Thursday, 26th May, 2022
The Day’s hand-picked ideas, tips to better grow Vegs, and meet people you should know.
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1
Give it a hand…
How to Hand Pollinate Vegetables: “Are your veggies shrivelling up and dying before they reach full size? Are you getting flowers but no fruit? Then you might be suffering from a lack of pollination. But there’s no need to give up on growing vegetables- you can learn to pollinate them yourself." — yes, sometimes nature needs a bit of a helping hand! (ideally more bees would be helping)
2
Is Vertical, Soilless Farming the Future of Food?
"The farm produces a variety of crops within a controlled-environment, aquaponic grow space, allowing the brand to source much of its greens, herbs, and other ingredients from its own farm" — That’s the whole idea, zero-mile local food, less water consumption, man-made chemicals free. Aquaponics is in the news today, read more below. Or explore how to grow Microgreens at home without soil!
3
Could farming without soil help to solve our food crisis?
"The world is in the grip of a food crisis. In many parts of the world, farmland is no longer cultivable due to the overuse of pesticides, droughts and extreme weather events brought on by a changing climate. Good-quality soil for growing crops to feed the swelling global population is becoming more scarce. So, is there a way to produce food without the need to use soil?" — Some great case studies for Aquaponics here. I can help you build your own Smart Aquaponics Greenhouse!
4
People you should know
"This gardening blog follows our journey as we create our Tropical and Exotic themed garden. We hope you'll enjoy the journey as much as we do. We started our Exotic Garden in 2005 and this site will show its development, as well as our travels, both abroad and within the UK to gardens, nurseries and friends." alternativeeden.com — Meet Mark & Gaz, plenty of stories and discoveries!
5
Never a dill moment
Lemongrass = summer drinks: "Lemongrass is an aromatic grass-family herb with a rich lemon flavor and fragrance. Leaves and the bulbous stem are used as a seasoning in Southeast Asian dishes and lightly in soups. The leaves can be brewed to make a relaxing tea." — I love Lemongrass but it’s not that easy to grow in the UK!
+ Mad about Parsley: "Lush, green parsley plants are a pleasure to grow in any home garden, and they’re useful too. It’s so easy to care for that even beginners can grow parsley successfully, once they know what it needs to thrive." — a must-have anywhere I can in my garden (along with coriander!)
+ Permaculture in your ears: "When it comes to permaculture, there’s so much to learn. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed and not know even where to start. That’s where podcasts come in. They’re a great way to learn a lot just by tuning into a show every week. If you want to learn more, here are the best permaculture podcasts" — highly recommended to add them to your playlist if you a Geek like me!
6
Bottom of the compost pile
Super easy way to make your own fertilizer: “It may just be more convenient to make your own fertilizer. After all, it saves a trip to town. Making your own fertilizer is also an environmentally-friendly choice. It eliminates the bags and plastic buckets used in commercial products. Plus, if you make it yourself, you know what’s in it. This is especially important if you’re using it in your garden where it comes into contact with the food you eat." — it certainly helps NOT to use the chemical fertilisers from those big bad companies that try to make you dependent on their products while destroying soils and our health. You can also make more natural fertilisers.
+ Could we learn to love slugs and snails in our gardens? “Before you squash or poison the next slug or snail you see in your garden, consider this: The British Royal Horticultural Society no longer classifies these gastropods as pests. Why on earth would a leading gardening organisation do that, you might wonder. After all, slugs and snails are usually seen as a problem, given their eagerness to devour the plants you’ve lovingly nurtured." — It’s going to take a lot more convincing to make me love those evil creatures!
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Keep Growing-
Anthony - Veg Geek