2024 - year of the banana

A textual and graphical summary of our harvests throughout the year

Once again, we had many firsts and an overall increase in the amount of food harvested from our suburban plot of about 0.2 acres. Although we didn’t harvest all of the same things we harvested last year and even harvested fewer times, we still harvested more types of food, as well as more in weight.

64.4 lbs

We harvested a total of 64.4 lbs of food in 2024!

More than 32 types of food

We harvested 32 types of veggies, fruits, leafy greens, flowers, and mushrooms. Harvests new for 2024 included arugula, bananas, cassava, elderberries and elderflower, mango, mustard greens, passion fruit, and even some wild smilax tips. Combined with repeats like pigeon peas, carrots, collard greens, mulberries, and more, 2024 proved to be quite the success!

41 weeks with something to Harvest

Out of 52 weeks in the year, at least one thing was harvested in 41 of them!

We harvested lots of things for the first time this year! Arugula, banana, cassava, elderberry, mango, mustard greens, passion fruit, and wild smilax were the new additions to the harvest data records.

8 new harvests

This was our first year getting fruit from our banana plants, and we got three racks of bananas in total! While two of the racks were dwarf cavendish, one was the Goldfinger variety. It was creamy and custardy and oh-so-sweet! We also harvested almost ten pounds of Glenn mangoes, and our first purple passion fruit. The Goldfinger banana, mango, and passion fruit combined to make the best home-made smoothie I’ve ever had.

We also harvested cassava for the first time and made our very own yuca fries. Cassava is a great addition to any Florida food forest. It grows well in our sandy soil with very little care, and can be easily propagated. It’s a great starch food to grow along with sweet potatoes, potatoes, and plantains.

We went from 0.1 pounds of mulberries in 2023 to over one whole pound in 2024! Whatever we managed to not eat right away (always difficult when they’re so delicious off the tree), we added to pancakes, yogurt, oatmeal, and even margaritas!

I also learned just how nutritious mustard greens are, full of vitamins and minerals. Tyler combined them with coconut milk and veggies and served them with rice. Another great leafy green to grow in Florida’s climate, mustard greens will definitely be sticking around in our garden!

Although this year we did not harvest any papayas, we more than made up for it with other fruits. It can be difficult to focus on every type of food to grow and ensure they’re all successful. But as we get more experienced with what needs our attention and more hands-off with what becomes established and self-sufficient, we can, overtime, get more of everything. I decided to not harvest any turmeric, for example, in 2024. Instead I focused on propagating what we did have. I want one day to have enough turmeric to harvest every year while not depleting the overall quantity established in the yard. We hope 2025 brings back papayas and other things we missed out on, as well as more of all the new additions.

Lastly, we finally added more raised garden beds too, and worked mostly on filling them in 2024. I can’t wait to see what all this hard work and growth brings us in 2025!