VEG GEEK NEWSLETTER
The Day's best hand-picked ideas, tips to better grow your own Vegs;
and meet people you should know.
Monday, 06th June, 2022
The Day’s hand-picked ideas, tips to better grow Vegs, and meet people you should know.
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1
Doing less bad is not the same as doing good
"The fastest—and frankly, perhaps only—way to reverse climate change is neither the retooling of the energy sector nor the retrofitting of every building on Earth, supported by an all-electric fleet. The answer is literally underfoot (and overhead), and the numbers are stunning." — Eavesdrop in this fascinating conversation with Anthony Fieldman and Bill Reed about what is really sustainable for the Environment, and how to consider a “system of solutions” as the only sustainable solution. - which will lead you to exploring how to give land back to reforest (>12%) and how vertical farming will become critical. In your next steps to growing more Vegs, I introduce you to closed-loop systems to grow more Vegs with efficient methods such as vertical growing in Aquaponics systems, with a little external input as possible (and when we do, to use high quality, durable materials) and make the most of any outputs (that’s including preserving produce, but also dealing with waste from your gardening). This is the future of growing our food, in a sustainable ecosystem.
2
Fight back the food prices
"40% is a lot! If you pay any kind of attention to grocery prices (and most frugal shoppers do or should!) then you know that prices have already been increasing. Maybe you’ve already had to increase your grocery budget or at least start looking for alternatives for some products. I know over the last year we’ve had to increase our grocery budget from $100 a month to about $150 to $200 a month. (Note…this article was from pre-children and 10 years ago!)" — That’s one of the reasons I do what I do on Veg Geek. (Re)learning the critical skills that were once common knowledge to grow more of your own Vegs and equipping your children with those skills is what I aim for, so you not only gain access to local, more nutritious but also cheaper food.
3
Aqua Kings
"Ali Al-Shaikhi, the CEO of Saudi Arabia’s National Fisheries Development Programme (NFDP), announced that the kingdom is on its way to becoming a leading global aquaculture producer" — If the Kings are putting so much efforts in securing that position, it’s worth paying attention. Growing more Vegs (and fish) with efficient and sustainable methods is critical for our collective future - it consumes less water, less energy, no chemical fertilisers and produces more food locally. For Geeks, check out how to do this in your garden and turn your greenhouse investment into a smart, aquaponics greenhouse that produces for more of the time throughout the year.
4
People you should know
"Jas created BGWG in 2017 with 4 things in mind - providing representation, inspiration, support, and education to women who look just like me interested in gardening. Whether you have one cactus or a fleet of community gardens, I strive to make BGWG the digital community you need to make gardening easy for you" Black Girls With Gardens. — BGWG is a great looking gardening blog, guiding you on plants, herbs and Vegs growing. We need diversity not just in our gardens but also in our gardening blogs!
5
Never a dill moment
The power of propagation: "Growing a plant from a cutting is one of the most important skills a gardener can learn. Whether your focus is food gardening or ornamentals, propagation via cuttings is one of the main ways we can reduce the cost of gardening and get more plants. Because seriously, what kind of gardener doesn’t want more plants?!" — Celia tips on taking cuttings is a very timely reminder - and will save you money but also dramatically reduce the time needed to grow plants (and save you space at peak times in your greenhouse!). It’s also a great investment to protect your favourite plans ahead of the next winter.
+ Pot swaps: "Potting up your young tomatoes and preventing them from becoming rootbound gives them a great head start. Here's how to transplant tomato plants." — Check out Bevin’s article and in particular pay attention to burying the stem to the first sets of leave so grow more and stronger roots; it will help them absorb nutrients faster and increase yields.
+ Growing Microgreens without soil: "As an indoor gardener – time, space, and money affect the type of plants to be grown indoors. So we try to choose the plants which are easy to grow and harvest without creating any mess. And microgreens are one of them." — Beautiful Microgreens pics to introduce this great summary to grow Microgreens at home. If you want to explore further, check out my comprehensive Guide Why Microgreens Fail, and How to Grow Microgreens successfully at home.
6
Bottom of the compost pile
Feeding the biology in your soils: "Improving soil health on farm fields integrates the three types of soil management: physical, chemical, and biological. Physical management includes how farmers use their equipment on fields – tilling, harvesting, etc. Chemical management involves the timing and choice of fertilizers, manure, and other additions. Soil biology is the next frontier being researched for optimizing soil health" — A good summary of the minimum knowledge you need to manage your garden soils. Consider natural, organic (and vegan) fertilisers you can make yourself too.
+ Feeding your hungry compost bins: "There are many everyday household items that are not sustainable, and using them means we are contributing to landfill waste. But did you know many of these household items have compostable alternatives? Check out this list and see how you can reduce your carbon footprint." — Not only using those alternatives is better for our planet but it also increases your input to the compost bins (especially if you are doing hot composting, you need to keep feeding it)
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Keep Growing-
Anthony - Veg Geek