GARDENING RESULTS

Crops harvested:

Icicle radishes (10) 2lbs
Cassava 60lbs
Kohlrabi (18) 13.5 lbs
Radishes (21) 1.5 lbs
Endless Salads (10lbs?)
Turnips + their greens (13) 8.4 lbs
Peas 4 lbs
Beets (7) (0.5lb)
Cauliflower (3) 7 lbs
Broccoli (7) 10.1 lbs
Sweet Potatoes 120 lbs
Papaya (15) 26.25 lbs
Florida Cranberry calyxes 1.5 lb.
Bananas (17) 5 lbs.
Lemons (8) 3.5 lbs
White guavas (5) 2.5lbs
Wild Grapes 4lbs
Sugar Cane 20lbs
Beans 15lb
Tomatoes 3 (.5 lb) [TOMATO FAIL!]
Strawberries (dozens) 2lb?
Blackberries (dozens) 1lb?
Blueberries (handful) .5 lb?
Carrots 10lb

Total weight of food harvested: 331.75 lbs

Estimated Egg Count (Chicken and Duck): 2000-2500

TREES AND SHRUBS PLANTED

1 Jujube
1 Apple (from a rootstock cutting)
1 Everbearing Mulberry
8 (at least) Loquats
1 Hachiya Persimmon
2 Peaches (from seed)
5 Pecans (from seed)
5 Figs
1 Tung Oil Tree
5 Pomegranates (4 from cuttings)
1 Black Cherry Tree
1 Chaste Tree
15 Moringa Trees
50 Cassava plants
50 Sugarcane plants
5 Papaya trees
1 Blood Orange Tree
1 Calamondin Tree
5 Citrus (from seeds)
2 Lemon Trees
3 Simpson Stoppers
7 Goumi Berry shrubs
10 Silverthorn shrubs
1 Chinese Chestnut
1 Raspberry
10 Banana Trees
4 Plantain Trees
4 Blueberry Bushes (from cuttings)
Senna Alata Trees (Many – from seed)

INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS

Built/Dug 13 new garden beds
Acquired (3) old hot tubs for a new aquaponics system
Acquired (1) Country Living Grain Mill
Added (2) rainbarrels
Converted goat run into a large chicken run
Built high-capacity clothes line
Created sprinkler irrigation system for garden beds
Acquired and repaired tiller
Acquired a StoveTec Rocket stove for emergency cooking
Acquired an egg incubator
Acquired a large stainless sink for butchering/washing

BLOG

Total Posts: 109

Survival Plant Profiles Created: 11
New Videos Posted: 9

Top Posts:

Film Review: Back to Eden
Response from Mayor Dyer on “Illegal Garden”
Video Interview with Jason and Jennifer Helvenston
Cassava: King of Staples
August Natural Awakenings Article (on Toxic Manure)
Survival Plant: Sweet Potatoes
Extreme Composting III
Survival Plant: Shepherd’s Needle
Survival Plant: Bananas
Orlando Gardener Fights to Keep His Front-yard Garden

OTHER WRITING

Articles for “Natural Awakenings” Magazine: 12
Articles for “The Marion Gardener:” 11
Articles for Mother Earth News: 1
Articles for local extension office: 1

CONCLUSION:

Overall, a pretty good year… especially considering that my spring garden was mostly destroyed by Aminopyralid-contaminated manure (I’m looking at you, tomatoes!).

The numbers on crops are approximate, since many things were eaten in the garden and never made it to the scale to be weighed. We also didn’t bother weighing most of the salads we consumed – or the edible weeds we mixed into stir-fries. Additionally, the fruit trees aren’t yielding much of anything yet, since we’ve only been on this property just over two years. Chill hours last winter were poor so the blueberries also failed to crop well at all… and the blackberries were also smitten by evil toxic manure.

As for the blog, since its official re-launch on August 30th, we’ve gone from getting a handful of visits a day to averaging over a hundred. Thank you all for stopping by and contributing your thoughts. Gardening – even survival gardening – is much more fun when it’s shared.

Have a wonderful New Year – 2013’s gardening is going to rock!

-David the Good