Friday, April 25, 2014

April 25, 2014 Garden update (Greens sprouting)

I wanted to make a quick post about what James and I have been doing the past week, along with some pictures of our vegetable growth.

As I have mentioned in previous posts, my cousin Lisa has asked me to till her garden and grow food this year. So we burned on the garden space to take out the grass, ivy, and other debris. The space is almost as big as the garden at my Mom's, so that will grow plenty of beans, tomatoes, squash and cucumbers. Aside from the tomatoes, these vegetables can be directly sown in the ground.
The next step towards revamping the space is to burn in more spots, then dig up the space with a shovel. This process will take another week due to rain delaying our work. But once the garden is shoveled, we can till then hoe up rows at the beginning of May. 

Other than working on my cousin's garden, we go over to my grandparents to water our rows of greens and peas everyday. Of course we have rain barrels set up to collect rain water.
Below are pictures of the peas sprouting. Parallel to the peas is a row of half Iceberg Lettuce and half Buttercrunch lettuce. The next row over is Kale, then a row of Spinach, then Salad bowl Lettuce, then Grand Rapids Lettuce.
It is hard to see the greens sprouting, but a couple of days of rain will help speed their growth. (Some of the greens will be ready to eat within the next three weeks).

Peas

Iceberg lettuce

Half Iceberg lettuce & Buttercrunch lettuce

Six Rows of greens & peas
Other things that are growing nicely are my cantaloupe and watermelon sprouts. I have transplanted some melon plants to Styrofoam cups with potting soil.

Cantaloupe transplanted to Styrofoam pots
Cantaloupe & Watermelon seed
My tomatoes are growing nicely in the open trays/tubs, while the pepper seeds are taking much time to germinate and sprout. Only but a couple of pepper sprouts have popped up in the last couple of days.

Non-gmo "Beefsteak" tomatoes

San Marzano tomatoes + mixture of other tomatoes

I also have tomatoes and peppers growing in pots. So it seems I have many tomato plants started, but I also have them growing up in my strawberry beds. So I look at it as I am very fortunate. I also have greens and peas I started in large containers-- which are all growing at my Mom's.

"Sweetie" tomatoes

Non-gmo Green peas (I will be saving seed from)

Arugula

As mentioned in my last Garden update, we have planted 125 lbs of potatoes, which I have displayed in the pictures below. I have ten 3 foot wide rows with approximately 12 lbs of potatoes. The rows are very short but we buried those potatoes with lots of pine needles as mulch.




At the beginning of May I will plant Squash on one end of the garden (in the foreground of the picture), then further down I will be planting non-gmo beans.You can see the peas and greens sprouting in the middle of the garden (middle of the picture). Towards the further end of the garden contains potatoes, then at the very end of the garden (in the background of the picture) will contain cucumbers and butternut squash and Cushaw.


Here is a picture an additional garden at my Grandparent's property. It is known as the one across the road. After I get the dirt mashed down, shoveled, then tilled, I will plant corn, beans, and tomatoes. Basically this year I am focusing on seven different fruits and vegetables.

On a final note, I wanted to show you some of the photography I have been doing of the beautiful blooms and the scenes of Spring as well.

 

How much fruit & vegetables should I eat? (Pictures of meals this week)

I have never heard a doctor say "you need to eat more meat", only those who say you need to eat more fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables contain all the necessary calories, carbohydrates, protein, fats, vitamins and minerals we need to sustain. It is ironic when I hear my fellow man say he needs to obtain protein from an animal, when that very animal obtains all of its protein from grass. It is also comical when people insist we evolved by eating and hunting animals and cooking our food-- when we evolved at that point by eating only fruits and leaves.

Our food industry has us so addicted to cheeses, meats, chocolate, greasy bread and fatty desserts, we couldn't care less where these foods come from. Food corporations do not want you to know how they slaughter billions of animals everyday, or the fact that your meat contains ammonia, bleach, and pink slime. They do not want you to know that your genetically modified foods are altering your own psyche.

Food works much like drugs, foods with high salt and oil content are stimulating which encourages us to consume more foods like this. Fruits and vegetables do not seem stimulating in the way that burgers, fries, cake, and chocolate are stimulating.
When did people stop viewing food as nourishment? When did people decide they would rather have anti-nutrient foods? Instead of sitting down to a plate of vegetables from our garden-- now if we make the decision to eat vegetables, it must be deep fried or breaded.

I have come to conclude that television and advertisements have ruined our ideology of health. Women limit their calories from food instead of eating an abundance of healthy foods-- then they wonder why they feel deprived and psychotic. Food corporations use trigger phrases like '100 calories' to mislead you about their product. Phrases like this try to reassure women and men that their product is healthy. Pink slime is pink slime (and calories do not matter).
This isn't the only issue with food corporations. They use snake tactics like Mascots (Ronald McDonald, the Colonel, the Red head from Wendy's and the Rat used for Chuckie Cheese) as images to associate with the food they are selling. This is especially good marketing to entice children.
We all know Wendy's had the word 'MOM' blended into collar of the red head within the logo. The word 'MOM' could create unconscious feelings of comfort, safety, home as a way to lure younger individuals. McDonald's usually attaches a play land to their restaurant-- another means to lure children. Obviously parents are doing what they think is best and feel good about taking their child somewhere to play with other children while eating food that works within their budget.

Can we not see that these industries make it easier to access unhealthy foods, while making organic, non-gmo foods unattainable to the poorest of people? Even the poorest people do not have access to the research on health, due to the expense of Internet, computers, books, education.

Of course, What you allow, is what will continue...so...The best I can do for people is to show them how much fruits and vegetables to eat. The best I can do for our society is show people how to grow their own food in order to sustain a healthy lifestyle and live for free doing so. I do not wish to judge those who still eat unhealthy because I understand that the corruption of our world leaders is deeply engrained in our culture. Those who understand do not judge, and those who judge, do not understand. So I am here to provide encouragement to eat healthier. At least eat more fruits and vegetables! How hard is to eat bananas everyday when it is the least expensive nutrient dense food?

In the rest of this post I have provided pictures of meals I eat regularly and what I buy every week from the grocery store.


In the photo above: Carrots, dates, oranges, apples, peppers, grapes, avocados, lettuce, cantaloupe, cauliflower and bananas. Bananas are my staple. Potatoes and rice are a staple in my partner's diet, which is not seen here, but potatoes and rice are inexpensive in large quantities, similar to bananas.It is important to obtain 80% or more of your calories from carbohydrates.


Here is a typical salad: Iceberg lettuce with cucumbers, carrots, peppers and tomatoes with dressing of tomatoes, pieces of cucumber & carrots and avocado. As you can tell in the photo above, I have spiralized the carrots and cucumbers into noodles.


Another salad with similar ingredients as the one before. I usually do not alter ingredients, I always stick to my basic formula: lettuce, cucumber, tomato, carrots, avocado.


This salad is a little different, without the addition of carrots. Instead I have added chopped cauliflower for a 'feta cheese' effect.


Salad with spiralized cucumber and carrots overtop a bed of lettuce and tomato. The dressing I used is featured in the picture directly below:

The dressing is made of three oranges (juiced) with 1 cup of grapes (seeded) and a little avocado.


It seems I eat a lot of salads, but I actually eat much more smoothies. For breakfast I eat 7-10 bananas blended with a little water. It tastes like I'm drinking pure sugar. Sometimes I add blueberries, strawberries, grapes, or dates with the bananas. I also have banana smoothies for Lunch too. So it is uncommon that I eat up to 10-20 bananas everyday. In the photo above I made two separate smoothies (one for me and one for James), but I ended up mixing the two: 7 bananas blended with strawberries then the other with 7 bananas blended with strawberries.


50 Bananas, 4 heads of iceberg lettuce, 9 tomatoes, 3 red peppers, and 4 cucumbers = $20


Another salad with similar ingredients, lettuce, tomatoes, spiralized carrots & cucumber with chopped cauliflower on top.

In this salad I added purple cabbage for some color. All of the individual pictures of salads were different dinners. I usually have a salad everyday for dinner while I eat bananas and other fruits for breakfast and lunch. For example in the picture below, my favorite breakfast is melons. I will eat a whole cantaloupe or watermelon to myself...


Of course I encourage others to eat their fruits and vegetables in their raw, ripe, whole and natural form. Ideally for optimal nutrition, fresh, ripe, seasonal raw fruits and vegetables should make up most (if not all) of your diet. I understand that this may be difficult, so do your best. The Vegan diet can be incredibly inexpensive, my partner and I usually spend $30-$45 every week. Canned, dehydrated, or frozen fruits can be supplemented if you cannot afford fresh fruits. Potatoes and rice may be added in the diet if you have no other (optimal) options around. Potatoes and rice and refined sugars are best if Organic.
Remember, Bananas are the cheapest of all foods and contain Potassium and essential amino acids for sustenance, so these should be your staple. At this point in my life, bananas take up 60% of my diet.

Visit the links below for more examples of how I eat and what is most optimal for health, endurance, and preventive medicine:

As you read the links above, suggestions for further reading will be provided at the end of every blog post.

More pictures for you...




 

Saturday, April 19, 2014

April 19th Garden Update (Tomatoes & melons sprouting)

The last several nights have been bitter cold. One night dropped to 27 degrees and the past  two night have been in the upper 30s. I have had to cover my fruit trees with blankets, covered my strawberry plants with plastic, and mulched my blueberry bushes with leaves. My older peach tree was too big to cover, much like my 3 year old Pear trees.

Covered trees with blankets for threat of Frost

Recently my Cantaloupe and Watermelon plants have sprouted healthy, thick stalks. I have been watering them everyday with rain water I collected. My grandmother is also watering my cantaloupe, tomatoes, and peppers that I have in starter containers (at her house). My rain barrels stay at my grandparent's house for my grandmother to water some of her flowers and my starters.
Tomatoes sprouting in trays (filled with compost)

Cantaloupe sprouting tall (1 week old)

Melon, tomato, and pepper starters/
My grandma waters with spray bottle

Last night James and I planted another two rows of Kennebec potatoes. Today we finished the last row of potatoes, leaving us a total of 10 rows (125 lbs of potatoes). Hopefully by harvest time, the pound will triple or quadruple.

Finally after a week and a half our lettuce, kale, spinach and peas are poking out of the ground. The greens have been planted at my Grandparent's (which gets much more shade and colder temperatures than at my Mother's); so it is no wonder it took the greens longer to sprout.
In two weeks the young leaves of the greens will be ready to snack on, but it will take another four weeks for them to harvest.

I will make another post in several days on the progress!

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

April 15th 2014 Garden update/What's growing on & Gardening Tasks

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!
~
Actually I talk about seasonal tasks in the garden, what to plant at this time; and also what foods produce the best in the video below. If you're interested, feel free to watch. :)


I have another video I made today, I will have to upload to YT before posting to here.

Sunday, April 6, 2014

April 6th 2014 Garden update, what to start indoors, transplant, and sow

Yesterday I planted watermelon seeds in starter pots with compost I made. I am keeping the watermelon starters indoors until they sprout. Transparent, plastic sheeting is covering the watermelon for extra heat and condensation (to retain moisture). I actually have demonstrated starting watermelon seeds (plus gardening tips) in the video below.


Today my partner transplanted four blueberry bushes and tilled in one of our gardens. I planted six strawberry plants in our new compost bed at my Mom's; and sowed iceberg, buttercrunch lettuce and several other lettuce varieties, kale, peas, and spinach (at my Grandparents).

We have been trying a new technique my grandpa suggested. Mix small seeds like lettuce, kale, turnips with wood ash (Save the ash in containers after burning wood). Mixing ash with the small seeds allows you to see where you are sowing. Plus the potassium and nitrogen and other minerals jump starts the seeds, acting like a fertilize.
Although I used a lot of ash over the rows, the rain will wash most of it away yet enough to nourish the seeds and ground.
These popped up in my garden, I am not sure if they're squash or melon sprouts
Squash sprouts were growing in my garden, so I transplanted 50+ into tubs with compost.
I covered the tubs of squash sprouts with transparent, plastic sheeting as well. I am keeping these indoors for now.

It will be raining all day tomorrow, which is why we hustled to transplant fruit plants and sow seeds. However the wind and sun for the next few days will dry out the ground, allowing us to shovel and till Tuesday.



On Tuesday through Thursday, we will shovel my grandparent's garden to till and plant 100+ pounds of potato seed. Along with shoveling and tilling, I am planting 100+ cantaloupe seeds, tomato and pepper seeds in starter pots.

I Transplanted sprouts into compost to mature, in May I will
transplant a second time into the garden.


Thursday, April 3, 2014

Spring & Summer Garden Layout

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