The Reluctant Vegan - Becoming Woke

I miss being naïve. “Ignorance is bliss” goes the saying. I wish I could go back to the days of laying in the sun with baby oil smeared all over my scrawny legs. 

What I wouldn’t give to come home to my dad grilling burgers medium-rare after skating (without a helmet or kneepads) on the broken sidewalks of my little hometown.

A child of the seventies, I ate cold pepperoni pizza that had sat on the counter overnight. Sugary Kool-Aid flowed like wine, and a healthy breakfast included both toast and sweetened cereal along with hefty servings of orange juice and milk.

I was the girl who loved a bloody steak, the bloodier, the better. My favorite food as a child was fried chicken. Not once did I connect these meats with an actual living, breathing creature.

I hate that I know how the animals we eat for food are really treated. I hate that I know humanely slaughtered animals aren’t treated humanely at all.

Garden 2017 - A Better Design

Last year, our garden was so overgrown that it became impossible to get into it pick the food... This year, I exercised a bit of control and planted my plots a little farther apart. Take a video tour with me to see the new set up!

Yes, You Can Plant Dried Beans From the Grocery Store and Grow Green Beans!

Check out our green beans which were planted from dried beans in the grocery store! Dried beans can be a very economical source of seed as you can see in this video -

Urban Garden Update August 2016 - It's a Jungle Out There!

Take a walk with me through our back yard jungle - I may rethink how closely I've planted our plots next year! 

How We Grow a Lot of Food in a Small Space - The Garden Tour Video

Take a garden tour with me and see how we save space when we plant to get the most vegetables possible in our garden!

It's (Almost) Never Too Late to Plant a Garden!

I am ashamed to admit it but I almost didn't plant a garden this year! 

We didn't have any snow, and the winter temperatures here in Wichita, Kansas didn't feel much like winter at all. 

I told everyone that I wasn't going to grow a garden this year, because the bugs would be out of control due to the lack of a hard freeze. In truth, I was feeling a little tired and lazy. 

How Much Seed Should You Buy?

Setting Your Garden Goal(s)

Deciding how much seed to purchase can be tricky when planning your vegetable garden.   First you must know what your intentions are with your garden. 

Will your garden provide a little extra fresh produce during the spring and summer season?  Or do you hope to preserve enough food to feed your family until the next year's garden is producing?  Or perhaps you hope to do something in between the two extremes. 

Garden Update ~ June 2012

 

~ Panoramic view of garden ~
(As you can see, the weeds are growing almost as well as the vegetables)
If you are wondering how well "plot" style planting works,
take a look at some of the produce we've harvested so far!

How to Preserve Green Beans Without Canning



 



We've been blessed with huge crops of green beans
this year! 

  

Garden Update

 

My two year old standing in the green bean patch.  We got
5 quarts with our first picking!



















I have been busy lately and haven't blogged for awhile.  I wanted to take a moment to let my gardening friends see the gardening progress.  Isn't this year incredible so far? 

Inexpensive Mulch For Your Garden

I've been looking for inexpensive or free ways to mulch my garden.  My husband has a business that generates a lot of cardboard boxes from items shipped to him. 

The Humble Beginnings of a Year's Supply of Food



I couldn't be more excited! Yesterday marked the real beginning of spring for me.  We began the joyful process of planting our vegetable garden for the year.   There will be many more beds put in before the end of May but somehow the first planting always seems the most important to me.

Do It Yourself "Topsy Turvy" Tomato Planter

I love the space saving concept of the "Topsy Turvy" tomato planter.  I think this planter concept is helpful in cutting down on weeding and a perfect solution for people who want to enjoy homegrown tomatoes but don't have a yard.  I'll wager that if you had a window with enough sun exposure you could even grow tomatoes inside your home.

How to Thin Tomato Seedlings (without stressing them out)

I'm not thrilled when I must thin my seedlings.  It feels like I'm harming my children somehow.  

I know, that's a bit dramatic of me but still, it feels wrong to determine which plants will be allowed to live and which ones must die.  

Plot Planting (How to Plant a Big Garden in a Small Space)

Garden Design

We don't plant in rows, rather we plant in plots.   Our plots are usually manageable rectangles of 4 ft deep x 8 ft wide.  

We never leave enough space to have comfortable walk paths once the plants get big.  Every year, we underestimate the space we'll need between those plots.  Seems fine while the plants are small but once they reach full size, it's like a jungle in our garden.  I think it works out okay though.  We definitely get the most "bang for our buck" by planting as much as possible in our space.

Plant in Plots - Not in Rows

How Much Seed Should You Buy? - Original Article

Setting Your Garden Goal(s)

Deciding how much seed to purchase can be tricky when planning your vegetable garden.   First you must know what your intentions are with your garden. 

Will your garden provide a little extra fresh produce during the spring and summer season?  Or do you hope to preserve enough food to feed your family until the next year's garden is producing?  Or perhaps you hope to do something in between the two extremes. 

What Will You Eat?

I find that I can easily get carried away when planning my garden.  The garden catalog(s) are so beautiful and the varieties are intoxicating!  It is fun to try new veggies but it's not cool to discover that you must go to the grocery store to purchase the good ol' favorites because you didn't plant enough to get you through the season.

It has worked well for us to follow an 80/20 ratio when purchasing seeds and planting our garden.   Approximately 80% of what we grow are our favorite, time-tested standbyes.  20% are new to our garden, either vegetables or herbs we've not grown before, or a new variety of a vegetable we've grown in the past.

Save Money By Starting Your Tomatoes From Seed - It's Easy!

I am so excited!  That precious moment that I look forward to each year has arrived.  I have tomato seedlings sprouting! 

Starting Seeds Couldn't Be Easier!

My Husband Tilled!

Why Till Now?

We live inside the city limits located on nearly an acre (including the land that our home sits on).  We usually plant a garden on approximately 1/5th of our back yard.   This last garden season we had a huge problem with squash bugs and bean beetles so we decided to till now to expose any little buggers and their larvae to the cold temps.  We also wanted aerate the soil prior to a big snow.  I am so excited because we have nearly a third of our back yard tilled!  This really expands the possibility of what we will be able to grow this year.

Bringing Out the Big Guns
We have a smaller engine powered rototiller but my husband decided it would be good to rent a larger tractor with a tiller attachment this year.  We rented it for about $300 for the entire weekend, expecting the tilling job to take a while.  We were so surprised when he was able to make 4, count 'em, 4 passes in less than 3 hours time.  We could have tilled several more gardens over the weekend!

Our Garden Facing West

Garden Facing South

Money Saving Idea

Next year, we thought it might be a great idea to pool together with several other likeminded families and share the cost of the tractor rental.  We could easily till 4 or 5 large gardens over a weekend.  This might be something to consider if you are wanting to do some major tilling but don't want to spend major bucks to do so!  You would of course want to make sure that you are the one operating the tractor if you are the signing responsible party for the rental of the machine.  You could ask the other families to share more of the burden of the cost if you are the person doing the work.

Panoramic View of Our Garden

Rototilling Tips

Some things to keep in mind when tilling,

1. Remember to till no deeper than your topsoil depth.  I believe this would be a maximum of a foot deep in most areas. 
2. Also make sure you are not tilling when the soil is too damp. The idea is to loosen your soil, not compact it further.  Tilling your garden when it is too wet will create a hardened mess, nearly impossible to plant in.  Even walking on freshly tilled soil can make it compacted,  rendering your hard work useless.
3. Even if you till on a large scale prior to planting, you may find that you want to lightly till again one or more times in the spring, prior to planting to kill the baby weeds and grass seedling emerging.  I have found that lightly tilling or hoeing several times at 7 to 10 day intervals in the spring GREATLY reduces the weed yanking I must perform later in the garden season.  (Grass is my most hated "weed") as it seems to reproduce faster than rabbits! 
4. I've met a few people that say they don't till and have no issues but I'm unsure that this would be a possibility in my yard.  I just have so much grass that migrates into my garden plot!  I'd be interested in hearing from folks who don't till their garden. I'm all about less work and more harvest!

One more thought on the tractor rental, $300 may seem like a big expense but the time savings was so profound it is well worth it.  We generally consider purchasing an item preferrable over renting but in this case, my husband figured out that we could rent a tractor twice a year and still come out ahead over purchasing one of that size.    And if we are able to connect with other families and share the cost as I mentioned above, then the rental is even more economical. 

 Feel free to share photos of your garden in progress!  I'd love to see them!

Encouragement to Grow a Garden, No Matter the Size of Your Yard

I would like to give some heartfelt words of encouragement to those of you considering growing a garden again, or for the first time.  Growing a garden will feed your family and feed your soul.  I am not a religious person but I feel close to God when I am out in the garden.  I feel like I am an active part of life when I grow my garden, not just someone who pays her way through life.



Panoramic View of Our Garden 2010



I love knowing that my babies won't be eating pesticides or chemical fertilizers.  I love knowing that the food we are putting into our bodies is life giving and whole. 


A Garden is a Teacher

I think growing a garden is good for my children too.  My kids complain about picking green beans in the heat of July, but they really love eating them!  I hope that the gardening process will teach them about self sufficiency and give them a sense of community or team spirit.  



My youngest son running through the garden

  I pray that their involvement in growing our garden will teach them about life.  Nature has so much to teach us about life.   We just have to be willing to listen. 

Gardening in Any Space

It's easy to think that we can't grow a garden unless we have a lot of land.  But I firmly believe we can garden even in the smallest of spaces.  It just takes a little planning and creativity.   Don't be afraid to improvise or try new ways to grow your garden. 

I've seen people use fences and nets to train vining crops such as cucumbers, beans, squash and melons.   I've had much success with the "French Intensive" method.  We've grown enough on a 5th of an acre to feed our entire family plus the children in my daycare for a year.  It is possible to make a huge dent in your grocery budget even in a small space.  Even a sunny porch can be a great place for a garden in pots!

This is the perfect time to decide to grow a garden for your family!  I promise you will gain so much from it!

Easy Composting

Still in the garden mode!  Composting can seem intimidating at times.  There are many methods but the process is really the same each time.  This article on Ehow http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4914189_what-happens-compost-heap.html
has some good information for those of you who like to understand how things work. 

Being the lazy woman that I am, I have perfected the art of a simplified compost.  It's really simple to make one. 

1. Save all of your kitchen scraps, except for meat and grease.  The latter two items can make your compost pile yucky and attract critters.   Coffee grounds, egg shells, vegetable and fruit peelings, grains and even paper towels are great! 
2. Find a spot in your yard that is somewhat shaded and remote, unless you don't mind your neighbors complaining about the pile. 
3. Layer your kitchen scraps with grass clippings, leaves, and any other natural plant materials. 
4. Also consider any other paper products you might have to add to the pile such as newspapers, school papers, cardboard boxes.
5. Other excellent items to add to your pile are dryer lint (if the fibers are natural), chicken poop, straw, hay, and Comfrey plant (it is a wonderful activator).
6. Sprinkle the pile with water.
7. Add more scraps as you accumulate them.
8. Stir the pile a little with a pitchfork, shovel or stick if you feel like it from time to time. 
9. Sprinkle a little water on your compost pile periodically.  If it rains or snows, don't bother.
10. Keep adding daily until you feel like the pile will not be manageable any longer when you stir it.  I usually begin a new compost pile after 2 or 3 months.  But that varies depending on the season.  Winter piles don't accumulate as quickly as summer compost does. 
11. The goal is to to not have too wet of a compost nor too dry.  The materials need moisture and oxygen to break down.  Think "loose and slightly damp". 
12. Don't be alarmed if your compost becomes steamy.  That is a good sign that it's breaking down at a nice rate.  Also don't be concerned if it has a whitish substance on the decomposing materials.
13. When your compost is a nice black color and has broken down to small pieces, it is ready to be added to your garden as a mulch or to be turned into the top soil.   The best way I can describe well rotted compost is to compare it to soil in a forest floor.  Dark and earthy smelling.  Beautiful life giving food for your garden!  

An informative article that you may also wish to read is at http://eartheasy.com/grow_compost.html .  I appreciated the layout of the article and would find it very helpful if I'd not composted before. 

Like Companion Planting, Composting is a wonderful method that can be used in Organic Gardening.  Composting also really helps reduce the amount of trash we send to the landfill each week.

Happy composting!