How to ripen fuyu persimmons (VIDEO)

I forgot to mention in the video that, with other persimmon varieties including the Fuyu, you can freeze them overnight in your refrigerator (to imitate a hard frost), and this will ripen the persimmons. Then thaw the next day to eat.

Raw & vegan grocery budget tips

Fall seasonal fruits

1. Buy in season. Fruit is outrageously expensive in the winter time, except for those fruits that are harvested during this time. For example, persimmons, pears, apples, oranges, and citrus are harvested in the fall and winter months, so they will be more available and cheaper for the consumer. Buy berries, tropical fruit, and tomatoes during the summer, and buy root vegetables and greens throughout the spring and then fall/winter months, as this will be when these foods are harvested. Of course you can buy berries frozen during the winter, and you'll know they were picked in season.


2. Buy from the reduced price wrack. Grocery stores strategically place reduced price wracks towards the end of the produce section. They usually wrap the produce in red mesh bags and reduce the price because they are older. But usually if they're older fruits and vegetables, that means they are then perfectly ripe and ready to eat. Most fruit in the stores are not ripe let alone fit to eat, so always check the reduced price wrack. As you can see in the photo below, I purchased star fruits and an eggplant, squash, and potatoes on the reduced price wrack.

3. Buy fresh first, and next best is frozen. Always buy fresh produce seasonally, but if you see that frozen berries are on sale, you'll know they were at least picked and packaged frozen when they were at their ripest (when they were in season). Frozen fruits and veggies are healthier and cheaper alternatives to buying canned foods. I will say, though, I have never had luck ripening fresh peaches, and so I never buy them at the grocery store. I absolutely will not buy fresh peaches anymore because they'll stay hard for weeks and then turn brown to mold. I'll buy peaches canned or frozen, but there isn't anything better than a peach picked perfectly ripe off of the tree in your own backyard...
4. Buy sale items in bulk. When pears are on sale in the fall and winter, buy the pears in bulk. Ask the produce guy or girl if they will give you a box of pears. If persimmons are on sale, buy in bulk.  It's healthier to eat several pears or one fruit at a time anyway, because this is easy on the stomach to digest and assimilate nutrients. Also, it's better to buy more fruit than any other grocery item. When you have lots of fruit around you, you'll go to the fruit rather than the junk food snacks. If you find that the bulk fruit items you purchased are ripening too quickly, store in the refrigerator or freeze them in plastic bags/containers. I have more information on storing, ripening, and how to avoid fruits from ripening here: How to store, ripen, & keep from over ripening bananas (VIDEO)
5. Avoid expensive specialty and processed items. I have found that all of these special "vegan" or "raw" snacks to be expensive for the quantity of the product. Vegan burgers, patties, a bag of Daiya brand vegan cheez, and nutritional yeast all cost nearly $4 dollars each to make a meal. For me, the least expensive items are those that are fresh produce that is seasonal.
6. And most importantly, grow a fruit and nut tree, and garden. The best time to plant a fruit tree was 20 years ago, and the second best time is NOW! This year I probably produced thousands of dollars worth of food that I grew and ate for free!

garden harvest 2014

If you live off of government assistance, chances are it isn't enough money to survive on, but there are other means such foraging seasonal fruit and nuts, and dumpster dive for produce. Big corporations compact waste, so absolutely perfectly ripe produce gets thrown out. It's awful that our society produces so much food that it could feed everyone, yet the people that run corporations are so greedy, they won't donate the food! It angers me to my core that because of capitalism we have so much, but most of it's disposable or thrown out, and no food is given to those in need. I posted a video of John Oliver talking about Food waste, see post here: John Oliver explains America's food waste problem.

Zone 6 September/October Garden Harvest (photos)

Yesterday I harvested several handfuls of jalapeno peppers and other peppers. They produced better than any other plant in my garden. It's a shame Jalapenos grow so well for so long, because I usually don't know what to do with them upon eating. Occasionally I'll cut up three jalapeno peppers with tomatoes, corn, other peppers, and onion, steam veggies, then serve over black beans and rice.
Considering we have so many jalapeno peppers, banana peppers, and hot peppers, my partner wants to pickle them or make a jam. The only peppers I can tolerate to eat are the Sweet varieties.

I have harvested banana and green peppers yesterday as well. In the photo below are the varieties of peppers, a tomato, and large and small purple turnip. The turnip seeds were grown from non-GMO Veganseeds company.

October 19th garden harvest

Purple turnip

During August to June the garden harvest is much more plentiful, harvesting up to 20 lb of food everyday. I will soon compile the pictures of my garden harvests and calculate how much food I produced within the last six months of growing. My prediction so far is that I have harvested under $1000 worth of food, but then again I grew over $1300 worth of food last year in the garden.

The peppers have been producing everyday, so we usually harvest them everyday. Here are a few photos of the banana, jalapeno, Cowhorn, and Cubanelle peppers along with Green peppers, potatoes, lettuce, kale, tomatoes, dill, and persimmons I have harvested in September through October:

10-22-14 lettuce & dill harvest

10-22-14 tomato harvest

10-30-14 Pepper Harvest

October 20th garden harvest, greens & peppers

October 16th garden harvest, peppers and tomatoes

October 11th harvest, potatoes and peppers

In the following two photos are two varieties of Persimmons. One has the taste of Pumpkin pie and the other taste like Orange flavored Icy-pops.

October 17th persimmon forage

October 7th persimmon forage

October 8th Lettuce, Kale, dill, tomato harvest

October 7th harvest, Yellow watermelon

September 2nd, Peppers/tomatoes/squash/melon harvest

September 15th, Pepper and tomato harvest

September 20th Watermelon harvest (not ripe)

September 15th potato harvest

September 2014, Pumpkin harvest

September 13th, Strawberry harvest

September 15th strawberry harvest

September 15th, Peaches harvested from our tree / Cantaloupe & watermelon (not ripe) harvested from the garden

For previous Monthly Harvest photos, go here: Garden Harvest August 2014 and Garden Harvest July 2014.

Fruit trees & Fruit bushes we are currently growing (Garden update July 2014)

Over the last three years, I have bought several different varieties of fruit trees, bushes, vining fruits. For example we bought three blueberry bushes and bought five more this year (one died). The blueberries we harvested a couple months ago, came from the blueberry plants we bought this year. 

First blueberry from the garden

7 blueberry plants

I believe the birds ate most of the blueberries, I harvested maybe four of the 50+ blueberries I saw growing. Well the birds also ate most of the strawberries, but I fortunately placed Garden figurines beside the Strawberry plants. The very day the birds quit touching the berries. 

Garden figurines to prevent birds

the figurines kept the birds away

You may have read that I transplanted nearly 300 Tomato starters this year. The majority of the Tomato plants (approx 200) came up volunteer from the strawberry beds you see below. I am convinced that next year I will be able to rely on

Strawberry bed 1

Logs used as frames, pine used as mulch, compost for soil and nutrition-- all resources that were free. The strawberry plants will cost you about $1 per plant. Strawberries are one of those Fruits that put off the same year you plant too!

Strawberry bed 2

Strawberry bed 3

The Blackberry bushes ripened at the beginning of July after a cool front. Of course the birds got to most of them especially around our yard.

My (two) grape plants are progressing. Actually I ate one grape today that turned purple. It tasted much like sour apple jolly rancher and the texture was like the candy too.

To see both grape plants & how they're grown, see video "2 yr old grape plants".

Below are pictures of my old Peach tree (30+ years old). It has approximately 10 Peaches growing. Last year we had over 100 Peaches growing. This year however a Late Frost killed most the blooms, and several have fallen too early.

Old Peach Tree

Peach fruit

Peach Tree fruits

Below is a picture of my younger Peach Tree (3-4 years old). I bought this Peach tree from Arbor Day, which states this variety produces fruit after 3 or 4 years, so I expect it to fruit next year. This variety is Golden Jubilee which self-fertilizes.

3-4 year old Peach Tree

The Fig Trees and Cherry Trees are putting off shoots to make new trees. I was worried the two Fig Trees and two Cherry trees were completely dead.

I hear Fig Trees grow well in Pots, so I may purchase several more to experiment in growing them in containers. My variety of Figs are called Chicago Hardy Figs, suitable for Growing Zones 6 or higher.

The other photo below, a Plum tree called the Damson Plum (tart) variety, self-fertilizing, grows up to 10 to 20 feet tall and wide.

Fig Tree sprouts

Fig Tree sprouts

Cherry tree sprout

Plum tree

Other Fruit Trees I have, two Pear Trees, and Kiwi plants. As I done with the Fig Trees, I purchased a Cold Hardy variety of Kiwis. Simply called Hardy Kiwis, they are a fast-growing, climbing vine, and is capable of surviving slow temperature drops to -30°F (-34°C). Kiwis take approximately threes years to begin producing Fruit. Flowering usually occurs in May, and they need a male pollinator. A male pollinator can enable six female producers to Fruit.
Kentucky was hit hard last Winter, one of the worst in 30 years! Around November I cover mulched these plants in leaves halfway up those poles.
The poles you see were re-purposed from an old playground. I almost always obtain free materials within the Garden. My goal is to avoid purchasing resources altogether, but we do what we can in the meantime.

2 of 3 Kiwi plants survived the Winter

Video of my kiwi plants at "2 yr old Hardy Kiwi plants"

Below are the 3-4 year old Pear trees, the Kieffer variety. They are self-fertilizing but do best with two trees for better crop; Very hardy and tolerates hot climate, from Zones 4 to 9; and grows to 15' to 30' tall, 12' to 20' spread. I also purchased the Pear trees from Arborday.org (as well as the young Peach Tree and Plum tree).

 

Aside from Fruit trees, I am growing many Vegetable fruits including Yellow Squash, Zucchini, Butternut Squash, Pumpkins, Tomatoes, Peppers, Cucumbers. Also I am growing beans, corn, potatoes, and greens.
I am most happy with the progress of one cantaloupe plant, which has five medium to large-sized fruits and three are small to medium-sized. See video of cantaloupe growing strawberry bed, go to video "progress on Cantaloupe & pumpkin n the compost". And for the Watermelon & Cantaloupe Garden tour, go to video "watermelon cantaloupe & corn ready to harvest".
Considering melons are high maintenance and Kentucky weather is not the best conditions, I am excited to harvest several healthy melons. Then again, I purchased $10 worth of seeds this year on Cantaloupe and Watermelon seed, after several transplants most died, and the remaining melon plants have no produced any fruit. Last year I had the same success with the Melons.

For now, we have a small variety of fruit trees, but of course we buy additional fruit every year to add to the collection.
Ultimately, a lifestyle that represents lessening the amount of cruelty, environmental impact, and exploitation of workers or customers is a diet and lifestyle centered around growing your own food, specifically living off the land of your fruits. When you grow your own fruits and vegetables, you can control avoiding harm to bugs and animals and the environment when you avoid pesticides, herbicides, etc. There are many cruelty free techniques in gardening. Matthew David gives examples on Ethical & low maintenance gardening here. Another aspect of eating a diet of fruits and vegetables is spreading the seed to create future food, in abundance.

View my other posts for photos of Fruit harvests from my garden.


I am interested to know or see your own collection of Fruit trees. Are you growing a food forest?

Tomatoes harvest & hundreds of tomatoes ripening

The greens are in their final stages. After several months, the remaining leaves are bitter and have bug markings. This video here is from one of my last lettuce harvests.

The tomatoes and cucumbers are fruiting. Seems odd to grow lettuce for months without using your own cucumbers and tomatoes, then when your tomatoes and cucumbers do come on, the greens are already dying out! 

Well, I will be sowing new lettuce, kale, and spinach seed in the upcoming days. The greens will take less than a month for me to harvest them again, and I will still be harvesting tomatoes and cucumbers by that point--so I will be making many salads with all my own ingredients (with the exception of avocado).

After several weeks without rain, many of the plants stalled. Although I watered my pepper, sweet potato, and melon plants everyday-- my squash, cucumber, tomatoes, corn, and beans did not get rain for weeks. Last night was a soaking rain shower-- so my tomatoes and many other fruits may have started fruiting or ripening much sooner.

The yellow squash have been producing as well. The peppers and cucumbers are putting off but slow growing.

First of the yellow squash

Celebrity variety, pinkish color

Celebrity variety

Rutger variety

Here are the first tomatoes to be harvested from the garden. Considering I planted nearly 200 Tomato plants last year and received over 200 lbs of tomatoes, this year I expect over 300 lbs of tomatoes from the 300 Tomato Plants we have growing.

 On a final note, be on the look out for more posts on garden harvests. Within the next 7-14 days, I will be harvesting pounds of free food from the garden.