandarins
3) 1 grapefruit

Year 2, Day 220
1) 3 oranges
2) 2 lemons

Year 2, Day 221
1) 3 oranges
2) 6 mandarins
3) 1 grapefruit

Year 2, Day 222
1) 2 oranges
2) 18 mandarins
3) 1 grapefruit

Year 2, Day 223
1) 3 oranges
2) 6 mandarins

Year 2, Day 224
1) 2 oranges
2) 5 mandarins
3) 2 grapefruit

Year 2, Day 225
1) 2 oranges
2) 10 mandarins
3) 3 lemons

Year 2, Day 226
1) 2 oranges
2) 4 mandarins
3) 3 lemons

Year 2, Day 227
1) 4 oranges
2) 1 grapefruit
3) 3 lemons

Year 2, Day 228
1) 3 oranges
2) 2 mandarins

Year 2, Day 229
1) 7 oranges
2) 1 grapefruit
3) 2 mandarins

Year 2, Day 230
1) 4 oranges

Year 2, Day 231
1) 4 oranges
2) 2 mandarins
3) 1 grapefruit

Year 2, Day 232
1) 5 oranges
2) 3 mandarins
3) 1 grapefruit
4) 2 lemons

Year 2, Day 233
1) 7 oranges
2) 5 mandarins

Year 2, Day 234
1) 3 oranges
2) 5 mandarins
3) 2 bunches kale

Year 2, Day 235
1) 4 oranges
2) 1 grapefruit

Year 2, Day 236
1) 2 oranges
2) 2 mandarins
3) salad greens

Year 2, Day 237
1) 5 oranges

Year 2, Day 238
1) 4 oranges
2) 1 grapefruit

Year 2, Day 239
1) 3 oranges
2) 1 grapefruit

Year 2, Day 240
1) 3 oranges
2) 4 lemons

Year 2, Day 241
1) 2 oranges
2) 2 mandarins

Year 2, Day 242
1) 4 oranges
2) 1 grapefruit

Year 2, Day 243
1) 4 oranges
2) 3 grapefruit

Year 2, Day 244
1) 3 oranges
2) 2 grapefruit

Year 2, Day 245
1) 6 oranges
2) 1 grapefruit

Year 2, Day 246
1) 3 oranges

Year 2, Day 247
1) 1 grapefruit
2) 3 lemons
3) 3 bunches kale

Year 2, Day 248
1) 2 oranges
2) 2 grapefruit
3) 6 lemons

Year 2, Day 249
1) 1 orange
2) 1 grapefruit

Year 2, Day 250
1) 2 oranges
2) 1 grapefruit

Year 2, Day 251
1) 1 orange
2) 1 grapefruit
3) 3 lemons

Year 2, Day 252
1) 2 oranges
2) 1 grapefruit

Year 2, Day 253
1) 1 orange
2) 1 grapefruit

Year 2, Day 254
1) 2 oranges
2) 1 grapefruit
3) 5 lemons

Year 2, Day 255
1) 1 orange
2) 2 grapefruit

Year 2, Day 256
1) 5 oranges
2) 1 grapefruit

Year 2, Day 257
1) 2 oranges
2) 2 grapefruit
3) 2 lemons

Year 2, Day 258
1) 2 oranges
2) 1 grapefruit

Year 2, Day 259
1) 3 oranges
2) 2 grapefruit
3) 3 lemons

Year 2, Day 260
1) 1 orange
2) 2 grapefruit

Year 2, Day 261
1) 2 oranges
2) 2 grapefruit
3) 3 lemons

Eight-Week harvest: $187.25

Total Produce Harvested : $2964.25
Total Honey Harvested: $360.00
Expenses: $370.00 (seeds, lettuce, fertilizer)

Days 543 - 570 Year-to-Year Variation

Harvesting mandarins every day for the past 4 weeks is pretty amazing...and although it may seem like we have harvested a lot of mandarins this year, we really have only harvested about 1/2 of what we did last year. Now, last year was a bumper crop of 1127 mandarins and this year is "only" at 582 with probably 100 or so more on the tree.

Which brings me to year-to-year variation and why it is a good thing to have a variety of different types of produce growing in the yard. Some years may be great for the apples but low for the grapes (this year) and others may be just the opposite. By doing this blog, it has me keeping track of all this and I am looking forward to what ten years might look like.

Since the last post, I tallied up what has come out of our little yard and it is pretty amazing. Here you are with the totals and in parenthesis are year1 + year2 quantities. Citrus year 2 numbers are not complete. You can see the affect the late rains had last year, particularly with the grapes and peaches.

Strawberries: 36 baskets (30 + 6)
Blueberries: 28 baskets (9 + 19)
Raspberries: 24 baskets (10 + 14)
Apriums: 10 (9 + 1)
Nectarines: 7 (3 + 4)
Zuchini: 103 (62 + 41)
Cherry Tomatoes: 29 baskets (8 + 21)
Peaches: 230 (161 + 69)
Tomatoes: 277 (133 + 144)
Pears: 304 (66 + 238)
Asian Pears: 12 (0 + 12)
Pickles: 16 lbs (11 + 5)
Cucumbers: 154 (62 + 92)
Grapes: 68 lbs (49 + 19)
Apples: 579 (79 + 500)
Chard: 77 bunches (77 + 0)
Figs: 297 (74 + 223)
Mandarins: 1709 (1127 + 582)
Limes: 36 (25 + 11)
Oranges: 162 (157 + 5) (2nd year not complete)
Grapefruit: 29 (29 + 0) (2nd year not complete)
Lemons: 361 (307 + 54) (2nd year not complete)
Kale: 53 bunches (27 + 26)
Garlic: 87 (87 + 0) (2nd year not complete)
Salad Greens: 17 (16 + 1) (2nd year not complete)
Beets: 51 (51 + 0) (2nd year not complete)

A four-week summary if you do not want to read the details:
Lemons: 12 ($6.00)
Limes: 1 ($0.25)
Mandarins: 323 ($80.75)
Apples: 1 ($0.50)
Oranges: 5 ($2.50)
Salad Greens: 1 salad

Year 2, Day 178
1) 15 mandarins

Year 2, Day 179
1) 9 mandarins
2) 1 lime
3) 1 lemon

Year 2, Day 180
1) 10 mandarins
2) 1 apple (last)

Year 2, Day 181
1) 8 mandarins

Year 2, Day 182
1) 14 mandarins

Year 2, Day 183
1) 4 mandarins
2) 1 lemon

Year 2, Day 184
1) 20 mandarins

Year 2, Day 185
1) 12 mandarins
2) 3 lemons

Year 2, Day 186
1) 10 mandarins

Year 2, Day 187
1) 19 mandarins

Year 2, Day 188
1) 14 mandarins

Year 2, Day 189
1) 15 mandarins
2) 1 lemon

Year 2, Day 190
1) 9 mandarins
2) 3 lemons
3) Salad Greens

Year 2, Day 191
1) 14 mandarins
2) 1 orange

Year 2, Day 192
1) 11 mandarins

Year 2, Day 193
1) 10 mandarins

Year 2, Day 194
1) 10 mandarins

Year 2, Day 195
1) 8 mandarins

Year 2, Day 196
1) 12 mandarins
2) 1 lemon

Year 2, Day 197
1) 5 mandarins

Year 2, Day 198
1) 13 mandarins

Year 2, Day 199
1) 20 mandarins
2) 1 orange

Year 2, Day 200
1) 14 mandarins
2) 1 orange
3) 2 lemons

Year 2, Day 201
1) 14 mandarins

Year 2, Day 202
1) 5 mandarins
2) 1 orange

Year 2, Day 203
1) 10 mandarins

Year 2, Day 204
1) 8 mandarins

Year 2, Day 205
1) 10 mandarins
2) 1 orange

Four-Week harvest: $91.00

Total Produce Harvested : $2777.00
Total Honey Harvested: $360.00
Expenses: $350.00 (purchase an Apricot Tree)

Days 508 - 542 Citrus aplenty...but a drought?

Here we are at the end of December and I had to water the citrus trees. Never have I had to water any fruit trees after November 1st, but we have only seen a trace of rain this December...bummer for the ski season and I had to do some watering.

I have to say that the quality of the mandarins are as good as ever. The magical flavors that come from a fresh-picked citrus jsut cannot be bought at the supermarket. I did a little experiment the other day with a mandarin that was sitting on my desk for a few days (perhaps a week) vs. one that I had just picked that day. The one off of my desk tasted like store-bought citrus. It should of course because the ones in the store are just like that. Picked at least a week ago!!

With the lack of rain, I am taking advantage of the time to prune my trees. Did copper spray for the peaches and nectarine trees and have pruned all but the grape vines. No skiing, so I might as well get it done so that when the snow does come to the mountains I do not feel like I need to stay home to tend the garden.

Last year we picked 1080 mandarins and it looks like we are on target for another big harvest. What looked like a light year has me doing a double-take as the fruit starts to change color and "magically" appears on the trees. We are a bit over 250 mandarins for the season so far. Not sure it will be over a 1000 this year, but we should be picking through January and perhaps into February.

By the end of the week, I want to have a tally of what has been harvested for the year and a half that I have been on this quest. Stay tuned!! It should be interesting to see what comes out of a single yard that is planted well.

A five-week summary if you do not want to read the details:
Kale: 5 bunches ($10.00)
Lemons: 17 ($8.50)
Limes: 5 ($1.25)
Mandarins: 237 ($59.25)
Apples: 41 ($17.50)

Year 2, Day 143
1) 2 mandarins

Year 2, Day 144
1) 6 mandarins

Year 2, Day 145
1) 18 apples

Year 2, Day 146
1) 24 mandarins
2) 4 limes
3) 2 bunches kale

Year 2, Day 147-150
gone

Year 2, Day 151
1) 7 mandarins

Year 2, Day 152
1) 4 mandarins

Year 2, Day 153
1) 4 mandarins

Year 2, Day 154
1) 5 mandarins
2) 5 apples

Year 2, Day 155
1) 4 mandarins

Year 2, Day 156
1) 3 mandarins
2) 8 apples

Year 2, Day 157
1) 9 mandarins

Year 2, Day 158
1) 3 mandarins

Year 2, Day 159
1) 6 mandarins

Year 2, Day 160
1) 5 mandarins

Year 2, Day 161
1) 7 mandarins

Year 2, Day 162
1) 7 mandarins

Year 2, Day 163
1) 10 mandarins
2) 4 lemons

Year 2, Day 164
1) 1 mandarin
2) 2 lemons

Year 2, Day 165
1) 8 mandarins

Year 2, Day 166
1) 8 mandarins
2) 4 apples

Year 2, Day 167
1) 8 mandarins

Year 2, Day 168
1) 6 mandarins
2) 2 apples

Year 2, Day 169
1) 10 mandarins
2) 1 lemon

Year 2, Day 170
1) 16 mandarins
2) 1 lemon
3) 1 bunch kale

Year 2, Day 171
1) 12 mandarins
2) 6 lemons

Year 2, Day 172
1) 6 mandarins
2) 1 apple

Year 2, Day 173
1) 11 mandarins
2) 1 apple

Year 2, Day 174
1) 11 mandarins
2) 1 apple
3) 1 bunch kale

Year 2, Day 175
1) 4 mandarins
2) 1 apple
3) 1 bunch kale

Year 2, Day 176
1) 26 mandarins
2) 3 lemons
3) 1 lime

Year 2, Day 177
1) 4 mandarins

Five-Week harvest: $96.50

Total Produce Harvested : $2686.00
Total Honey Harvested: $360.00
Expenses: $330.00

Days 473 - 507 Citrus Returns to the Table

Breaking 500 days is quite the feat. I was talking with someone the other day and he was saying that he visits his garden every day to do a little of this or that. In a way, this blog is making me visit the garden too. I have too!! Now that the daylight hours are waning, I have to make a real effort to get out before work, otherwise I may find myself in the dark after work.

As the title states, we are finally getting some citrus. Where last year I remember harvesting mandarins on November 1st, it was not until November 17th this year before we decided that it was time. Even now though, the fruit is a little green on the skin...but inside they are bright orange and do they ever brighten the day!!

As I was filling in the days below, I pretty much harvested some quantity of apples each day. Looking at the totals, we have picked over 450 apples this year and I can still see reaching 500. Nice though is that we picked over a 2 month time period. We started harvesting September 17th and we are pretty much winding down now. My daughter asked the other day why we did not have a lot of apples like the farmer who brought apples to their school. I told her that we actually have picked almost 500 apples and now that she understands what the number 500 is, she was pretty excited. She just never sees more than 10 at a time!!

As for the rest of the garden. We still have Kale, I planted garlic a couple of weeks ago and it is sprouting up right now, planted Arugula at the same time and we have a nice bed out there that is about 1/2 inch tall. I planted a cover crop on the other beds to add nutrients and to keep the weeds down as much as possible. I do need to get out to the strawberries though...tons of weeds invading!!

A five-week summary if you do not want to read the details:
Kale: 4 bunches ($8.00)
Lemons: 2 ($1.00)
Limes: 5 ($1.25)
Mandarins: 22 ($5.50)
Figs: 29 ($7.25)
Apples: 232 ($147.50)

Year 2, Day 108
1) 6 apples
2) 2 bunches kale

Year 2, Day 109
1) 7 apples

Year 2, Day 110
1) 5 apples
2) 4 figs

Year 2, Day 111
1) 7 apples
2) 4 figs

Year 2, Day 112
1) 8 apples

Year 2, Day 113
1) 9 apples

Year 2, Day 114
1) 1 apple
2) 1 lemon

Year 2, Day 115
1) 9 apples

Year 2, Day 116
1) 5 figs

Year 2, Day 117
1) 13 apples

Year 2, Day 118
1) 8 apples

Year 2, Day 119
1) 4 apples
2) 6 figs

Year 2, Day 120
1) 14 apples

Year 2, Day 121
1) 1 apple
2) 1 lime

Year 2, Day 122
1) 19 apples
2) 1 lime

Year 2, Day 123
1) 7 apples

Year 2, Day 124
1) 10 figs

Year 2, Day 125
1) 10 apples

Year 2, Day 126
1) 1 apple

Year 2, Day 127
1) 10 apples
2) 1 lime

Year 2, Day 128
1) 6 apples
2) 1 mandarin (tester)

Year 2, Day 129
1) 11 apples

Year 2, Day 130
1) 2 bunches kale

Year 2, Day 131
1) 12 apples

Year 2, Day 132
1) 4 apples

Year 2, Day 133
1) 15 apples

Year 2, Day 134
Gone

Year 2, Day 135
Gone

Year 2, Day 136
1) 10 apples

Year 2, Day 137
1) 6 apples
2) 1 mandarin

Year 2, Day 138
1) 1 apple
2) 1 mandarin

Year 2, Day 139
1) 11 apples
2) 1 lemon

Year 2, Day 140
1) 2 apples
2) 3 mandarins

Year 2, Day 141
1) 6 apples
2) 10 mandarins

Year 2, Day 142
1) 9 apples
2) 6 mandarins
3) 2 limes

Five-Week harvest: $170.50

Total Produce Harvested : $2589.50
Total Honey Harvested: $360.00
Expenses: $310.00

Days 452 - 472 The Fall Crops

The weather has cooled and the rain pretty much put an end to the fig harvest. The tomato and zuke plants were taken out this week. The change in light really makes a difference in the veggie garden. We still have Kale and I planted more Kale this week in preparation for the winter crop.

The star of the garden is now our Sierra Beauty apple tree. Loaded with "beauty" apples, we have been harvesting about 8 - 10 apples a day. Kids are eating 1 - 2 per day and the grown-ups even more. Bringing some to work each day to share with colleagues is just a pleasure. The fruit is just getting better as it hangs on the tree and soaks up the fall sunlight and experiences the cool fall nights. Our other apple tree, Pink Lady, was just planted last year and although it flowered this year, I removed the fruit to allow the tree to put its energy into growth. Looking forward to enjoying those in a couple of years.

The next time I write will probably see the first of the citrus. The mandarins are not quite as numerous as last year (over 1000 mandarins!!), but I am looking forward to the fresh citrus once again.

A three-week summary if you do not want to read the details:
Kale: 4 bunches ($8.00)
Zucchini: 6 ($4.50)
Tomatoes: 27 ($27.75)
Grapes: 1/2 lb ($1.00)
Lemons: 3 ($1.50)
Figs: 84 ($21.00)
Apples: 182 ($113.00)
Acorn Squash: 2 ($5.75)

Year 2, Day 87
1) 40 figs
2) 2 tomatoes
3) 5 zukes

Year 2, Day 88
1) 10 apples
2) 1/2 lb grapes
3) 1 tomato

Year 2, Day 89
1) 11 apples
2) 7 figs
3) 2 acorn squash

Year 2, Day 90
1) 10 apples
2) 9 figs

Year 2, Day 91
1) 14 apples
2) 10 figs
3) 1 lemon

Year 2, Day 92
1) 10 apples
2) 9 figs
3) 5 tomatoes

Year 2, Day 93
1) 1 fig
2) 3 tomatoes
3) 2 bunches kale

Year 2, Day 94
1) 18 apples
2) 5 figs

Year 2, Day 95
1) 10 figs
2) 3 tomatoes

Year 2, Day 96
1) 17 apples
2) 5 tomaotes

Year 2, Day 97
1) 3 tomatoes

Year 2, Day 98
1) 5 tomatoes
2) 3 lemons

Year 2, Day 99
1) 27 apples

Year 2, Day 100
Gone

Year 2, Day 101
1) 2 figs

Year 2, Day 102
1) 10 apples

Year 2, Day 103
1) 10 apples
2) 1 fig

Year 2, Day 104
1) 14 apples
2) 1 zuke

Year 2, Day 105
1) 2 bunches kale

Year 2, Day 106
1) 14 apples

Year 2, Day 107
1) 7 apples

Three-Week harvest: $182.50

Total Produce Harvested : $2419.00
Total Honey Harvested: $360.00
Expenses: $290.00

Days 431 - 451 Ripe Fruit

Wow, in three weeks we have seen the departure of our pears and now into full swing on the apples and figs. The veggie garden is slowing a bit, although we did harvest 73 tomatoes in the past three weeks!!

Ripe fruit... This reminds me of a workshop I went to at Google last year. At the workshop, there was a nice spread of fruit to have with our breakfast and I was talking with a guy who pointed at a fig and asked, "what is that?" Well, he had lived in the midwest for his life and just moved to the west coast and thus had never seen a fig before. I told him what it was but warned him that it would probably not be very good...and sure enough it was not. On the other hand, we have harvested 77 figs in the past week and a half and they are ripened to perfection.

Why is it that we are allowing ourselves to eat such bad tasting fruit? Will it be some day that we do not even know what a good piece of fruit tastes like? I sure hope not, but for many, there really is no choice. Take it off the supermarket shelf or never eat fruit!! Too bad for those people...because figs are really tasty.

A three-week summary if you do not want to read the details:
Kale: 2 bunches ($4.00)
Raspberries: 3 baskets ($6.00)
Strawberries: 2 1/2 baskets ($5.00)
Cherry Tomatoes: 2 baskets ($4.00)
Zucchini: 5 ($8.00)
Cucumbers: 9 ($7.00)
Tomatoes: 73 ($47.50)
Grapes: 7 lbs ($14.00)
Lemons: 5 ($2.50)
Figs: 77 ($19.25)
Apples: 54 ($35.00)

Year 2, Day 66
1) 3 tomatoes

Year 2, Day 67
1) 1 basket strawberries
2) 1 cucumber
3) 4 tomatoes
4) 1 apple

Year 2, Day 68
1) 12 oz grapes
2) 5 tomatoes

Year 2, Day 69
1) 12 oz grapes

Year 2, Day 70
1) 1 cucumber
2) 1 zuke
3) basket cherry tomatoes
4) 7 tomatoes
5) basket raspberries
6) 1 lemon

Year 2, Day 71
1) 12 oz grapes

Year 2, Day 72
1) 2 tomatoes
2) 7 cukes
3) 3 figs

Year 2, Day 73
1) 2 figs
2) 2 bunches kale

Year 2, Day 74
1) 9 oz grapes
2) 3 figs
3) 1 tomato

Year 2, Day 75
1) 10 tomatoes
2) 8 oz grapes
3) 9 figs

Year 2, Day 76
1) basket cherry tomatoes
2) 9 oz grapes
3) basket raspberries

Year 2, Day 77
1) 10 tomatoes
2) 12 oz grapes
3) 6 figs
4) 1 lemon

Year 2, Day 78
1) 3 zukes
2) 12 figs
3) 12 oz grapes
4) 1 apple

Year 2, Day 79
1) 1 zuke
2) 7 apples
3) 3 figs
4) 6 tomatoes

Year 2, Day 80
1) 1 basket raspberries
2) 1 basket strawberries

Year 2, Day 81
1) 6 figs
2) 10 oz grapes
3) 10 tomatoes
4) 4 apples
5) 1/2 basket strawberries

Year 2, Day 82
1) 11 apples
2) 8 figs
3) 11 oz grapes

Year 2, Day 83
1) 10 figs
2) 10 apples
3) 8 oz grapes
4) 1 lemon
5) 1 tomato

Year 2, Day 84
1) 6 tomatoes
2) 11 figs

Year 2, Day 85
1) 8 tomatoes
2) 10 apples
3) 9 figs
4 3 lemons

Year 2, Day 86
1) 10 figs
2) 10 apples


Two-Week harvest: $150.25

Total Produce Harvested : $2236.50
Total Honey Harvested: $360.00
Expenses: $270.00

Days 417 - 430 The Tomato

We wait for this time of the year...the time for ripe tomatoes!! There are some who watch their green tomatoes never quite turn before the cool weather sets in, pretty much setting the stage for another year "without". Yet, those same people will plant again the next year in hope that they will get those special summer treats that we all love so much.

We are quite fortunate here in Healdsburg that even in a relatively cool summer we have enough heat to ripen these treats each year. Right now we are in the middle of a great harvest. We picked 30 tomatoes in the past two weeks, with various varieties sharing the table: Celebrity, Rainbow, Kellogs Breakfast, and Black Krim. One of the Rainbow tomatoes weighed in at over a pound!!

I do plan on planting some chard tomorrow and perhaps set a bed of Arugula seeds down for a spicy salad green.

As for the harvest, we really do not even look at the fruit at the grocery store at this time of the year. We have been eating those pears as they ripen and we harvest a cluster or two of grapes almost daily for the kids' lunches. As you can see down below in the summary, we have harvested 10 different varieties for a total of $162 over the two-week period. Sure helps the food budget stretch itself!!

A two-week summary if you do not want to read the details:
Kale: 1 bunch ($2.00)
Raspberries: 6 baskets ($12.00)
Strawberries: 1 basket ($2.00)
Cherry Tomatoes: 7 baskets ($14.00)
Zuchinni: 7 ($8.50)
Cucumbers: 18 ($16.00)
Tomatoes: 30 ($33.00)
Pears: 75 ($53.00)
Grapes: 7 lbs ($14.00)
Potatoes: 1 1/2 lb ($1.50)

Year 2, Day 52
1) 1 zuke
2) 3 tomatoes
3) 2 baskets raspberries

Year 2, Day 53
1) 11 oz grapes
2) 13 pears
3) 5 cukes
4) 1 tomato
5) 1 basket cherry tomatoes

Year 2, Day 54
1) 12 pears
2) 12 oz grapes
3) 1 basket cherry tomatoes

Year 2, Day 55
1) 4 tomatoes
2) 1 cuke
3) 8 oz grapes

Year 2, Day 56
1) 1 basket cherry tomatoes
2) 8 oz grapes
3) 2 baskets raspberries

Year 2, Day 57
1) 3 cukes
2) 20 pears

Year 2, Day 58
1) 3 tomatoes
2) 2 zukes
3) basket of cherry tomatoes
4) 1 1/2 lb potatoes

Year 2, Day 59
1) 1 tomato
2) 1 bunch kale
3) 4 oz grapes

Year 2, Day 60
1) 1 lb grapes
2) 16 pears
3) 8 tomatoes
4) 2 cukes

Year 2, Day 61
1) 9 oz. grapes

Year 2, Day 62
1) 4 zukes
2) 3 tomatoes
3) 14 pears
4) 7 cukes
5) 12 oz grapes

Year 2, Day 63
1) 1 basket strawberries
2) 1 basket cherry tomatoes
3) 2 tomatoes

Year 2, Day 64
1) 7 oz grapes

Year 2, Day 65
1) 5 tomatoes
2) 1 1/2 lb grapes
3) 2 baskets cherry tomatoes
4) 2 baskets raspberries

Two-Week harvest: $162.00

Total Produce Harvested : $2084.25
Total Honey Harvested: $360.00
Expenses: $250.00