The Frugivore Diet

Still doing vegan gardening!

2020-03-27T03:26:43.000Z

Hey y'all, it's been SO long since I've been on here. I hope you are all well in these crazy times.

I wanted to let you all know that I'm not posting here regularly or on any forums or groups, not even facebook. Currently, I'm only using favebook for work and will post garden pictures when i can.

However, I am regularly posting garden updates on my blog and Instagram at sillybunnns.

Here's an overview of what I have currently growing: six garden beds of different types of lettuce, spinach, kale, arugula, peas, radishes, potatoes, cilantro, and onions.

In the food forest: the peaches, nectarines, blueberries, plums, and pears are blooming.

In the flower garden, the tulips and daffodils, hyacinths are in full bloom.

Check out the new garden features and some garden pictures for inspiration, guidance, or comments and questions here: Vegans living off the land

Feel free to check out the blog or my Instagram to scroll through the last couple of years of garden harvests...

I have attached small highlights from this year's garden so far...

-Cassie K

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Help a Newbie Grow Something!

2015-09-25T21:04:10.000Z

ok, so i want to get into growing my own food. what are some good first plants to get? and where are some good places to get them?

Ant Attack!

2014-07-25T06:10:02.000Z

My recently planted fruit trees are striving to make themselves at home in my hot climate.

But now some local ants, large and small, are turning the leaves into their personal smorgasbord.

A. I don't wish to harm the ants on ethical grounds.

B. I subscribe to a permaculture concept in which nature is something with which to coexist not subdue. There's room for all creatures to thrive.

But neither an I willing to see my trees nibbled bare.

Any of your green thumb growers know of a non-deadly but effective repellant to make these hungry ants look elsewhere for noms?

Are melons the best thing to grow in Virginia?

2014-06-23T21:54:42.000Z

Hey all! so im thinking that apart from perennial fruits melons are the best bang for my buck, is this accurate?

What are no work self perpetuating edibles?

2014-06-20T16:47:43.000Z

The only thing I can think of are fruit trees. I'd like to plant seeds that can take care of themselves so a person only need pick them when they are in season.

Watching our gardens grow (total of 4 and a half gardens)

2014-05-29T02:20:12.000Z

I haven't been busy much in the garden, I have mostly been watching the plants grow. I still have left some tomatoes needed to be transplanted as well as melons and cantaloupe plants. Some of the tomatoes and pepper plants are going to take another two weeks before they are ready to transplant in the gardens.
As I mentioned in previous posts, I have four gardens this, with the addition of my cousin Lisa's garden I am tending to and adding a second garden at my Grandparents. I was able to directly sow corn, beans, and cucumbers a week ago at my cousin's; and two weeks ago I was able to plant corn and beans at my Grandparents, along with cucumbers, pumpkin, and squash.

Two weeks ago I transplanted 60 tomatoes into the garden, and two days ago I was able to transplant an additional 40+ tomato plants.
Two weeks ago I mentioned transplanting 80 cantaloupe plants. Unfortunately the location of the cantaloupe plants are not ideal, so they will be forgoing another transplant into a sunnier location (most likely where I have planted the corn and beans at my Grandparents).

Below I have posted recent developments in the garden...

The lettuces, spinach, and kale were directly sown one month ago and I have harvested four times in the last week from them. I will be able to continue picking from my greens everyday for the next two months.

Six rows of lettuces, spinach, kale, and peas

Buttercrunch lettuce

Spinach

Here are pictures of the lettuce harvests in the last few days and a photo of my first strawberry from our gardens.

First strawberry, and many more to come

Lettuce harvest

The potatoes have grown a foot or so since my last post. They will be ready in a couple months from now. The 125 lbs I planted in the garden is expected to triple (or at least double) the quantity. Possibly being able to feed off my potatoes for several months.

10 rows of potatoes

2 foot tall potatoes

My Cucumbers are a new addition, which have recently sprouted their third and fourth leaves. They should be putting off within the next month. It may be hard to tell in the photo, but the row of Cucumbers is over 30 feet long, approximately containing 400 seeds (perhaps only 200 plants will sprout). If half of the seeds I planted grow one cucumber, I will end up harvesting 200 cucumbers by end of July and August.
You can see in the picture below we have laid out cardboard to prevent weeds from intervening with the Cucumbers as they vine out.

Row of cucumbers with cardboard

Cucumbers

My Yellow & Zucchini Squash were young transplants, so they are quite small. Yet they have grown much in the last week due to the increase in night temperatures. I have eight rows of Squash as you can see in the picture below. (To the left of the Squash plants I will be growing more varieties of beans).

Squash had some difficulties with bugs

Squash

8 rows of yellow & zucchini squash

Other squash varieties I planted were Cushaws and Pumpkins. These are grown in a shady area of the garden, so they may be stunted.

Pumpkins

Below are pictures of my second garden at my Grandparent's property, where I have grown several rows of Corn and black eyed peas. As I have said I will growing more varieties of beans next to the Squash garden. Also in this Corn and bean bed I will transplanting Watermelon and Cantaloupe to the right of the black eyed peas.

And this is a little snapshot my cousin took of the beans I have growing at her house. Although the beans are only visible, she mentioned that the rows of corn and cucumbers were up as well. So I have two different gardens for cucumbers, corn and beans.

Beans

I haven't taken pictures of the Tomato and Cantaloupe progress because I am still working on these gardens. I have added more Tomatoes and need to transplant the Cantaloupe and Watermelon. Once this happens I will show progress photos!
Until next time, feel free to look at previous garden update posts.

Original post @ Watching our gardens grow from Vegans Living off the Land

April 15th 2014 Garden update/What's growing on in the garden

2014-04-16T03:20:20.000Z

The blueberry bushes, peach trees, pear trees, and plum tree and grape vines are blooming. The fig and cherry trees are not showing much sign of life, but I have some hope for them.

Peach tree blooming (20+ years old)

Ground violets are covering my Mom's yard and many other neighboring yards...no need to mow a beautiful lawn...The hyacinths are growing lovely. Our rock wall is coming along slow, but it is the least of my worries.

hyacinths

Rock wall for smothering ivy/thorns/weeds

It has been raining every 2-3 days; so I have been collecting rain water in tubs and buckets for watering my starter plants.

My partner James and I have been busy in the last two weeks. In between rains we have aerated the soil for our potato garden by shoveling and tilling. So far we have hoed six wide rows and planted 75 lbs of potatoes (25 lb of Ukon Gold and 50 lb of Kennebec potatoes).
We have another 50 lb of Kennebec potatoes we must plant after the upcoming rain. It's supposed to rain Monday and snow on Tuesday, so I will be back to hoeing and tilling on Thursday, hopefully the garden will be dry by then.

Last week I had planted cantaloupe, watermelon, and tomatoes in starter containers; and sewed varieties of lettuce, kale, spinach, and peas in my garden.

Varieties of greens that went in the garden

Tomatoes sprouting in cantaloupe starters, haha

Starter containers of watermelon and cantaloupe

Last week I also mentioned (here) that I transplanted what I thought was squash and cucumber seedlings. Unfortunately as they sprouted their third and fourth leaves, I realized they were weeds! What a disappointment, but I ripped all of them up and planted cantaloupe and tomatoes in the tubs.

Ripping up weeds for tomato starting containers

Tomato and cantaloupe starting containers with
glass lids for solarium effect

In larger pots I planted peas, spinach, and herbs (mint and parsley). The peas have already sprouted in just a couple of days, whereas my garden peas have not thought about sprouting (after a week)!

Pots of spinach, peas, and herbs

Overall I have been focusing much attention to the potato garden and our strawberry gardens. We have a total of three strawberry beds. The picture below is our third bed that we constructed with logs, dirt from around the yard, and compost on top. Several weeks ago I filled a second strawberry bed of most of the compost I had left too.

This is actually the third strawberry bed we made

This is the first strawberry bed we made out
of logs and compost/mulched with leaves and
pine needles

Total of 18 strawberry plants!

We may find more logs in the woods to construct a fourth strawberry bed, but we'll see as I have many tasks ahead of me...

In the upcoming weeks I will be transplanting tomato and pepper starters in the ground.
At the beginning of May I will be planting Non-GMO varieties of beans.
My cousin Lisa and her son want us to shovel and till a garden at her house, so I will find the time to do that in the following weeks. I'm sure she only wants a couple of rows for beans and tomatoes. Very simple.

At the beginning of May, I will also be planting corn across the road from my Grandparent's house.
In one garden (at my grandparent's house), I will sewing cucumbers, zucchini, yellow squash, butternut squash, beans, and (perhaps) more lettuce or other types of greens directly in the ground.
Later towards June I will transplant my watermelon and cantaloupe starters in my garden (at my Mom's house).

Leaves for mulch

As I have said, I have taken on little side projects when I am not planting potatoes or greens in the garden, or starting tomato and melons indoors. For example, I am working on the rock wall in front my of my Mom's house which is usually taken over by ivy and thorny bushes. I have been working on the strawberry beds, and collecting rain for watering pepper, tomato, and melon starters. Well I have also hauled lots of leaves with trash bags from the woods, in order to mulch the garden, but I have been using the leaves to mulch the fruit trees and bushes. It's a good thing I did too (and covered the strawberry bed) because Kentucky got a snow and ice last night. It was 83 degrees yesterday!

Tonight will drop to 29 degrees, so as a precaution I have covered all of my fruit trees with light blankets and sheets (except my tallest fruit trees).

I presume after this snow and ice, the temperatures will slowly warm back to low 50s and 60s this week. Till then what do I do? Clean the house? Draw? Paint?

Peace

Original post @ April 15th 2014 Garden update from Vegans Living Off the Land

What are you planning on growing this year?

2014-04-11T17:34:01.000Z

Earlier this week, I planted basil and today I planted blue potatoes at my house. I also have red and gold potatoesready for when I get the next potato space ready. I also have a good sized herb garden, I'm waiting to see what survived the winter. I may even attempt to start a strawberry patch this year!

At my grandmother's house (she has a much bigger yard) we've planted turnips, several varieties of tomatoes and peppers, kale, spinach, eggplant, and I'm sure there's more.

What are your garden staples? Are you trying something new this year?

Spring & Summer Garden Layout

2014-04-07T01:04:24.000Z

As you know I am not taking my trip across America, see post here.

New strawberry bed with my compost!

I have had much to do since I got back from NC. Now that I am back in KY, I have tilled one of my gardens which I will turn into a Melon patch (watermelon and cantaloupe).
I also had someone plow one of my gardens that I will be dedicating to corn, beans, and tomatoes.
The other day I collected leaves from the woods and brought down to one of my gardens. Yesterday in the same garden I started a fire to burn off some weeds around the outline of the garden.
Basically I am working with two additional gardens along with my usual three gardens. I have my Mom's backyard garden where I grew tomatoes and peppers last year. I will also be growing tomatoes and peppers there again. Also on my Mom's property I have a separate triangle garden where I grew broccoli and cabbage and lettuce last year, that I will be dedicating to melons this summer. I have added a raised bed over the winter where I will be growing more strawberries with my other strawberry patch (in the picture at right).

At my Grandparent's, I have my large garden where I will be growing greens, cucumbers, beans, squash, and potatoes. Plus I have a new garden at my Grandparent's (that I had plowed for corn, beans, and tomatoes).
My cousin Lisa still wants me to work on her garden, so I will have a fifth garden to work on that I will be growing beans and tomatoes in!
Overall I have five gardens with additional raised beds and fruit trees/bushes to tend to. My five gardens will be focusing on the staples: potatoes, beans, tomatoes, corn, lettuce, squash, cucumbers, peppers, and melons. These will be grown during the Spring and Summer. I will focus on root vegetables this Fall when I can construct additional raised beds. I will also be growing a continual supply of lettuce and tender greens throughout the year.
I am glad I chose to come back home to garden because I have many ideas and projects ahead of me!
Below I have a basic layout of my TWO MAIN gardens (Mom's and Grandparents):

One of my main gardens at my Grandparents

As you can see in the above picture, I have my main garden for squash, beans, lettuce, cucumbers, and potatoes. I have a new garden that will be growing corn but I may also grow beans and tomatoes in the patch. You can see I have some fruit around my Grandparent's too!

One of my main gardens at my Mom's

In the above picture, I have my main garden I am growing half tomatoes and half peppers. I also have a triangle garden dedicated to melons. You can see my raised beds for strawberries. I forgot to add my other raised bed I am using to grow herbs. You can also see my fruit and nut trees around the property.

Today I planted some watermelon seeds indoors, so I will be transplanting them at the first of May. Considering I have had a late start, I have not started any other vegetables indoors, so I am going to purchase or come across tomato starters. I will plant cucumbers, squash, beans, and corn directly in the ground.

Stay tuned for more updates, pictures, and tips. Check out my new video here where I demonstrate how I started watermelon seeds indoors.

I have included some of my best tips with starting seeds indoors within the video.

Remember to check out my other blog posts on gardening that will help you prepare, get started, and avoid gardening mistakes:

Gardening Mistakes 2013 & Tips + Photos
4 Mistakes I've Made as a First year gardener
My Vegan Garden Calendar for 2013
Grow Food in Feb, March, & April
What Vegetables to Grow in the Summer
Garden Prep (What I'm doing to prepare for Spring Gardening)
How to Plan your Summer Garden

Original post @ Spring & Summer Garden Layout from Vegans Living off the Land

Have You Seen This Free Permaculture Design Course

2014-04-06T23:25:47.000Z

There's a lot of great info in these videos to improve your gardening adventure: http://organiclifeguru.com/free-permaculture-organic-farming-online-course-with-will-hooker-from-nc-state-university/

What vegetables to grow during the summer (May, June, & July)

2013-07-25T19:03:07.000Z

Original post @ Vegans Living off the Land

What vegetables to grow during the summer (May, June, & July)

Hello everyone! It has been several months since I lasted posted. Obviously, I have been keeping busy in the garden: hoeing, weeding, staking tomatoes and beans, and planning my Fall garden. I have also been remodeling my youngest brother's room (which has taken several weeks of my time.) Also, my Mother is working on her Masters, so I've been involved with helping her write essays. Moreover, I wanted to make sure I was able to reconnect with you all, and detail what I have been growing in my garden.

Within a couple of weeks I will do another entry that will list NEW practices I have learned as a gardener and highlight the mistakes I made this year that I will improve on next year. You can check out what I learned last year from my first time gardening, here "4 Mistakes I've made as a First-year Gardener"

Furthermore, the intention of this entry is to show you what I am currently growing and harvesting from this Summer's garden, and what food I was able to harvest from my Spring garden. Hopefully these pictures will inspire you to grow a Fall or winter garden, or perhaps inspire you to plan your spring and summer garden for 2014...Enjoy...

Basil, parsley, sage, and dill

Basil

Northern (white) beans

northern, kidney, pinto, and lima beans and black eyed peas

Beet greens

Harvested 10+ small heads of cabbage and beets from Spring garden

Broccoli/cabbage patch

Broccoli from spring garden...very delicious!

Broccoli

Broccoli head

butternut squash

Corn/okra/tomatoes

corn and okra

green peppers

hot peppers

rain barrels

lettuce, arugula, and spinach going to seed (the weeds have taken over!)

My partner and I also have a large watermelon and cantaloupe patch, but the location was not ideal. Melons need sandy soil, which I could not simulate for them this year. Perhaps next year I will ask a generous farmer if I can grow melons near his creek bed. Also close by the squash and melon patch is a large cucumber patch which is producing great! I'm eating lots of cucumbers and squash every day from my garden in the last two weeks. Being vegan is easy and inexpensive when you grow your own food!

zucchini/yellow squash/pumpkin/butternut squash patch

zucchini/yellow squash/okra

strawberry patch with 1 year worth of compost and pine needles

sunflowers...can't wait to eat the seeds!

tomatoes from our compost

tomatoes from a generous farmer

100+ tomato plants

"What are you going to do with all of them tomatoes?" says the meat-eaters

Sun-dried tomatoes, tomato juice, tomato soup, tomato salad, tomato sandwich - so many options!

Original post @ Vegans Living off the Land

What vegetables to grow during the summer (May, June, & July)

Grow Food in March & April: Cold weather vegetables

2013-04-18T16:37:43.000Z

Original Post from Vegans Living off the Land @ Grow Food in March & April: Cold weather vegetables

I started on my cold crop garden in March and April, so here are some ideas of what you can grow during the Spring months in cold climates:

For now I am calling this my strawberry patch, but I may turn it into something else

my collard greens from last fall survived the winter, so I transplanted them for Spring eating

My partner tilled a spot in front of the house for our three blueberry plants; and we're still deciding what to do with our hardy Kiwi plants

As you can see I am growing cabbage, broccoli, arugula, lettuce, red onions, radishes, beets, and turnips for my Spring Garden

Here is my second Spring garden

Please visit my blog Vegans Living off the Land for more gardening tips and the Vegan lifestyle. More photos of summer garden COMING SOON!

Original post @ Grow Food in March & April: Cold weather vegetables

What you need for homesteading (Full list of materials and supplies)

2013-01-07T14:10:56.000Z

Original post @ "What you need for homesteading". If you're interested in more topics like this, please visit my blog @ Vegans Living off the Land

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There are many questions to homesteading, especially since independence is somewhat a frightening concept. Homesteading takes much time to learn the skills and techniques that surrounding gardening, building, and crafting. Perhaps it will take you five to 10 years to become a proficient gardener. Likewise, homesteading is the "old" and "new way" of living; because we can learn from our relatives how to build a home and grow food; but we can also learn from young folks how to coincide sustainably with nature, humans, and technology.

At length, homesteading requires much dedication, investment, creativity, frugality, and resources. But, where do you start? Do I start looking for land for sale? How much time can I invest in building my home? How much time can I invest in growing a garden?

All of those questions will be answered or have been answered throughout my blog; but I want to use this blog post to point out a FULL LIST OF MATERIALS you will need for homesteading. This list will assist you in estimating your budget/investment. By providing you a list of supplies you will need, this will give you the opportunity to think creatively: what materials can I make? What materials can I borrow? And, what materials do I have to buy? For example, a ladder does not have to be purchased; instead, you can build your own ladder out of free recycled wood (found at pallet shops, sawmills, or pallets behind grocery stores.)

If you see something I missed, please comment below, and I will add it!

A
Ash (compost)
Axe

B
Bamboo (posts, stakes)
Barrels (Rain)
Batteries
Battery Charger
Beams (wood posts)
Books (philosophy, instructional, garden, fiction)
Bottles (starting seeds indoors)
Bricks (rock, stone)
Brushes (painting, plastering)

Buckets (5 gallon)

C
Calculator
Canner (pressure cooker)
Carpenter's Level
Cart (wheelbarrow)
Cellar (cold storage)
Chains
Chainsaw

Chairs (home)
Chalk line
Cheesecloth
Chicken wire
Clamshell digger (post hole)
Compost (organic)
CONTAINERS (unique gardening)
Cooler (food storing)
Crates (storage)
Cultivator (rototiller)

D
DC>AC inverter (solar panels)
Decor (outdoor/garden)
Dehydrator
Door (home)
Drill (speed)
Drill bits
Drums (55-gallon)
Duct tape

E
F

Fencing (wire)
Fertilizer (organic)
Forks (garden)
Freezer (cooler, food storage)
Froe

G
Galvanized screening (sifting)
Garden hose
Generator
Gloves
Goggles (safety)
Greenhouse(s)

H
Hammer
Handkerchief (cleaning tools)
Hand saw

Hose (garden)

Hoe

INTERNET

Jars (Mason)

K
Knife (utility)

L
Ladder
Level (carpenters)

M
Machetes
Mallet (wooden)
Marker pencil

Mattock
Measuring tape
Mulch

N
Nails

O
Organic SOIL
Outdoor Decor
Oven (made from sand, clay, & straw)

P
Pallets (recycled wood for trellis)
Pencils (marker)
Pickax
Pinch bar
Pitchfork
Plants (vegetable plugs, flowers)
Plastic sheeting (black & Clear)
Pliers
Pocket knife
Poles (posts, beams)
Post hole digger
POSTS (beams)
Pots (Flower, vegetable, herbs)
Pressure Cooker (canner)
Pruning shears
Pulaski

R
Rain barrels
Rake
Rock minerals (improving soil)
ROCKS (decor, building structures)

Rope
Roof structure (metal, shingles, lumber)
Root Cellar (cold storage)
Rototiller

Ruler (yardstick)

S
Safety goggles
Sand (for garden & home material)
Saw (hand or chain)
Saw horses
Screens (galvanized)

Screwdriver

SEEDS (flower, herb, veggie, fruit)
Shears (pruning)
Sheets (plastic, tarp)
Shovel
SOIL (organic gardening)
Solar panels
SPACE (for gardening)
Spades (digging)
Sponge (finishing interior of home)
Stakes (posts or poles)
Step ladder
String (hemp, rope)
Swanson square

T
Table (home)
TARP (plastic sheeting)
Tape measure

Tiller (rototiller)

Tool box
Trays (starting seeds)
Trellises (Arbors)

U
Utility knife

W
Watering system

Wheel barrel
Windows (home)
Wood mallet
Wood posts (beams for home)
Wood stove
Worms (compost)

Y
Yardstick (ruler)

Keep in mind, you may not need most of these items. In fact, you may not need windows, doors, or tables because you do not plan on making a home or shed.

Then again, if you are planning to build your own home, you may need MORE than what's listed above. A new home-owner needs silverware, kitchen appliances, bed sheets, pillows, etc. If you want to build your own home -- keep in mind that I have not listed exact building materials. Here is an idea of basic materials you may need for your home:

For the foundation of the house you may need rocks, bricks, concrete, or gravel. For structure of home (cob walls), you will need clay soil, sandy soil or sand, water, and straw. For roofing, you'll need lumber, poles, boards, and windows. Of course, you'll need glass or windows, doors, hinges, knobs, etc.

Again, if I missed an important tool or material, please comment below and I will add it to the list.

How much money have you invested in homesteading, so far? I have the luxury of borrowing most of my Grandfather's tools and supplies, as well as the space to grow food and build a home. I'm very fortunate for this!

If you're interested in more topics on gardening, homesteading, veganism, and healthy living, please visit my blog @ Vegans Living off the Land

Garden Prep (What I'm doing to prepare for spring gardening in DECEMBER)

2013-01-04T15:42:14.000Z

~~~Original blog post @ here from Vegans Living Off the Land

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On Friday, my partner and I had a surge of energy, so we cleaned up the yard, organized materials, burned recyclables for our garden so we could start prepping for Spring gardening. Technically, I will be gardening in February since I'll be starting Cabbage and Brussels indoors. In the first three pictures, you will see that I made seed starting trays out of and duck tape.

I always suggest to people they should use free, recycled, re-purposed materials to create your own tools/supplies.

To make these trays, cut off the head/lid of the water bottle, line bottles in rows, then tape.

Remember to puncture holes in the bottoms of each water bottle for drainage.

The is full of leaves that I raked up around the yard.

Compost should be 1(nitrogen):3(carbon) ratio. Compost needs to contain 1 part food scraps to every 3 parts of wood-based materials (leaves, sticks, bark, ash, paper)

This past summer I grew tomatoes, peppers, and beans here. Next Spring, I will be growing Cabbage, Brussels, and Broccoli here.


In the making of our herb garden. We had logs around our house from a tree we had to cut down.

More free materials!

As I said, I want to create a HEART-SHAPED FLOWER BED. I want it to look something like this, but with the bricks I have found around the yard:

Photo Source: Romantic Garden

Burning brush and wood from around our yard helps add nitrogen to our soil, and it also helps us to expand the garden.

The garden, on my Mother's property, is currently 35 ft long and 13 ft wide. We're expanding the garden by another 30 ft for maximum yields!

Below I have posted a video from growingyourgreens.com, where "John goes on a field trip to Orange County Farm supply to share with you their hanging vertical garden made from an old . In addition, John shares with you how to deal with pests in your garden organically without the use of man made chemical poisons. In addition you will learn the most important aspect of a vegetable garden the soil and the best nutrients to add to supercharge your plant growth to grow bigger and tastier fruits and vegetables":

If the video doesn't play, go to "Build a Hanging Vertical Pallet Garden to Grow Food on Walls" @ growingyourgreens.com on YOUTUBE.

~~~VISIT MY BLOG @ http://veganslivingofftheland.blogspot.com/

Original blog post below:

Garden Prep (What I'm doing to prepare for spring gardening in DECEMBER)

What you need to know about Compost (& doing it for free)

2012-12-09T16:41:01.000Z

Original post here: What you need to know about Compost (& doing it for free)

If you're interested in more topics, like this: gardening, Veganism, self-sufficiency, check out my blog @ Vegans Living Off the Land

Compost is a crucial aspect in gardening because it is FREE, ORGANIC, HIGH QUALITY material, that fertilizes your soil so you can enforce nutrition and strength to your plants. According to "Why Composting is Important" from Environment.gov website, up to 30% of the material we add to the landfill is organic materials that could be composted at home (i.e. dust, paper, and food scraps) for gardening. In other words, YOU should be composting to reduce the amount of waste you're adding to landfills, while you could be using that compost to grow food, for free, for you and your family. Using your own compost to grow your OWN food is the healthiest thing you can do for yourself and your family.

Items to Include In your Compost: Vegetable and fruit scraps, nut shells, dead flowers, urine, egg shells, newspaper, cardboard, grass clippings, leaves, wood ashes, human waste (preferably vegan), coffee grounds, and anything organic, natural, and that has not been chemically treated.

Items to Avoid Adding to your Compost: Meat, bones, cat or dog feces, paint, diapers, aluminum, plastic, charcoal ash, and anything that is un-natural or has been chemically treated. Aluminum and plastic should instead be recycled. It's interesting to note: if meat isn't biodegradable to the earth, how is it to your colon?

*Remember that you need THREE TIMES as much carbon material in your compost (i.e. hay, newspaper, dried leaves) as you do nitrogen material (food scraps, fresh grass, ash). For example, the carbon to nitrogen ratio should be 3:1.

Materials to Make Your Own Compost: Chicken wire, biodegradable material (food scraps, etc) wire, water, pitch fork (or something to stir compost with), black plastic sheeting (or other sheeting to cover and heat up compost), pliars (for manipulating the wire), and gloves (for safety.)Luckily, I found the posts, wire, and sheeting for my compost -- so I didn't have to purchase anything to create my compost bin. The best kind of gardening is free gardening, so try to find materials laying around your yard, your grandparents' yard, or the side of the road. There's so much material around us that we can reuse, but we would rather go out and buy them?

First, select a shady spot outdoors (away from your house and where water does not collect when it rains.) Secondly, you can make a square bin with posts to hold up four corners; or create a circular bin, without the posts. I have done the square bin (shown in the pictures above), leaving one wall open so that it is easier to fold and mix the compost.

You don't have to work the chicken wire and posts in the ground that much, because once you start adding your ingredients to the compost, it will become firm and "stuck" in the soil for support.

If you're making a large garden, you'll probably need two large compost piles, like mine. The dimensions on my compost are 3 feet long on all four sides and 2 feet high. And just this one compost pile will mulch and fertilize only a small amount of my garden. I would suggest two compost bins for big gardens; and a small container of compost for a couple of herbs in your kitchen.

Compost can be used in place of soil. If you don't have access to organic compost, potting soil, or potting mix in your community, all you need is compost. Actually, you can use compost in place of soil for starter plants.

Stir your compost once a week. Allow it to air out once a week for a couple of hours. And, keep it covered the rest of the time in order to heat up and decompose.

There are other benefits to compost, for example check out what my compost gave me in this post: Compost Your Food Scraps

5 Mistakes I've Made as a First-year Gardener

2012-12-09T16:16:20.000Z

Original post @ my blog 4 Mistakes I've Made as a First-year Gardener

If you want more information about gardening, veganism, self-sufficiency, and other tips, check out my blog @ Vegans Living Off the Land.

Here are some of the stupid mistakes I made; and hopefully I will be saving you from the same mistakes I made:

1. Started root vegetables in starter kits. Root vegetables should be directly sown into the ground they intend to mature in. There isn't enough room for their roots to develop in a small space (starter kits.) Consequently, I wasted about 25-30 seeds trying to start beets, onions, carrots, and greens in starter kits because I was trying to be "prepared."

2. Didn't water starter plants as much as they needed. I watered my starter plants everyday or every other day, which seemed to be working fine until the days started getting hotter, sunnier, and my starters were getting bigger. As I was being conservative with water, I was taking away water from my plants. Remember to water your starters everyday, especially if you're leaving them outside to catch sun. They like a little water in the morning and in the evening (if they need it.)

3. Let bugs eat up my broccoli and cabbage! The only two broccoli and cabbage plants I have of each are ate up by bugs, and I let it happen! I tried sprinkling cayenne pepper on their leaves and on the soil around them, but I done this sparingly (not enough to keep the bugs away forever.) It's important when you're food is growing exceptionally well that you take care of it...treat it like a Princess :)

4. Starters didn't get as much sun as they needed. I sort of blame the lack of space to keep my starter plants, for not being able to give proper sunlight. I made it my chore to move the plants from inside to outside where they would get the most sun and fresh air, since my house is very dim. Although I made sure to give them sunlight, I regret to say I wasn't giving the plants enough fresh air and sun until they're later stages of growth. Luckily, I have everything growing in the garden, so I'm not worrying with pesky starter plants :P

5. Planted winter greens and root vegetables in a shady location for my fall garden. Some greens and vegetables can handle a little shade during the summer, when the heat and sun is more intense, but during the FALL -- do not plant in a shady location. I didn't realize where I was planting was SO SHADY. Consequently, my greens are taking FOREVER to mature. Remember to plant EVERYTHING you grow in a sunny location, especially during the fall & winter months.

I'm lucky to not have damaged my plants by these mistakes. That's not to say that these mistakes wouldn't kill a plant, though. Make sure to give your starters lots of sun, fresh air, space, and water everyday! Don't discriminate between plants -- all plants love these four things. Also, keep your pests away from your plants, or all your hard work will be given to them! I use red pepper, cayenne pepper, black pepper, and vinegar to deter pests naturally.

Click here for tips and how to avoid making mistakes as a gardener. I highly recommend you visit the website because it gives a large amount of information that is crucial for good gardening and homesteading.

Vegan Garden Calendar (How to eat for free & what to grow all year ) + TIPS!!

2012-12-09T01:05:10.000Z

Hello everyone! It's December, and I want everyone to be prepared for growing food as early as January, next year!! I originally posted "Vegan Garden Calendar (How to & what to grow all year) @ http://veganslivingofftheland.blogspot.com/2012/11/world-vegan-mont...

Make John Kohler happy, and grow some food for yourself!

Please check out my blog for more gardening, and healthy living tips @ http://veganslivingofftheland.blogspot.com/

NOW THEN...I want to first mention that I am speaking for my own Gardening Zone: I live in Zone 6, which has mild summers and winters; thus most of you will be able to plant around the same time as I am. I'm going to give you a run-down on what I'm going to plant, and when. Keep in mind, if you live in a warmer location (Zone 7-9) you can plant earlier than me and if you live in a colder location (Zone 1-5), then you may want to delay your planting by a couple of weeks:

January

Use this month to prep your garden or prep a room that will be used for starting veggies indoors. Also, make a list of supplies or seeds you may need: I bought a variety pack of organic, non-gmo, non-hybrid seeds of all the , fruits and greens I have listed, here for $22.

February

Cabbage has a long growing season, so it will be started indoors during the middle of the month. I will be starting cabbage somewhere around the 15th of February. Expect the seeds to germinate between 5-10 days. You can get more info about how to germinate cabbage seeds and other seeds here. Secondly, Brussels Sprouts resent heat, which is why I'll be directly plating Brussels in my garden at the beginning of February (February 1st-4th.) Brussels also take 90-120 days to mature, thus harvesting them at the beginning of May (May 4th.) You could also start Brussels indoors four to six weeks before transplanting them in February.

March

Onions can be started indoors eight to 10 weeks before the last expected frost (I will be starting my onions indoors on March 1st. Secondly, Celery has a long growing season, taking between 90 and 120 days to mature, so start indoors at during March 11th-15th. Then Moreover, you can directly sow Kale, Spinach, Broccoli, Peas, and Potatoes when you start Celery on March 15th. At the end of the month, start Peppers (cayenne, green, jalapeno), Tomatoes, and Eggplants indoors, around March 30th.

April

Transplant the Cabbage and Onions to the garden after four to six weeks (April 15th.) Directly sow Beets, Carrots, Spinach, and Lettuce during April 11-15th in your garden. These have the shortest growing season. Also, you will need to start your melons (Pumpkins, Watermelons, and Cantaloupe) at the end of the month, around April 30th.

May

Transplant Celery on May 15th. Directly sow lettuce, and zucchini, and sweet potatoes on the 13th. Follow that by directly planting Cucumbers, Carrots, Corn, and Beans on the 15th. And, transplant Tomatoes, Peppers, and Eggplant on May 30th.

June

Start Cabbage and Cauliflower indoors for a winter harvest; and transplant Melons to the garden at the beginning of June, around June 3rd.

July

Transplant Cauliflower around July 3rd-8th. And, directly sow Lettuce in your garden on July 15th-20th.

August

Transplant your winter Cabbage on August 1st, along with planting Frisee, Kale, and Swiss Chard on the 1st. Broccoli, Carrots, Beets, Radishes, and Turnips on the 15th of August. Spinach is to be directly sown a week after you plant your Broccoli, around August 22nd. Harvest these crops around October.

TIPS:

If you live in Zone 7 or higher, you'll be able to grow greens up to November -- Lucky you!

Remember that all plants have special needs, so do some research with each of the crops I have listed. Also remember that even if certain plants are heat intolerant, they still love sun and water.

Grow all your crops in locations that get sun, and perhaps partial shade in the late afternoon.

Water plants 1-3 times a week, depending on the temperature and drainage of soil. Water plants in the early morning or late evening so that you are not scorching them during the hottest time of day, with water.

Keep in mind, this is my gardening calendar for Zone 6. You can find what gardening Zone you are here, and you will able to know exactly when YOU will need to plant. Obviously if you live in a warmer climate than Zone 6, you may be able to grow a week or two before me; and if you live in a colder climate like Zone 3-5, you will need to plant a couple of weeks later.

You don't need a big yard to garden. You can grow many greens (spinach, lettuce, etc) in pots, water bottles, and buckets to save space, if you live in an apartment. Dwarf fruit trees could also be grown indoors in a VERY warm and sunny location. I have a post on space saving ways to garden here.

Some FALL GARDENING INSPIRATION (& Garden update)

2012-08-01T01:56:49.000Z

As you may or may not know: I live in Kentucky, USA -- where our winters are cold and snowy, but becoming milder with climate change (zone 6.) In the next few weeks (August-September) I will be sowing: kale, Swiss Chard, turnips, radishes, lettuce, carrots, broccoli, beets, endive, parsley, chives/garlic, and spinach. I will also be transplanting a cabbage head that I've been growing for a couple of months, in a large pot.

I wanted to mention these veggies/greens because: MOST people can grow these same exact foods during this time of year, even if they live in a colder (zone 4) or warmer zone (zone7.)

I would also like to add that these greens and herbs can be grown in containers, if you do not have space, or do not have a garden. I wouldn't recommend growing root veggies in containers, but you can look into growing broccoli, carrots, turnips, and beets in containers because IT IS POSSIBLE.

Currently, I'm harvesting peas, basil, dill, jalapeno and sweet peppers, beefsteak and grape tomatoes, beans, potatoes, squash, zucchini, and cucumbers.

In the next few weeks I will be harvesting my cantaloupe, corn, beans, tomatoes, cushaws, and peppers.

Of course my fruit trees (plum, peaches, and pears) have a few more years until they fruit, so I cannot live completely self-sufficient because I will be buying fruit from the store or market.

Here are a couple of photos I've taken in the last few months...Everything I planted was organic, non-gmo, and non-hybrid

What is the best soil/potting mix to use?

2012-06-22T16:29:03.000Z

Hello!
I'm very new to gardening, and will be starting an indoor garden in a sunroom (and later outside when I get the hang of it).
What is the best organic soil to buy? The couple I have found in stores contain poultry fertilizer, is that something those here are against? I just don't like the idea of having fertilizer from chickens who might have lived on a factory farm or something, you know. :)
I am interested in composting my fruit and veggie scraps though! I assume once I start that I'd have to wait about a year until I can use it, right? Is there anything I would need besides soil+compost fertilizer? Or would the compost be everything I need once it reaches a soil consistency?
Something about peat moss and pearlite something something?
If I can order online that'd be good!
Thank you guys!

(I plan on growing a lot of tomatoes and bell peppers, and later cantaloupe and lettuces outside - unless I can grow those last two inside?
I'd love to plant some berry bushes/trees too. We have mulberry, and I'd like to grow blueberry/blackberry/raspberry. :))

SOURCES OF FRESH DATES IN BULK

2012-06-06T22:16:45.000Z

Does anyone know where can one buy fresh dates in bulk in your area?

Critters?

2012-05-30T22:35:46.000Z

Hi, I live in upstate NY and we just put our first garden in. We have bunnies, sqirrels, and birds in the yard, and I am already seeing small holes in my tomatoe plants. Similar to what my hosta looks like every year. Looks like some kind of beetle gets into them. I've learned to plant marigolds in the gardens and to sprinkle cayenne pepper in it, along with many other natural remedies. What is the consensus of this group to help keep the critters away from my futute food? Both the animals and the bugs? Thank you:)

Growing veggies at home...!

2012-05-05T21:40:28.000Z

Hello everyone! I don't have a garden like some of you, I live on a 7th floor with no balcony (bummer), anyway I get LOTS of morning light cause my windows face the ocean. I love this! So, I was wondering what are the veggies/fruit (if any) you would recommend I grow on my apt. I'm a newbie but totally dedicated/committed to this lifestyle so I'd love to learn about gardening asap =) Thanks so so much!!

What kind of leafy greens can be easily grown and produced in large amounts?

2012-05-05T06:08:54.000Z

Hi everyone,

I definitely want to have/rent a garden when I'm finished with my apprenticeship next year - also when I hope to make the full leap to 100% 811. Because I don't want a life without greens, will likely still have a low budget for quite some time, AND I want to be able to eat good quality greens without going into financial debt I think it would be best to grow my own.

I would espeially love to grow baby spinach, but I am also open to other suggestions such as rucola etc.

I also want to grow fruits too, such as figs and persimmons, which are likely more abundant and therefore cheaper in other countries (but not so in Germany).

How to start a vegetable garden?

2012-01-31T00:07:53.000Z

Hello everybody,

In a few months the winter will be gone and the sun will come to us again.

It will soon be warm enogh to start a vegetable garden. I have never had one, but this year I have a great oportunity to start my first one and I don't know how. Sure, I will get my knowledge until then from books and friends but I would appreciate every advice from you all who have your eco- friendly gardens.

Best to you all,