Growing Your Own Food

Here’s a bit of information on getting started growing your own vegetables, fruits and even herbs for that home grown taste.

Some basic tools to get started and if you have any questions on what a particular tool looks like or can’t figure out its function a garden shop will be happy to explain. I’ll also be listing some book sources that will help you learn more. It’s best to try and purchase your tools at farm auctions during the off season if living in rural areas.

1) Round point shovel
2) Hoe
3) Garden spade
4) Hose
5) Rake
6) Spading fork
7) Watering can
8) Hand fork
9) Lawn cart
10) Trowel

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PLANTING THE COMPANION WAY- VEGETABLES THAT DO WELL GROWING NEXT TO ONE ANOTHER:

Tomatoes with basil, garlic and parsley
Squash with radishes
Turnips with peas
Pumpkins with corn
Potatoes with beans, cabbage, corn and peas
Onions with cabbage, lettuce and tomatoes
Lettuce with carrots, cucumbers and onions
Cucumbers with cabbage, corn and radishes
Carrots with parsley and tomatoes
Cantaloupe with corn
Cabbage with celery, corn, dill, onions and sage
Asparagus with parsley and tomatoes

And notice how well these go together on the same plate!

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ORGANIC FERTILIZERS:

1) Wood ashes: an old time favorite
2) Dried seaweed my favorite and is very high in nutrients and keeps your soil extremely moist
3) Fresh cow manure: this is the safest one to use all around
4) Compost is the best you can buy and meets all possible known standards
5) Cotton seed meal: good for developing an acidic soil which is needed to grow only certain plants successfully

Some other organic fertilizers which I don’t happen to be that familiar with are:

Bone meal
Dried Blood
Fish Emulsion
Horn and Hoof Meal
Goat, Poultry, Horse and Rabbit Manure

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COMMON SEED LOGEVITY IN YEARS:

Beets – 3
Cabbage – 4
Carrots – 1
Corn – 2
Cucumbers – 5
Spinach – 3
Squash – 4
Lettuce – 4
Melons – 4
Onions – 1
Peppers – 2
Pumpkin – 4
Tomatoes – 3
Turnips – 5

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VEGGIES AND WEATHER PREFERENCE -BEST GROWING SEASONS:

Beans – warm weather

Beets – better to grow in more northern regions

Broccoli – likes cold weather

Cabbage – cold weather like Alaskan winters

Cantaloupe – warm weather

Carrots – cold weather

Cauliflower – this is a very difficult vegetable to grow and it has a high sensitivity to warm weather. I met some ladies on line a while back that homestead 200 miles south of the Arctic Circle that do very well growing cauliflower.

Celery – does not like too much heat or too much cold so my advice is to start growing indoors and put it out around the middle of June

Collards – one of my most favorite and practically grows anywhere! I love my collards fried in Olive Oil with pieces of bacon or you can substitute turkey bacon for less fat and cholesterol. I also put it in my home made tomato based mixed vegetable soup with tons of Parsley.

Corn – warm weather

Cucumbers – avoid frost or extremely low temperatures – tends to be temperamental

Eggplant – warm weather and is native to India

Lettuce – cold weather

Okra – warm weather

Onions – grow mostly all over

Parsnips – I prefer them to carrots because of their sweeter taste but tend to contain a poor vitamin A content – the colder it is the sweeter they become! I love parsnip muffins and parsnip pie – cheaper to make than pumpkin or sweet potato pie.

Potatoes – cold weather

Pumpkin – warm weather lovers but avoid frost – pioneers often raised pumpkin as livestock feed – I love it steamed with some Olive Oil and apple cider vinegar sprinkled over the top

Radishes – rapid growth and love the cold

Spinach – likes cool weather but do avoid frosted grounds – is one of the few greens that freezes well

Sweet Potatoes – warm weather lovers and are not at all of the potato family – it actually belongs to the Morning Glory family! My mom told me that one and after researching its origin I found out she was absolutely right

Tomatoes – another one of my favorites and so healthy and versatile – hell, I can just have a few sliced tomatoes on homemade bread with salad dressing and a few sprinkles of grated cheese and that’s a meal to me¦anyway, at one time they were considered poisonous and are a close relative of the tobacco plant – they like moderate climates. My grandmother would grow tobacco and tomatoes together

Turnips – rapid growth and love cool weather

Watermelons – delicious and have similar beneficial health properties to tomatoes – they love warm sunny weather

SOME OF MY FAVORITES:

Watercress – with its strong taste it’s often grown in cool flowing waters – I find it extremely refreshing in salads and sandwiches

Tempala – a highly nutritious vegetable with an extremely good level of iron and B vitamins – they grow well in hot climates and can take the place of spinach – contain important needed nutrients if you’re a vegetarian or vegan

Scallions – use them in practically anything – they have a fresh mild flavor and grow well in cool weather but avoid frost

Mushrooms – can only grow in 50 to 60 degree climates – they are grown from spores called spawns

Leeks – in the past were used to treat blood disorders and anemia – extremely high in iron and B vitamins – they can be eaten raw or cooked – a member of the onion family plant them in Spring time and pick by Fall

Jerusalem Artichokes – very easy to grow as well as extremely resistant to drought and very cold weather – raised from tubers they are excellent for diabetics as they are low in calories and practically sugar free – a native of North America they are NOT artichokes at all but are called such because their flavor is much like that of the artichoke – they’re actually related to the sunflower which by the way is grown along with many vegetables for their highly nutritious and delicious seeds – they need very little care to thrive – I like them with steamed yellow rice, olive oil and crushed lightly fried garlic.

Horseradish – likes a cool climate and very moist soil – it’s used as a dressing or relish topping – plant the root cuttings in the spring and they should be ready by early fall – I love dipping nice big pieces of steak into homemade horseradish sauce – the roots have medicinal ingredients as well

Hint: To grow long or tall plants, you’ll need either a stake (long pole) or trillis.

In my next section I’ll cover ways of growing plants indoors and in pots¦

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Gardening Books:

Environmental Gardening by K. Arms
All About Vegetables by K. Burke and D. Walter
***The Total Garden by A. M. Clevely***
***Deep in the Green*** by A. Raver

Magazines:

***Mother Earth News***
***Organic Gardening***


**The authors of this site are neither licensed physicians nor scientists; we simply provide a space where hard to find information is free for the gathering. Use common sense when implementing any of our suggestions or those of your fellow reader. **