Bountiful Backyard – Homegrown Organic Produce
I have not been a gardener for long, just a few years but I love the bountiful backyard harvest. I’m a small-time gardener; just two raised beds, well three if you count the strawberry patch. Just enough to enjoy the fruits of my labor, but not too much that it becomes work or waste.
My garden consists of spinach, tomatoes, jalapeno peppers, bell peppers, zucchini, and onions. I also grow a few herbs, such as basil, cilantro, chives, and dill. Oh and strawberries too!
Raised beds are the way to go, they are virtually weed free and so easy to turn over each spring and fall. This year we mulched the beds too, so maybe I won’t have to water so much, city water is expensive! Two of my beds are made from used landscaping blocks someone needed to get rid of and last year when we needed to expand we used concrete blocks for a third bed. It is solid, yet economical. I plant my onions in the concrete block holes to utilize as much space as possible. There are some neat ideas for concrete block gardens on Pinterest, so be sure to check out my boards on Living Ava’s Way Pinterest page.
Each spring I add my own compost, consisting of leaves, eggshells, coffee and tea grounds and produce scraps. My compost bin is a DIY project made from a free trash cart. It is quite beneficial for being able to add natural nutrients back into the soil. Organic Veggies!
I’m not big on canning or preserving, so I keep it as simple as possible. For example, I grow Roma Tomatoes and I use them for marinara, enchilada sauce, and salsa. I freeze a small stash for winter in Ball Wide Mouth Jars, but for the tomatoes, I don’t use up right away I freeze them whole and bag in Ziploc bags. With frozen Romas, you can run them under warm water and the skin will slip right off. I toss these in a saucepan with seasonings, olive oil and a touch of red wine vinegar for a quick marinara. Switch the seasonings up and you have enchilada sauce. So easy and tasty!
Click here to learn more about freezing tomatoes
Click here for Marinara Sauce Recipe
Click here for Enchilada Sauce Recipe * Note – this recipe calls for canned tomato sauce, but I use my garden tomatoes. I also use my Homemade Chicken Bone Broth.
I plant my spinach a couple weeks apart so I don’t end up with too much all at once. Learn that the hard way the first year, I planted it, but you can freeze spinach for smoothies or casseroles. Click here for a tasty Keto Smoothie Recipe. This recipe calls for blackberries, but any type of fruit is great and spinach too. I love adding spinach for all the nutrients and the fruit makes it sweet like a dessert.
I planted my first bit of spinach in the snow this spring so it should be ready to pick soon, then I will plant zucchini in that spot. I haven’t had any luck freezing zucchini for later use, but we love Zoodles and Zucchini Lasagna, so I don’t have trouble using it up. My favorite zoodle maker is the Veggetti Pro Spiralizer. Stay tuned for a blog post in the near future about how I make Zucchini Lasagna, it is a family favorite!
Fresh pickled Jalapenos are great for salsa and poppers, any leftover peppers are pickled for the offseason. These pickled hot peppers are great on tacos, enchiladas, and salads and they are stored in the refrigerator, so no canning needed. Click here for an easy pickled pepper recipe.
My favorite bell pepper recipes are Paleo Stuffed Pepper Soup and Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Peppers. For any leftover peppers, I just dice and freeze for use in soups and casseroles. It is so convenient being able to grab chopped peppers out of the freezer and toss them right into a recipe!
As for my herbs, I dry them in a dehydrator and use them in all kinds of recipes like my Homemade Ranch Dressing, but this can be done in the oven too. In fact, one of my favorite seasonings is cilantro salt, which is super easy to make and it is fantastic on salads and sprinkled on avocados!
Cilantro Salt Recipe #1
Cilantro Salt Recipe #2
By my definition, I am a “city” gardener, because my childhood memories of “country” gardening are very different from anything mentioned above. I recall spending hours tilling, planting, weeding, picking, snapping, shucking, etc. A hot steaming canner boiling in the summer heat and dirty dishes galore as we prepared the enormous bounty for the winter months. I wanted that wholesome goodness too, but our wants and needs are different so I adapted to fit those. I truly hope you enjoy my tips and tricks for “city” gardening. There’s nothing better tasting than organic veggies from your own backyard.
