Demonstrating How to Grow Lots of Vegetables in your Yard.
In 2015 I decided to try to grow as much food as I could in our typical suburban yard in Vienna, VA in Fairfax County. I expanded steadily and now grow the majority of our vegetables on this small plot using scaled-downed versions of intensive farming practices that market gardeners use. See below for what you can expect to harvest in a front-yard farm and a “how to” section so you can start your own. Also see our Instagram and Facebook pages.
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Hakurai Turnips: You will say you don’t like turnips but these are a special variety sought after by gourmet chefs. Eat them raw by themselves or in salads. They store for months (the root only; the greens are delicious they just don’t last as long). The amount shown here is probably only 25 percent of what I get from one 8 by 4 bed.
French Breakfast Radishes
I plant many sowings of French Breakfast radishes a year. I harvest the first usually by the second week or April and then two more harvests before the heat becomes unbearable in Vienna/Fairfax. I then hold on planting until late August/early September. The greens do not last that long, but the roots will keep for months. Notice the holes in the leaves… an example of a pest eating a bit but I don’t spray/manage it. In almost all cases it will not damage the growth/roots so all you lose is some appearance. Don’t panic if you see pests in the garden.
BEETS: I harvest beets three times a year (May, August, and November). The greens keep for a few weeks but the roots will last for many many months in the refrigerator in a plastic bin. I start all my beets inside under lights for 4 weeks and then move out to the garden.
Typical Harvests
Carrots.
That’s a 21 Liter plastic container, a 2 gallon glass container, and a gallon storage bag full of carrots I pulled on 21 May 2020 from one 8x4 garden bed. They will last for months in the fridge. This variety is Mokum and its unlike anything you get in the stores. I pulled another similar harvest in August and then replanted again for a November/December harvest.
Potatoes.
In May I pull potatoes (not all pictured). I plant them in March and they are ready just in time for me to plant sweet potatoes (early June). The sweet potatoes are harvested in the fall.
Cucumbers.
This is a typical weekly harvest from the plants that I grow on one 8x4 bed. To get this much yield you need to grow vertically to give them space. We eat them fresh,m but I pickle a lot since its the only way I can preserve them. I use a traditional lacto-fermentation technique. I grow a “pickling type” and then an longer Asian variety that does great in our hot climate (e.g. Suyo Long is one of my favorite).
Chinese Cabbage.
In May I harvest Chinese-style cabbage (one head seen above). I store some of them (they last in the fridge for at least 6 weeks in my experience) but most I made into a style of kimchi. This way I can eat cabbage all year. I’m comfortable with storing kimchi for at least 12 months in the fridge. I plant and harvest three times a year: in the spring, summer, and fall.
French Breakfast.
In April I start to pull French Breakfast radishes. They store well and they grow so fast. Eat them raw like a carrot or shred them on salad. Eating them with butter is delightful.
Hakurai.
Hakurai is a type of turnip, a maligned vegetable to say the least. But, the Hakurai variety is silky smooth and delicious even eaten raw. Pluck them from the fridge and eat like a carrot or shred on salad or roast if you like. You can see from the picture that they are prolific producers. I harvested those two large bowls from the 8x4 bed in the picture and note how I only pulled about 1/3 of the harvest. I grow these in spring, summer, and fall.
Beets.
In early May I usually harvest about 50 beets from an 8x4 bed. They store very well in the fridge and we munch on them all summer. I like to start beets indoors under lights and transplant out.
Cabbage.
In July I harvest cabbage. They store well in tubs in a fridge. Just take one out, slice it up and add to any meal or eat as a side dish. I also make sauerkraut every year but usually with the fall grown cabbages. I plant twice a year in spring and fall (although the “fall” planting starts in July.
Kimchi.
Example of the kimchi I make; this one was made with Daikon and the Chinese Cabbage I grew in the spring. I find it stores for at least a year giving you year-round deliciousness.
Greens.
Meet Belle Isle Cress. It survives the winter in the ground and is the first to start growing in the early spring/late winter. I grow some greens but usually only in the really late fall, early spring, and winter (when few other things will flourish).
Tomatoes.
I plant three varieties. I have mostly settled on Damsel, Cherokee Purple, and a cherry tomato variety. I grow them up twine and mostly eat them fresh. Although I will freeze some to make sauce or add to cooked dishes in the winter.
Mini Daikon.
Small Daikon (radishes). I shredded most of these and put into the Kimchi.