Raising Worms to Make Natural Fertilizer for Food Supply Gardening Part 2

Posted on May 8, 2011 by celticozarkian

As promised last week, here is raising worms to make natural fertilizer for food supply gardening part 2.

This is part two of raising worms to make natural fertilizer. We talked about choosing a worm bin and bedding material. Now we are going to get into putting your bin together. Chose a spot for your worm bin that will maintain a comfortable temperature and be convenient for you to check your worms daily, at least until you get good at maintaining the correct moisture level.

The next big step is finding your worms. I found a worm grower in my area so I just picked up my worms at a lawn and garden show in town. Surf the net and see if there are any local growers available and get your worms locally if that is an option. I love to buy locally when I can. However, there are several reputable mail order places to get red wigglers.

Getting the correct worms is absolutely essential. As I have noted before, worms are fussy little critters. Different worms eat different food stuffs and live in different environments. You cannot teach worms you dig out of the yard to eat garbage. They will just die in these bins. You absolutely must have Eisenia foetida. The common name for these worms is red wiggler. Once you have found your worm supplier, it is time to get your bin ready.

Your bedding will need to be moist. Your worms breathe through their skin and this can only be accomplished if it is moist. They will have a small amount of mucous on their skin that also aides in locomotion. I use newspaper for bedding and keep it moist enough that you can ALMOST wring water out of it. I put the shredded paper in my bin and using a spray bottle, I mist the paper with water. I turn it frequently and keep misting until it is the right amount of moisture.

I then add a bag of lettuce that I get on sale at the store because it is getting old. That is perfect, because you are going to let it pretty well soft and even soupy before you add your worms.  Dig a hole in your damp bedding about 2 inches deep and put your lettuce in there and then cover it with more damp newspaper.

The ideal situation is to get your bin ready and then order your worms. By the time they arrive, the food will be ready to eat. Worms have no teeth but do have a gizzard. Because of this the food needs to be fairly well decomposed before the worms can eat. That is why I start my bins with aging lettuce. They will also eat the cellulose in the newspaper.  I also add a handful of cornmeal for the worm’s gizzard. As you add the crushed egg shells, the cornmeal will not be needed.

You can feed you worms any fruit or vegetable matter. Meat and animal products will smell in your bin as they decompose, so never feed these to the worms. Egg shells are the exception. I usually throw my shells (from boiled eggs) in a bag and then crush them up finely. This will add calcium to your bin and help neutralize any acid from acidic fruits such as tomatoes or citrus fruits. Left over coffee grounds and tea bags can also be thrown in. Coffee filters are fine to throw in the bin, but be sure to remove any staples from the tea bag.

You will want to be sure you do not add too many acidic scrapes. The pH of your bin needs to be between 6 and 8 to keep the worms happy. I never put my tomato canning scrapes, pineapple or more that an occasional lemon slice in the bin. That all needs to go to the outside compost bin with the leaves and grass clippings.

That is all there is to it. Keep the lid on, but slightly askew to allow for good air exchange. If your bin gets too damp, leave the lid off for a bit to let the bedding dry out and then turn it a bit to re-moisturize the top layer.

I start feeding my worms at one end of the bin and gradually work the food to the other end over the course of six months or so. As the worms turn all the food into vermicompost, it can be removed a little at a time and then put on the garden. As the worms grown and reproduce you will be able to start another bin if you want, or give the extra worms away.

To harvest your vermicompost bin at one time, simply empty the bin on a large piece of plastic in a well lit area. The worms will crawl deeper into the vermicompost to get away from the light. Harvest the compost gently from the top, and let the worms crawl deeper into the compost again. There are harvesting screens available or you can build your own for not much money that you can use instead of doing this step. This is just an easy method that worked for me. I then return the worms and about the last ¼ of the original compost that they are hiding in to a cleaned out bin that has new moist bedding in it.

Here is a fun link to read while you are waiting for your book to arrive. I hope you give raising worms a try. It really is easy and fun. And the fertilizer is fantastic!

This is part two of raising worms to make natural fertilizer. We talked about choosing a worm bin and bedding material. Now we are going to get into putting your bin together. Chose a spot for your worm bin that will maintain a comfortable temperature and be convenient for you to check your worms daily, at least until you get good at maintaining the correct moisture level.

The next big step is finding your worms. I found a worm grower in my area so I just picked up my worms at a lawn and garden show in town. Surf the net and see if there are any local growers available and get your worms locally if that is an option. I love to buy locally when I can. However, there are several reputable mail order places to get red wigglers.

Getting the correct worms is absolutely essential. As I have noted before, worms are fussy little critters. Different worms eat different food stuffs and live in different environments. You cannot teach worms you dig out of the yard to eat garbage. They will just die in these bins. You absolutely must have Eisenia foetida. The common name for these worms is red wiggler. Once you have found your worm supplier, it is time to get your bin ready.

Your bedding will need to be moist. Your worms breathe through their skin and this can only be accomplished if it is moist. They will have a small amount of mucous on their skin that also aides in locomotion. I use newspaper for bedding and keep it moist enough that you can ALMOST wring water out of it. I put the shredded paper in my bin and using a spray bottle, I mist the paper with water. I turn it frequently and keep misting until it is the right amount of moisture.

I then add a bag of lettuce that I get on sale at the store because it is getting old. That is perfect, because you are going to let it pretty well soft and even soupy before you add your worms. Dig a hole in your damp bedding about 2 inches deep and put your lettuce in there and then cover it with more damp newspaper.

The ideal situation is to get your bin ready and then order your worms. By the time they arrive, the food will be ready to eat. Worms have no teeth but do have a gizzard. Because of this the food needs to be fairly well decomposed before the worms can eat. That is why I start my bins with aging lettuce. They will also eat the cellulose in the newspaper. I also add a handful of cornmeal for the worm’s gizzard. As you add the crushed egg shells, the cornmeal will not be needed.

You can feed you worms any fruit or vegetable matter. Meat and animal products will smell in your bin as they decompose, so never feed these to the worms. Egg shells are the exception. I usually throw my shells (from boiled eggs) in a bag and then crush them up finely. This will add calcium to your bin and help neutralize any acid from acidic fruits such as tomatoes or citrus fruits. Left over coffee grounds and tea bags can also be thrown in. Coffee filters are fine to throw in the bin, but be sure to remove any staples from the tea bag.

You will want to be sure you do not add too many acidic scrapes. The pH of your bin needs to be between 6 and 8 to keep the worms happy. I never put my tomato canning scrapes, pineapple or more that an occasional lemon slice in the bin. That all needs to go to the outside compost bin with the leaves and grass clippings.

That is all there is to it. Keep the lid on, but slightly askew to allow for good air exchange. If your bin gets too damp, leave the lid off for a bit to let the bedding dry out and then turn it a bit to re-moisturize the top layer.

I start feeding my worms at one end of the bin and gradually work the food to the other end over the course of six months or so. As the worms turn all the food into vermicompost, it can be removed a little at a time and then put on the garden. As the worms grown and reproduce you will be able to start another bin if you want, or give the extra worms away.

To harvest your vermicompost bin at one time, simply empty the bin on a large piece of plastic in a well lit area. The worms will crawl deeper into the vermicompost to get away from the light. Harvest the compost gently from the top, and let the worms crawl deeper into the compost again. There are harvesting screens available or you can build your own for not much money that you can use instead of doing this step. This is just an easy method that worked for me. I then return the worms and about the last ¼ of the original compost that they are hiding in to a cleaned out bin that has new moist bedding in it.

Here is a fun link to read while you are waiting for your book to arrive. I hope you give raising worms a try. It really is easy and fun. And the fertilizer is fantastic!

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Raising Worms to Make Natural Fertilizer for Food Supply Gardening

Posted on May 4, 2011 by celticozarkian

Raising worms to make natural fertilizer for food supply gardening can be very easy to do. I have raised worms to use the castings for natural fertilizer and it is easy and fun to do. It is a great way to recycle your garbage, and your garden will love the castings. The start up costs are minimal while the benefits and immeasurable. I keep my worm bins indoors to keep the optimal temperature for the worms. There should never be any unpleasant odor associated with you bin, but more on that later. Here are a few things you will need to know to get started.

I started by reading the book “Worms Eat My Garbage” by Mary Appelhof. This is a great book and will tell you everything you need to know about raising worms for vermicomposting. Vermicomposting is what you get when the worms eat waste and then turn it into poop. It is the poop that is such a wonderful, nutritious addition to your garden or house plants. I have put a link on this page for the book, and you can also have your local book store order the book if it is not readily available.

The second item you will need is a worm bin. I used a big blue tub with a lid that I got at Wal-Mart. You can spend money on specially made worm bins and I am sure they are fine. All you really need is a bin with a tight lid that is not too deep. The worms like to live in the top five inches or so. My bin was about 20 inches deep, but that is what was available and it gave me room to fluff my bedding in the beginning.

Bedding is your next big decision. I use shredded newspaper that is recycled from when I am done reading it. I use no colored pages, or slick pages. My paper prints with soy ink, so I am not worried about using it, but there are some folks that worry about the ink in their food supply. That is one you will need to research and find bedding that you are happy with. Some other products that are very good are shredded brown cardboard or coconut hair for inside bins. Composting outside can also is done in aged horse manure and straw. For obvious reasons I do not use horse manure in my indoor bins.

What ever bedding you decide on will need to be kept uniformly moist. Worms are fussy critters and do not tolerate dry conditions. They will not be comfortable if they the bedding is too dry and will not breed. Your two main goals with your worm bed is to transform your garbage into incredibly rich vermicompost and to have a healthy, happy worm population that increases.

You will want your worms to increase because they are expensive to buy. As I write this article the going price is about $20 per pound plus shipping. A pound is a good amount to start with for an indoor bin unless your family is huge or you can a lot. You will find all sorts of numbers for how many worms you need, but this is what worked for me. Start with a pound of red worms and then work with your worms and your bin to get everything just right. It is a learning process on what is too wet and what is too dry for the bedding.

I started with one pound of worms and with in two years I had to start a second bin. You can tell if your worms are happy, by a couple of different indicators. First, your garbage is disappearing and your worms are growing. Another thing you will start to see after a month or so are little opaque eggs about the size of a mustard seed. You will also see little tiny worms about the thickness of thread. This is a great sign that you are doing everything right and your worms are happy. In part two I will talk about putting all of the information together. As you can see, though, raising worms to make natural fertilizer for good supply gardening can be very profitable. Learning how to grow food only gets easier with this type of natural fertilizer.

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How to Grow Food: Lettuce

Posted on April 16, 2011 by celticozarkian

My blog today takes us to the subject, “how to grow food: Lettuce.” Lettuce has got to be one of the easiest vegetables to grow anywhere.  It is very healthy, and is packed with lots of vitamins. So, during the seasons of spring and fall, lettuce should be a part of everyone’s survival gardening strategy. It is a great spring food supply.

I recommend growing leaf lettuce, as you do not have to become skilled at growing a whole head of lettuce.  Get yourself some good food supply gardening heirloom seeds from an organic seed company.

Lettuce likes cooler weather.  You also need to make sure that you keep it watered. Many times though, in the spring, there is plenty of rain and/or snow.  A hearty lettuce can handle a little snow, so I plant in my area by St. Patrick’s Day.  The lettuce will finally go to seed by the heat of summer. You can turn around and do more survival gardening with lettuce in the fall. If you build a “cold frame,” you can often keep lettuce into December in my part of southern Missouri.

Lettuce should be scattered on the top of your garden soil, and gently worked in with the soil. Do not push the seeds deep.  You want a good, all around hummus type soil that is loose, to allow the lettuce to get roots deep.  As the plantings get to around 1″ in height, you can thin them out a bit, to give room for the leaves to grow.  I like to start cutting on my leaves at around 4-5″ in height.  Often, the stems can be bitter, so you can remove those before placing in a salad, or using the leaves on a sandwich.

No how to grow food story could be complete with a supply of lettuce in the garden. As a survival gardening food, it can’t be beat. It grows quickly, is easy to grow, and provides lots of good nutrition.

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How to Grow Your Own Food: Tomatoes

Posted on April 10, 2011 by celticozarkian

If a person wanted a good place to start on how to grow your own food, tomatoes would be a good choice. They can be easy to grow, and can reproduce a lot of fruit. My parents taught me at a young age how to grow tomatoes, so I am going to pass on their tips. For a family of four growing up, we planted twenty tomatoe plants, and put away at least 75-100 quarts of tomatoes, not counting what we ate during season.

Dad always said Plant Tomatoes deep.
Dad would always Bury a tomato plant’s stem  all the way up to the top layer of leaves. He would remove any other branches. The result was the plant would put on a whole new set of roots, to help it stay healthy.

We would start tomatoes from seeds, and get them up to around 8 inches tall by May. Then we would dig a trench 5-6 inches deep in the soil and set the transplant into it, again burying the stem up to the top leaves. We would have enough plant up in the air to keep them from drooping too bad. This time of year, the soil is still cool, so the roots would take off well. You could also buy plants always high enough to do the same. If you’re transplanting later in the season, when the soil has warmed or in dry climates, bury the transplant in a straight, deep hole. Cooler, moister soil below 6 inches deep helps tomatoes survive in hot, dry summers.

Feed the soil before you plant.
Avoid the common mistake of overfeeding your tomatoes. They thrive in soil that’s rich in humus for extensive, well-nourished root systems and potassium (K) for strong stems. Add too much nitrogen (N) and you’ll have a big, lush plant with very little fruit. Too much manure in the soil will also mess you up. The manure grows pretty green plants with few blossoms for fruit. Just use good humus soil, and add a little potassium. Homemade compost typically supplies all the phosphorus (P) your tomatoes need for good flowering and fruiting.  So, Potassium is the secret.

Tomatoes are Tropical – Watch the tempurature

Chilly spring temperatures (nights cooler than 50 degrees F) slow tomato plants’ growth. So, it does not do a whole lot of good to plant tomatoes too early. In Missouri, I always laught when I see people grabbing tomatoes in April. Unless those plants are kept inside, or in a green house, they are going to be unhappy little tropicals to warmer weather comes. You may need to cover tomatoes on nights below 50 for a bit.

On the opposite note, hot summer temps (days hotter than 95 degrees) cause the blossoms to drop off. Many people have used white linen shades over tomatoes for years. You might want to consider that. There are also ways to build a cooling system for tomatoes, often called “Wall-O-Water.”

Mulch for stability.
Surround your plants with a layer of straw, leaves, dried grass clippings or pine needles and it will keep the plants’ roots cool, prevent weeds from sprouting around them and retain moisture in the soil. Because these mulches keep the soil cool, don’t apply them until after the soil warms to 65 degrees F. After that point, make sure to replenish mulch throughout the growing season, to protect those plant roots. Dad would mound the bottom of the plant high, after they got tall enough.

Take off the first flowers.
Growing deep, extensive roots and a full leaf canopy will help establish newly transplanted tomatoes. Many experienced tomato growers pull off the first flowers, so the plant does not devote energy to forming fruit before its roots and foliage have filled out. You need to do this until your plants have reached a height of 14 to 18 inches. Then, let them go.

Grow them up to the sky.
Tomato vines left to sprawl on the soil are more susceptible to attacks by pests and diseases. Sprawling vines take up a lot of room in your garden and the fruit they bear is more difficult to harvest. So stake or cage the vines for your healthiest, most productive tomato crop ever. My friend Len Pence of “Gardening Revolution” grows some of his plants twenty feet in the air (just to show off the technique to students). Personally, it makes me nervous to watch him climb the ladder to pick fruit.

I hope you find some of these basic tips helpful. I’ll have more on how to grow your own food. Tomatoes are just a great start, and I will write more on them.

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A Good Beginner Organic Gardening Book

Posted on April 6, 2011 by celticozarkian

Ray Province

Today, I want to talk to you about the benefits of having a good beginner organic gardening book. I have shared some good tips to date on developing your own food supply gardening system, and I am sure you will be able to learn how to grow your own food. I plan on continuing blog articles on food supply gardening, organic gardening, heirloom sets, etc. You can also find more information at my other blog The Celtic Ozark Garden.

To date, though, I have not completed a good beginner organic gardening book myself. There are lot’s of good books out there. One of my favorites is called “Organic Food Gardening Beginner’s Manual.” The book is designed for people just getting started with growing a food supply that is free of chemical and pesticides. You’ll be able to get a solid foundation to grow from.  Then, you will be able to work on techniques that will increase the size of your crop.

Julie Villani is the author of the book. She has a nice easy writing style, and is knowledgeable about the basics.  There is not a lot of fluff, and I personally like that in a “how to grow your own food’ book. If I had a criticism, it would be that she did not spend enough time at the end of the book talking about increasing crop yield.

The best part of the book is that Villani does a good job teaching beginning food supply gardeners how to have early success in growing a food supply. Everyone needs to start with some victories. Secondly, I can recommend this book because it won’t break anyone’s bank. You can get more information on this beginning manual of organic gardening at her website. Let me know if you think I was right.

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Growing Green Beans for a Food Supply

Posted on April 6, 2011 by celticozarkian

Growing green beans for a food supply can be a first place to start. I had an opportunity to pick the last of my “Blue Lake” green beans today. It is always exciting when I can get in that third crop of beans each year. Boy, are they good. They are also easy to grow! One might even argue that green beans are the easiest of plants to grow in the vegetable garden. Certainly, this plant is a must for the beginning food supply gardener.

I want to take a second and tell you about the type of beans I grow. I am a big fan of heirloom seeds. These are beans that can reproduce successfully, and have been a round a long time. Many of our plants today have been “hybridized” so much, that they loose their ability to successfully reproduce. Many times, the plants will also lose a lot of their original flavor! One only need buy a commercial tomato today to know what I am talking about! There is a whole movement in America to preserve our heirloom crops! I support this. One day, I will blog on it. For now, let me just put in a shameless plug for my favorite supplier of heirlooms seeds from the Ozarks: the Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company of Mansfield, Missouri (the home of Laura Ingalls Wilder). You can visit there site at: www.rareseeds.com!

I plant green beans in 4′ x 4′ sections of my raised bed garden. The seeds need to go in the ground 1″, and should be spread 4″ apart. I put 9 seeds in one square foot of ground. Keep them watered well. They will grow high, so have something in place for them to climb. I use wire tomato baskets, or I let them climb a stock fence wall built to a height of 4′. Once you see blossoms, you will be ready to pick green beans in around 8-10 days. You can get several pickings out of your planting, if you keep up with the picking. When I quit seeing new blossoms form, I replant. Simple!

My favorite way to store green beans is by freezing them. Snip the ends off a green bean, and break it into bit sized pieces. Blanch them in boiling water for 2 minutes. Then, shock the beans by immersing them in ice cold water. After 5 minutes, remove them from the water, and pack in quart size freezer bags. Done! You’ll be glad you did! For more information, you may want to check out my videos on growing green beans on the video page of this website.

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Organic Fertilizer Recipe for Food Supply Gardening

Posted on April 6, 2011 by celticozarkian

Over  time, all good soil needs a fertilizer. A good organic fertilizer recipe for food supply gardening can make the difference in being able to grow your own food in sufficient supply.

So I wanted to take time and share a recipe for dry, organic fertilizer. The components of the mix can be bought at most garden stores, or Farm & Home Supply type places. In the Ozarks, my local MFA can typically handle all my need. I usually try to buy ingredients in the spring, when they are most prevalent. However, I always watch for sales in late summer, early fall, when local garden shops are trying to clear inventory.

I keep this mix in an old plastic kitty litter container (because I am cheap!) It is also easy to pour that way. When mixing ingredients, I have an old plastic storage bin that lets me stir and shake away.

I might also add that this mix is very potent! It needs to be worked into the soil well, or mixed with compost, manure, etc. I also mix a garden trowel’s worth into a 5 gallon bucket for wet fertilizing. There is lime in the mixture, which can kill your plants if applied too liberally. My general rule is mix 3 quarts of this mix into 100 square feet of garden. In my typical 4′x4′ beds, that would be a pint of dry mix all through the bed! In my 4′x8′ beds, I use 1 quart. As you can see, it will go a long way.

Late fall, after the crops are done, is a great time to add this mix. I also typically add soil mix to the garden at the same time. Then, this mix has time to blend. The PH of the soil will also be better. After adding soil and fertilizer, I cover the bed in leaves or straw to take a good winter’s nap! In my greenhouse bed, which is 32 sq ft, I put in 1 pint in the spring and fall, respectively. Since this bed goes all year, I like to be a little extra careful with the fertilizer mix.
Ingredients:
1 gallon of seed meal
1 quart of agricultural grade lime
1 quart of gypsum
1 quart of dolomitic lime
1 quart of bone meal
2 quarts of kelp meal
1 pint of sulphur
Yield: 2 1/2 gallons of mix, which will cover a maximum of 250 sq ft of garden.

Would love to hear from you on what you use!

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A Soil Recipe for Food Supply Gardening

Posted on April 6, 2011 by celticozarkian

A soil recipe for food supply gardening is going to be a must. So, I wanted to place my soil recipe on the blog today. It is the result of several years of experimenting with different mixes. No doubt, it will change again! I make changes to my recipe for many reason: 1) I read a good article on soil mix, 2) the needs of the plants that I intend to grow, 3) weather conditions in the Ozarks year to year. These are just a few. Making soil, then, is a bit of an art form. Don’t get too hung up in the technical components of exact duplication of soil (unless you are going commercial!) Gardening is a hobby, and a source of stress relief; so I try to have fun with my experimentation. All of this information not withstanding, I can tell you that I am able to grow a great deal of the vegetables my family needs each year in 120 sq. ft of garden, using this basic soil mix.

Ingredients

6 cu ft of Canadian peat moss (don’t buy the cheap stuff!)
2 cu ft of a good garden mixture soil
1 large bag of vermiculite
2 cu ft. of compost (I use real horse poop, at least 1 year old)
2 cu ft of sand
1 quart of my fertilizer recipe (read the blog on this)
3 large bags of rice hulls (around 4 lb bag/5 gallon bag)

I have had some gardening friends argue with me about the compost. Horses or cows eat seeds, which can then take root in your garden, leaving you with more work to do! Personally, though, I like how it helps plants grow, so I am willing to pick a couple of weeds. For the most, this soil mix will stay weedless. In an earlier blog article, I discussed my garden design. I use two layers of plastic under my raised beds, to help keep weeds out of the garden, and minimize the amount of time I need to pull weeds. Even with the compost, I may spend 30 minutes in a whole growing season pulling unwanted plants. You can buy sterilized compost. I don’t, because I get the horse poop for free from the folks that board our horses!

I also make my own compost to add to already existing gardens. In my bin, I throw in all my grass clippings, old garden matter, sub-standard apples from my fruit trees, horse poop, leaves from my trees. I try to stay away from putting in any weeds! Be picky with the clippings. Leftover scraps from vegetables we eat can also be added (no meat, milk, etc.).

Hope this helps. Let me know what your mix looks like!

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Victory Gardens and Food Supply

Posted on April 6, 2011 by celticozarkian

By Barbara L. Minton
(see all articles by this author)Key concepts: Food, Nature and Gardening

(NaturalNews) Victory gardens are popping up all over. Last seen during World War II, these gardens now represent our fight to regain control of our lives and our health. They are the first battlefields against the increasing corporate tyranny, a battle that may end with us throwing off the philosophy of every man for himself and a realization that we are all together in this thing called life.World War II united people and allowed them to reach into the depths of themselves and pull up a resourcefulness they didn’t know they had. During this time of horror and hope people realized that they were living out a great saga in their lives, and in this saga they all had a part to play. The world was a violent and dramatic place, yet also an awakening happened, a vision of unity and understanding. The victory garden has come to symbolize this unity and vision.What’s a victory garden?It was emphasized to urban and suburban dwellers that the produce from their gardens would help provide the nutritious food needed by the soldiers to keep them fighting strong. It would also help keep the price of that food low, so the War Department would have more money to spend on other military needs. The victory garden would also help solve the shortages of labor and transportation that made it difficult to harvest and transport produce to market. One poster from the mid 1940’s reading, “Our food is fighting” portrayed the high sense of patriotism so characteristic of the time.The Department of Agriculture along with agribusiness corporations distributed booklets providing information about basic gardening techniques. In 1943, 20 million gardens were producing 8 million tons of food. Victory gardens were planted in backyards, apartment building roofs, vacant lots, backyards, and pretty much every available patch of dirt and container throughout the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. Neighbors pooled their resources, planted different kinds of foods and formed cooperatives, doing whatever had to be done.Magazines printed stories about victory gardens, and women’s magazines provided instructions on how to grow and preserve garden produce. Sales of pressure cookers to use in canning skyrocketed as families were encouraged to can their own vegetables. Home canners used non-toxic glass mason jars. The government as well as businesses urged families to make gardening a group effort. At the peak of the effort, 9-10 million tons of produce was produced, an amount equal to all commercial production. Even children and teenagers willingly took part in the work of the garden.The victory garden was clearly a victory on many levels.Why victory gardens are back in styleToday we are again involved in fighting a battle, but this time the battle involves how to stay healthy and live genuine lives in a world where everything is increasing stacked against us.Today’s commercially grown produce comes from soils depleted of the minerals and nutrients so necessary to keep us healthy in our polluted and stressful environment. Plants grown in depleted soils are less healthy and able to resist attack by pests, so the use of pesticides is more prevalent than ever. Much of our big agribusiness produce is now being grown in foreign countries not subject to highly controlled use of pesticide. Today’s big food corporations choose the cheapest, most effective pesticides, not the ones that are least toxic to humans and other life forms. Along with pesticide residues, our produce contains residual amounts of soil depleting synthetic chemical fertilizers which are toxic to our livers.Parabolic gas prices are estimated to increase wholesale food prices by 30 percent in the coming months. We wonder how we will be able to continue buying quality foods to keep us healthy. Fruits and vegetables are on the road for 1500 miles on average, before they reach the supermarkets. Produce is picked without having a chance to ripen so it can withstand the long trip to market. During this process, even more of the nutrients are lost. When it finally reaches the supermarket, produce can sit in cold storage for a week before being put out for sale.We want to have access to health promoting fruits and vegetables during the winter months without them having to be flown in from other parts of the world. Asparagus from Argentina in January is a luxury few can afford. Yet we are told that our commercially canned produce contains carcinogenic and toxic bisphenol-A.We’re short on money to put gas into the SUV to drive our children around to their programmed activities. At the same time, we are realizing that our children are not really learning what is important in life. We yearn for projects and activities that will bring our families together.We are stressed out and overworked trying to get the money to buy all the stuff that corporations have decided we must have. Our closets and homes are filled, but our bank accounts are empty. We are so busy that we seldom see our family as a whole or do activities in which the whole family participates. It’s time to say ‘no’ to the big corporate food sellers and big oil. It’s time to reach inside ourselves again and rediscover that kernel of resourcefulness. It is still there.Victory gardens and the new ageA victory garden is a manifestation of new thinking, new vision and an explosion of new understanding. We not only live in this world but we help create it. We can choose to participate in unity and renewal, and to become part of the higher forms of consciousness. We are at the point now where evolution can become conscious of itself.We can choose to participate in a new age of creative intelligence and love. This new age is like a rising tide which may wash away those who seek to go on working in accordance with that old law of every man for himself. It is a movement just beginning like the emergence of a tiny shoot in spring. You can tear out that shoot or stomp on it, but there is no way that you can hold back the coming of spring.We have had enough of the old ways of thinking, and we are here to take back control of our lives, our health, our resources, and our futures. We are resisting the control of destructive governmental and corporate forces. We are developing an energy and enthusiasm that characterizes new values, new ways of living, new survival techniques, and new experiences.A garden that symbolizes our part in this evolution is a challenge and a source of immense hope. If a family or group is able to achieve this, others will follow and the movement will grow. In a time of famine for many and threatened famine for many others, the victory garden is an indication of a new way the earth can be made more fruitful. We must have a vision.We realize with horror what the human race in its greed and arrogance is doing to the earth, and the life forms on it. Our ignorance of the realities of nature has led us to follow all sorts of practices which hurt and alienate. We are at the juncture where we may either come to be parasites upon the planet, or we may come to a new enlightenment. The choice is ours.A victory garden can be our symbol of the victory of the decision to be part of the new enlightenment. It can provide us with a way to re-establish a positive relationship with nature as we are called on to love life-giving plants, to cherish and nurture them, to talk to them, and thank them for all their work for us. When we have reached out to do this, we are breaking down barriers within our minds, and our resistance to this new age will dissolve. We are readying ourselves to go forth openly toward nature with a loving attitude.Remember, this is not somebody’s thought out plan. It is a phenomenon and an expression of the living energies for renewal that are sweeping through our society. This is a creative energy to renew in many facets, the garden being just one of them. The garden is an expression of a community filled with energy, enthusiasm and love for all life.A garden teaches us the secrets of creation in various ways. Once we make the decision to pull back from the getting and spending lifestyle, we learn the power within us to create our world by the choices we make. We realize that we no longer have to be controlled by the power of events, but that by our power of thought, we control events. We can bring about what is in our thoughts.When this is our direction we will have the confidence to succeed in the garden. Gardening is about the relationship we have with the plants. When we love and cherish them, they will return the favor. Plants are like our children. A child who is loved thrives no matter what the conditions are, but a child who has no love dies. Gardening is never about technique or the color of your thumb. It is about what is in your heart and spirit.

About the author

Barbara is a school psychologist, a published author in the area of personal finance, a breast cancer survivor using “alternative” treatments, a born existentialist, and a student of nature and all things natural.

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What is Food Supply Gardening?

Posted on April 6, 2011 by celticozarkian

What is food supply gardening?

There are lots of reasons to grow a garden. Some people make a hobby out of gardening. Some people garden to get exercise, or releave stress. Others grow a garden to simply enjoy some of the lovely organic foods that come from the labor.  Some people want to reduce the amount of pesticides in the food supply. That is all well and good, but has little to do with food supply gardening.

Gardening for a food supply involves taking on the practice of gardening with the intent of growing vegetables for food. It becomes more than just a gardening hobby, because the goal of this type of food supply gardening is to be able to grow all of the vegetables needed for a family for a year. We ask the question, and we study on ”how to grow your own food.”  Now, it may take a while to get to that goal, but that is, nevertheless, the goal we food supply gardeners seek to achieve. How to grow food is the start, how to grow a lot of food is the end product.

How is it different than survival gardening?

In many respects, food supply gardening is the same as survival gardening. There is a common shared goal of “self reliance” between the two types of gardening. I would say that the two types of gardening differ in their philosophy. Survival gardening is designed to teach people how to grow food that could keep them alive during times of crisis. I share a concern with survival gardeners that our nation’s food supply is at risk. Our food is very full of pesticides. If things go bad, we may need to rely on these skills to survive.

Gardening for a food supply, though, involves adopting the task of growing your own food all the time, regardless of what is going on in the economy, or what is happening politically with your part of the world. I want to teach people to how to grow food again. The world around you may be fine, but I want you to grow your own vegetables anyway.

Growing your own vegetables has several advantages: One, you know who grew your vegetables. Two, you know what type of fertilizers, pesticides, etc., were placed on those vegetables. Three, it has the potential of lowering your food bill. Finally, it can be a source of extra money, as your food supply produces more than you can use. On a higher level, I invite you to share your abundance with those in need. Here in the Ozarks, I participate with the Ozark Food Harvest, and take extra to them. They always manage to have a place to send it.

 A basic philosophy of how to grow your own food

Well, I have given you a rather high level view of what this website is all about. The only big question left is “how do I grow my own food?” That will take the rest of the website to answer, as there are many ways to accomplish this goal. What I want to do now is just share some basic ideas on the philosophy of how to grow your own food.

For a family of four, you can pretty much grow your food supply on an acre of land. With 5 acres, you can just about become self sufficient. But what do you do if you don’t own that much land? My answer is simple: turn to raised bed gardens. Raised bed gardens, in conjunction with highly rich soil, can allow you to grow more in less space. So, this is one philosophy of mine on how to grow your own food.

A second philosophy is that you need to learn to preserve and reuse seeds. If something happens to the seed supply, you could still go on. This is why I am such an advocate of heirloom gardening. Many of the seeds that are sold each year in stores are for hybrid vegetables, that have been genetically modified. You’ll get one crop of vegetables, then you will be done. Heirloom seeds can be saved, preserved, and used over and over again.

A third philosophy is that you will need to learn to preserve your food, in order to use it all year. That may involve freezing vegetables. It may involve learning to can vegetables. Better yet, you need to learn to do it all. Whatever it takes to get the food supply stored safely.

My final philosophy is this: a good food supply needs to be safe. I don’t use a lot of pesticides. I hope you’ll join that cause. I use natural pesticides, and natural fertilizers. No growth hormones. (I don’t like it in meat either!)

Well, that’s may take on the purpose of food supply gardening. I want this site to be your food supply source. More over, I want your opinion, thoughts, and participation. We will be joined by other food supply gardeners, members of my local Ozarks Master Gardeners, and a host of others. Be part of that group.

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