How To Live Off Your Own Garden - a Beginner's Guide

There is a huge growing trend in people wanting to become more self-sufficient, where living off your own garden can provide enormous health and environmental benefits. Give it a try for a cleaner, healthier, more environmentally friendly and cheaper way of living. The following is a beginner’s guide, informing on the benefits, how to get started, and a few tips and tricks to make growing your own food easy!

Health and Environmental Benefits

1. Growing Your Own Food Without Pesticides

Pesticides are toxic substances used to kill living things. In the garden the most common ones you will come across are herbicides, which kill weeds, and insecticides which eradicate insects.

Over 40 years of research has linked pesticides to a wide range of health problems in adults and children, including temporary issues like nausea and headaches through to long term problems such as ADHD, reproductive difficulties and many forms of cancer. Children are particularly at risk as they are more sensitive to chemicals, plus they often play in areas which have been exposed to pesticides. By using organic methods of gardening and natural forms of pest control you can negate these issues. This is why it’s important to wash your fruit and veg you get from the shops!

2. Exercise Benefits Through Gardening

Gardening entails a wide range of movement and this helps to build muscle and strengthen joints. It is also good for flexibility as you are often extending legs and arms to get to hard to reach areas. As with any form of exercise, to see any real benefits, you need to garden for at least 30 minutes at a time. This will burn calories and in the process help to lower your cholesterol levels; reduce blood pressure; decrease your risk of diabetes; and slow osteoporosis, which is particularly important for women.

Physical exercise also has a positive effect on the mind. It helps to alleviate depression and decrease stress levels. You are also working outside in the fresh air and this too has been shown to strengthen mental health.

3. Benefits of Eating Fruit and Vegetables

We are all aware we should eat more fruit and vegetables. In the UK we have the ‘5 a Day’ campaign and in the USA dietary guidelines recommend that half your plate should comprise fresh produce.

Fruits and vegetables are good for us for several reasons. First, they contain dietary fibre and this lowers the incidence of obesity and cardiovascular disease. Second, they contain a wide range of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents which combine to keep us healthy and ward off disease.

4. The Environment

The biggest benefit for the environment, when you live off your garden, is the short distance the food has to travel from where it is grown to your plate. We are all being advised to reduce the ‘food miles’ of the produce we consume and the best ways to do this are to buy locally and eat seasonally. 

When you rely on the fruits and vegetables you have produced yourself you can only eat in season and it is always local. Furthermore, you will decrease your plastic wastage. Buying from the shop also entails bringing home with you a large quantity of plastic the food is packaged in.

A Beginner’s Guide to Growing Your Own Vegetables

Deciding Where to Grow

Vegetables grow best where it is sunny, so choose carefully when you are deciding where to plant. You can always add shade for more delicate crops such as salad and fruit bushes.

The majority of soil found in gardens will suit vegetable growing. However, if your soil is shallow, full of stones or clay rich, which will be cold and wet in winter, build raised beds or plant in large pots.

Dealing with Pests

One advantage of growing your own produce is the avoidance of pesticides and therefore you will want to deal with slugs and snails naturally.

Keep the plot clear of weeds and leaves and put a paved or soil path between beds, so you or the birds can spot pests easily. If you are having particular problems you could always lay down organic slug pellets.

Preparing the Soil

Before you start planting you should turn the soil over and remove weeds, roots and stones. This helps to prevent weeds returning and improves drainage. Some gardens will suffer the blight of perennial weeds and in this case cover the soil with newspaper and add a layer of compost about 5cm in depth.

Getting the Best From Planting

Follow the instructions on the seed packets as closely as possible, especially when you are new to vegetable gardening. Compost can be hugely beneficial to your garden so collect your lawn clippings, organic kitchen waste and anything you prune from the garden.

While you may read to let your ground lie fallow for a period, such as with crop rotation in farming, this isn’t possible in a small space. However, what you can do is grow different crops in a bed in subsequent years.

Easy Fruit and Vegetables to Grow

As a beginner you will want to choose crops which are easy and provide a wide range of nutrients.

• Vegetables: Many people start out with courgettes and runner beans as these are particularly easy to grow. Broccoli, kale and spinach are excellent choices nutritionally and varieties of beans can be filling and protein-rich. 
• Root vegetables: Potatoes can be used in a wide variety of ways in cooking and are easy to store. Beetroot, carrots and onions are also good choices. 
• Salad: Salad vegetables and herbs are expensive and in the summer most families will consume large amounts of them. Tomatoes, peppers, radishes, cucumbers and spring onions are fast growing and plentiful. Herbs will add flavour to any dish and in the winter months can be grown indoors. 
• Fruit: Don’t forget about fruit as yields are high and will last through the season. They are easy to freeze and to turn into jams. Apples, pears, cherries, strawberries, blackberries and raspberries are wise choices for beginners. 
• Extras: It is best to keep in mind what you like to cook with when you are planting. Garlic and mushrooms provide health benefits and spirulina, although less well known, is a great nutritional addition if you have relatively little space. 

A Vegetable Calendar Will Help You Plan

One of the biggest helps to you as you plan your growing cycle will be a vegetable calendar. This tells you exactly the steps you need to take to live off your own garden. Highlighting when you need to plant each vegetable and care instructions until it is time to harvest. For example, if you want to grow radishes it tells you to plant them in the first week of April under cloches and that they will be ready to eat by the end of May. Gooseberries need pruning in the first quarter of the year, mulching in early April, watering in June and are ready for picking in July.

Once you have a plan and start working in your garden, you will soon enjoy the many benefits of living from your own land.

Joe Thomas

AUTHOR BIO: Joe Thomas is a writer for allgreenpr, who creates articles on a range of subjects, including sustainability and environmental issues.

5 Types of Vegetables You Should Eat Every Day

What Types of Vegetables Should You Eat and Why?

Vegetables are one of the best foods you can eat for health and weight loss. But do you know exactly what type of vegetables you should eat, and why?

Put simply, vegetables are the healthiest foods on the planet. They’re packed with vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants, phytonutrients and some protein (yes, protein). Like a sort of ‘anti-junk food’, they’re naturally low in fat, sugar, salt and calories but they help fill you up with health-promoting fibre. Unlike refined carbohydrates such as cane sugar or white flour, vegetables are exactly the sort of carbohydrate food you should be stuffing your face with on a daily basis.

It’s almost impossible to eat too many vegetables, because their low-calorie high-water and fibre content ensures that your stomach fills up before it can be totally overloaded with energy. The only time vegetables become less than healthy is when they’re over-cooked, or particularly when smothered with lots of oil, fatty sauces, cheese, cream, oily dressings, butter, or other unnecessary additives.

Based on information from medical doctor and nutrition expert Dr Joel Fuhrman I have categorised 5 types of vegetables for you to choose from every day.

1. Greens

Leafy greens, as Dr. Fuhrman advises, contain substances that protect blood vessels, and are associated with reduced risk of diabetes.

Greens are the most nutrient-dense of all foods, and perfect for weightloss. They can be consumed in virtually unlimited quantities. Most of the calories in green vegetables come from protein, and this plant protein is packaged with beneficial phyto-chemicals: green vegetables are rich in folate (the natural form of folic acid ), calcium, and contain small amounts of omega-3 fatty acids.

Leafy greens are also rich in antioxidant pigments called carotenoids, specifically lutein and zeaxanthin, which are the carotenoids known to promote healthy vision. Consider Kale, known as the ‘Queen of Greens’, and which has rightly earned the title of ‘superfood’.

Zero-fat Kale has, per calorie:

·More iron than beef

·More calcium than milk

·More vitamin C than oranges

·And is packed with potassium, vitamin K, vitamin A, omega 3 fatty acids, and anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory phytonutrients relating to the prevention and even reversal of arthritis, high cholesterol, heart disease; as well as bladder, breast, colon, ovary, and prostate cancer, and several autoimmune diseases.

 

Common Green Vegetables

Here are some examples of some other green vegetables which you can find in most shops or markets, depending on where you live:

·Artichokes

·Peas

·Asparagus

·Spinach

·Kohlrabi

·Zucchini

·Snow peas

·Parsley

·Turnip greens

·String beans 

·Swisschard / silverbeet

·Mustard greens

2. Cruciferous Vegetables

Cruciferous vegetables, especially the Brassica (broccoli) family, are the cancer-fighting vegetables.

All vegetables, Dr. Fuhrman writes, “contain protective micronutrients and phytochemicals, but cruciferous vegetables have a unique chemical composition—they contain glucosenolates, and when their cell walls are broken by blending, chopping or chewing, a chemical reaction converts glucosinolates to isothiocyanates (ITCs)—compounds with a variety of potent anti-cancer effects.”

Because different ITCs can work in different locations in the cell and on different molecules, they can have combined additive effects. They work synergistically to remove carcinogens, reduce inflammation, neutralize oxidative stress, inhibit angiogenesis (the process by which tumors acquire a blood supply), and kill cancer cells.

Give these vegetables a go!

·Cabbage

·Watercress

·Cauliflower

·Kale

·Chinese cabbage

·Collard greens

·Cauliflower

·Radish

·Aragula/ rocket

·Broccoli

·Brussels sprouts

·Bok Choy

3. Root Vegetables

Root vegetables are basically underground plant parts used as vegetables. They include both true roots such as tuberous roots and taproots, as well as non-roots such as tubers, rhizomes, corms, bulbs, and hypocotyls.

Try this mix of tropical and subtropical root vegetables:

·Cassava

·Sweet Potato 

·Capsicum/Bell Pepper

·Eggplant/ Aubergine

·Turnip 

·Potato

·Carrots 

·Parsnip

·Beetroots 

·Pumpkin

·Squash

·Taro

4. Onions

Vegetables in the onion or Allium family are anti-allergy, antioxidant, anti-cancer, anti-histamine, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral.

Allium vegetables, including garlic, onions and leeks, are among the best anti-cancer class of vegetables. They help to facilitate detoxification and act as powerful antioxidants, stimulate immune responses and reduce inflammation.

One large European study found significant risk reductions in participants who consumed the greatest quantities of onions or garlic for oral, oesophageal, colorectal, laryngeal, breast, ovarian, and prostate cancers. This translated into a 55 to 80% reduction of almost all major cancers!

Allium vegetables can help to lower cholesterol, improve arterial functioning, diminish the risk of blood clots and reduce blood pressure. They are excellent sources of vitamins and minerals.

The World Health Organization (WHO) supports the use of onions for the treatment of poor appetite and to prevent atherosclerosis. Onion extracts are recognized by WHO for providing relief in the treatment of coughs and colds, asthma and bronchitis. An onion extract was found to decrease allergy-induced bronchial constriction in asthma patients.

Onions have been used as an ingredient in various dishes for thousands of years by many cultures around the world. World onion production is increasing, and now onions are the second most important horticultural crop after tomatoes.

Here’s a list of vegetables in the onion family:

·Onions

·Garlic

·Leeks

·Spring Onion

·Shallots

·Chives

Isn’t it time you incorporated a daily serve of onions into your salad, stir-fry, casserole or stew?

5. Mushrooms

The marvellous mushroom has phytochemicals such as beta-glucan, which boosts immunity and the body’s ability to fight off cancer cells.

Mushrooms may also help to prevent respiratory infections by improving the production of protective immune substances by mucosal surfaces (like the mouth, nose and throat).

Frequent mushroom consumption has also been discovered to protect against breast cancer, as mushrooms have been found to inhibit an enzyme called aromatase, which produces estrogen.

Dr. Fuhrman advises us that mushrooms should only be eaten cooked, as several types of edible mushrooms contain a potentially carcinogenic substance called agaritine, while cooking mushrooms significantly reduces their agaritine content.

There are a variety of edible mushrooms, including:

·Crimini

·Portobello

·White/button

·Shiitake

·Oyster

·Enoki

·Porcini

·Morel

·Chanterelle

 

Nutritarian Vegetable Eating Guidelines

3 ways you can get your fill of health-promoting veggies every day

1. Eat a large salad every day as your main dish – include such raw vegetables as aragula/rocket, lettuce, tomato, chopped onion, spinach, watercress, bell peppers/capsicum, carrots, bean sprouts, cucumbers, snow peas and lightly sautéed mushrooms. Add a nut and seed-based dressing for flavour to your salad, or mix some pre-cooked bean mix in for extra fibre and protein. If you want to have some wholemeal bread or whole grain flat bread with your meal, make sure it’s stuffed with salad as the bulk of the meal.
2. Eat one large (double-sized) serving of lightly steamed green vegetables every day – enjoy steamed greens such as asparagus, chopped kale, green beans, zucchini, bok choy, artichokes, cabbage, Brussels sprouts and collard greens. Around 10-15 minutes of steaming is plenty for greens – don’t overcook them, or you’ll burn off the beneficial micronutrients within.
3. Eat mushrooms and onions every day – mushrooms and onions have powerful anticancer benefits. Mushrooms are better eaten cooked, because some mushrooms contain a mild carcinogen called agaritine, which is gassed off during cooking.

Tom Perry