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14 Year Old Donates EVERYTHING He Grows To Families In Need

Help Ian WIN a $10,000 grant for Katie’s Krops!
(SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST)

“The Giving Garden was created when Ian learned there were children at his school going to bed hungry. Wanting to make a difference for his classmates, Ian decided to take action. He raised funds and solicited volunteers to construct a raised bed garden and small fruit orchard at his elementary school to provide free access to fresh produce for anyone in need in his community. Ian began to realize that many students didn’t have the knowledge to prepare the produce they were receiving from the gardens. He began offering cooking demonstrations and provided sample recipes to help teach the students that healthy food can taste good. He didn’t stop there. Ian has continued to install gardens in local schools and communities in the Austin area. In the spring of 2016, his sister, Addison, joined the fight against hunger by developing the Frutas Frescas Orchard Program. The siblings have partnered with each other to help fight hunger in their community. In 2016, Ian became part of the Katie’s Krops garden program. He was able to build a garden in his own backyard and donates 100% of the produce to local hunger relief organizations or to families in need. In 2016, Ian grew and donate 869 lbs of organic produce. He reached his goal of growing and donating 1,000 lbs of organic produce in his backyard Katie’s Krops garden in 2017 and will exceed his donation totals in 2018.”

LEARN MORE ABOUT IAN AND HIS GARDENS: https://iansgivinggarden.weebly.com/about-us.html

Help Ian WIN a $10,000 grant for Katie’s Krops!

  1. CLICK – Ian McKenna’s name at the “Vote Say Thanks, Austin” link 
  2. TEXT – MCKENNA to (512) 456-9244
  3. MESSAGE – MCKENNA to our Facebook fan page at facebook.com/recognizegood
  4. TWEET – MCKENNA to @RecognizeGood with the hashtag #saythanksaustin
  5. EMAIL – MCKENNA (in the subject line) to saythanks@recognizegood.org
  6. WRITE IN – your name, then sign and date where indicated on Say Thanks forms (also downloadable) – I can pick up write in votes locally or if you’re out of town, you can scan or take a picture and email them to saythanks@recognizegood.org with MCKENNA in the subject line. 
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Sun and Seed – Visit Penny in her Happy Place…Sydney, Australia

6Penny spends her time growing fruits, vegetables, herbs and gorgeous flowers all in her backyard garden. She’s mastered the art of “raised bed gardening”, and her tidy and well kept garden will have you green with envy after just one look. After enjoying her posts and lovely images on Instagram for quite some time, we decided to ask Penny a few questions in regard to her lifestyle and love of gardening.

What inspired you to start your own urban garden? My love of good quality, organic food – I am food obsessed, and nothing tastes better than home grown. I think gardening has always been in my genes. My Greek grandparents have always grown their own since I can remember. I recall being very young and walking around their garden, basket in hand picking and harvesting anything in site, I then pretended I was cooking them something from it . As you can see the obsession started from a young age.

1What are your favorite things to grow, and why? Don’t make me choose! Haha it changes all the time as I discover or rediscover something depending on the season we are in. At the moment it has got to be my lush salad bed or maybe these fat, crunchy, extra-terrestrial looking purple kohlrabi or in summer, my garden had an aptitude for growing eggplant so maybe that… I just can’t choose. I am so grateful for every single thing I harvest.

2We can see that you do a lot of “raised bed” gardening. How do you amend your soil to keep your boxes producing? My soil is literally sand – so raised beds where my only option. Amending my soil is key and I have discovered sheep manure this season and the results are unlike any I have had before. Every Spring and Autumn I will replenish my beds with high quality compost, sheep manure, cow manure, organic pelletised fertiliser and rock minerals. I also meticulously check the pH of the soil with a testing kit I picked up from the garden centre. 

3What do your friends and neighbors think about your gardening efforts? Have you ever had anyone dis-regard your lifestyle? Gardening isn’t an obsession you would envisage someone of my age of having but my friends happily accept flowers, fresh greens and any excess veg I have. I have also inspired many of my close friends to start gardens of their own – something which makes me so incredibly happy.

4What tips/tricks do you have for gardeners who are just starting out? I will try and summarise my top three, as I am learning tips and tricks every season.

1.       Soil health is key if you don’t put the time and effort into your soil, prepare to be disappointed. I have had dismal results from using cheap compost and not incorporating animal manure into my soil mix.

2.       I am a big believer in ensuring an urban garden can be as productive as it is gorgeous. My garden is a place for entertaining, not only for harvesting. Gardens can get messy and cluttered so spend some time and effort thinking of a design.

3.       When I first started gardening I would become so disheartened if a crop didn’t work out as it imagined it would – and guess what this happens to everyone, even the experienced. Sometimes the season, your garden and location have a preference for growing something. Make sure you don’t give up.

sunandseed

Follow Penny on Instagram via her account @sunandseed!

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Meet Mia from “Mia’s Little Farm”, Life on a Tiny Urban Farm in Nashville, TN. (Interview)

Urban Organic Gardener Interviewing Mia from “@miaslittlefarm”

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What state and grow zone do you live in?

I live (and garden!) in Nashville, TN, which is zone 7a. We are blessed with an incredibly long growing season here. It’s not unusual to be able to grow things from March – December.

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Tell us more about your efforts in Beekeeping!

I’ve been concerned for quite awhile over the diminishing honey bee population, and starting looking into beekeeping several years ago. I was thrilled to discover a thriving beekeeping community in Nashville, and to discover that Tennessee is very accommodating of beekeepers, making it legal for almost anyone, anywhere to keep bees. Last year I took a class and plunged into the world of honey bees. We now have 4 hives on our tiny urban farm. Since keeping bees I’ve noticed a huge improvement in pollination in the garden. Unfortunately honey bees are plagued by many pests and diseases. I use only natural beekeeping methods (and constant vigilance!), and so far our bees seem happy and healthy. I love talking with friends and neighbors about the importance of honeybees, urban beekeeping, and how to help save the bees. Being that we are in an urban setting we have to deal with whatever chemicals and poisons neighbors might spray in their yard, that could compromise the bees and other beneficial insects. Not surprisingly, many people don’t realize that something so simple as trying to eradicate mosquitoes in their yard can have dire consequences for bees.

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follow Mia’s blog

We love your bright and colorful garden. How does your garden space reflect your own personal taste or personality the most?

Having a colorful, eclectic garden is important to me. There is nothing better than looking out the window when I’m stuck inside and seeing the rainbow colored fence, the brightly colored beehives, my Grandaddy’s horseshoes hanging on the fence – it makes me happy to be surrounded by vibrant colors. Having little pops of art and brightness in the garden is wonderful on a dreary winter day when nothing is growing.  Although I plant mainly in raised beds, my garden is a bit wild. I love letting plants go to seed and then having the new sprouts pop up to surprise me. There are always volunteer dill, borage, basil, or zinnia popping up throughout the garden, and to me it makes the space so inviting (the beneficial insects think so too!) Although I really admire geometric gardens that have perfectly straight rows and magazine-cover looks, my garden will never look like that. I rarely try to tame or confine my plants (unless it’s necessary for their health or an issue of space); I let them grown and reach and spread. I like to try unconventional combinations (Right now I have a volunteer sunflower growing right in the middle of a bed of tomatoes and peppers. I’ve heard that sunflowers shouldn’t be grown alongside other plants because they could inhibit growth, but so far everything is doing great). I like to tuck flowers and herbs throughout all my planting spaces – borage and basil with tomatoes, dill and nasturtiums with squashes or cucumbers, zinnia and marigolds everywhere! Like me, my garden is a bit untamed and maybe a little messy, but underneath it all my garden does what it is supposed to do – provides my family and friends with healthy, organically grown food.

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What’s your favorite crop to grow and why?

A favorite crop – I have to pick a favorite crop? That’s so hard! I think I love my perennial culinary herbs the best. I have two perennial herb beds, one in the front yard and one in back. Just about year round there is some sort of fresh herb growing and ready to add a touch of freshness to a meal. Even in the dead of winter I can usually find some thyme or sage to use. Herbs add so much to even the most simple meal, and there is nothing like growing your own. It’s also great that most herbs attract beneficial insects when they flower in the spring. Flowering thyme and oregano especially seen to attract lots of good bugs.

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visit @MiasLittleFarm on Instagram

 

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FRONT & Back-Yard Vegetable Gardeners, Meet “One Yard Revolution”!

11012942_894037963968604_7081093700018044669_nHow would you quickly describe yourself?

My wife Karen and I live in Chicago and love organic gardening. We started with a small vegetable garden many years ago, but over time it expanded to take over most of the backyard. Now we’re growing in the front yard too. During the summer and early fall, we don’t buy any vegetables from the store and buy very little fruit as well. We also use cold frames and hoop houses to extend the growing season, so we always have some fresh food to harvest, even in the winter.

11885324_917004621671938_7259222270097734038_nHow did you get started with your One Yard Revolution YouTube channel and Facebook page?  

I started my YouTube gardening channel and Facebook page in hopes of promoting a low cost, low effort, sustainable approach to organic gardening that relies minimally on store-bought products.  There has been huge a proliferation of organic gardening products in recent years. If you believe the marketing, you could easily get the impression that growing your own food requires a wide array of costly fertilizers and amendments that need to be applied year after year.

Our approach improves soil fertility with compost and mulch from free local resources like autumn leaves, grass clippings, wood chips, and used coffee grounds. We also plant a nitrogen fixing cover crop in late summer. We don’t use any store-bought fertilizers, and we get excellent results. Soil testing has proven that our approach provides more than enough organic matter and nutrients.

I’m passionate about this approach, first of all, because it works very well. But, more importantly, I think all the marketing creates false barriers. It creates financial barriers for those who don’t have the financial resources. It creates access barriers for those who don’t have access to the products. I want to advocate an approach that has few, if any, barriers.

There are also environmental issues with many organic products. For example, rock dust and rock phosphate are mined resources. Bat habitats are disrupted when bat guano is collected, and harvesting kelp from the ocean disrupts a very fragile ecosystem. Using free local resources, on the other hand, actually improves the environment by building soil fertility with material that otherwise may end up in a landfill.

I hope to advocate an environmentally friendly approach that anyone can use to grow healthy food no matter where you live and no matter how much money you have.

11949413_926257137413353_201179725024171022_nDid you start your YouTube channel when you started your transition to live this life style?  

In my case, the lifestyle definitely came first. I’ve had a vegetable garden nearly all my life, but I didn’t start my YouTube channel until the spring of 2013.

Have you always been growing your own food?  If not, what sparked your passion?  

Both of my parents grew up on dairy farms in Pennsylvania, where they produced most of their own food, including vegetables. Though my father wanted to remain on the farm, my grandfather was all too aware of the economic challenges faced by small family farms and insisted my father learn a new trade and find work elsewhere.

When my parents moved to a small town to start their family, they took a little bit of the farm with them by always planting a vegetable garden. Though my approach is somewhat different than that of my parents, I learned a lot of what I know today from my experiences in our family’s vegetable garden.

My wife Karen also grew up with a garden, so it was almost inevitable that we would start our own when we bought our home 25 years ago.

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Have you ever made mistakes or failed doing something?  How did you overcome any obstacles?  

Sure, I make mistakes all the time, but I just learn from them and move on. One great thing about growing your own food is that it’s a lifelong learning experience. No matter how much you learn, it’s still just the tip of the iceberg. This makes gardening both challenging and endlessly fascinating.

Have you ever dealt with a person who disregards your lifestyle?  

Not really. I’m a vegetarian, and sometimes get teased about that, but I don’t take it to heart and it’s usually in good fun. As far as my YouTube channel goes, I’ve found that the overwhelming majority of people who leave comments are very kind, positive, and supportive. I think this says a lot about the online gardening community.

10986639_913568802015520_6436360042226958990_nWhat are some of your greatest rewards with a lifestyle such as the one you live?

To me, gardening is a form of meditation. It helps me relax and keeps me grounded and connected to nature, despite the fact I live in a heavy populated urban area. It’s also something my wife and I enjoy doing together, which is great for our relationship. And because we rely on free local resources and nitrogen fixing cover crops to improve soil fertility, our gardening costs are very low and we save a lot of money on groceries. Of course, the flavor and nutritional value of homegrown produce simply can’t be beat.

What are some of the things you would like to have other people understand about living a healthier and self-sufficient lifestyle?

For someone new to gardening, the idea of growing more of your own food might seem like a daunting task. As I mentioned earlier, there are so many gardening products and practices marketed to consumers that it’s easy to get the impression that starting a new garden is very expensive, time consuming, and complicated. I’d like people to know that, while some products can be helpful, most are not needed and many are of questionable value. You can improve soil fertility with homemade compost and mulch from free local resources. You can fix nitrogen in the soil by growing inexpensive nitrogen fixing cover crops. You can all but eliminate weeding by using mulch. Simply put, my message is that you can grow a lot of food on a little land using sustainable organic practices without spending a lot of money or working very hard. This is the message I try to communicate in my videos, and I share specific strategies on how to make it a reality.

11953108_923618271010573_2630161704006131143_nWhat are your favorite plants to grow in the garden?

That’s a tough one to answer, because we grow a wide variety of crops and love them all. Given our goal of working less and growing more, though, I have to say that I really enjoy growing edible perennials like strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, sorrel, Good King Henry, and sun-chokes. They come back year and year with very little effort on our part. Of course, you have to love annuals too. Our garden wouldn’t be the same without tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, kale, and squash. Like I said; it’s really hard to pick favorites.

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Hive of Industry, a Husband-and-Wife Partnership Living in Portland, OR.

capture-20150909-102941How would you quickly describe yourself to others?

We’re Evan and Judith, a husband-and-wife partnership living in a small house in Portland, Oregon. We are trying to grow and make things and carve out a good life for ourselves that hopefully doesn’t hurt or impede on the lives of those around us in the process. Together we have created a little urban homestead that we love and hope will produce a lot of healthy food for us. Though we each currently maintain fulltime jobs in the city, our goal is to someday work a modest piece of land in order to provide as much as we can for ourselves using our own capabilities, time, and effort.

How did you get started with your blog/Instagram page/etc.? 

We started our blog and Instagram account in June of 2014, about one year after purchasing our home in Portland. Our goal was simply to document our attempt at learning to grow some of our own food and live a more self-reliant lifestyle. We created our blog to join in a global community of homesteaders and their useful and inspiring conversation.

capture-20150909-103217Did you start when you began your transition to live this lifestyle? 

For as long as we can remember, we’ve each been interested in living a slower, simpler existence where we are actively involved in the process of growing and making more of what we need to subsist. When we bought our home, we finally had the space we needed in order to begin doing these things more regularly and, as we worked together to renovate and put infrastructure in place for gardening and homesteading, we realized that we wanted to find a community of like-minded people to exchange ideas with around homesteading and self-reliance. 

Have you always been growing your own food? If not, what sparked your passion? 

We haven’t always grown our own food, but we have both had an individual interest in gardening and farming since we were very young. We both have roots in farming, and each participated in a family garden when we were growing up. As we each have gotten older together, our interest in growing our own food expanded beyond our individual family pastimes to include the environmental, social, health, and philosophical aspects, as well.

capture-20150909-103442Have you ever made mistakes or failed doing something? How did you overcome any obstacles? 

We fail at things all of the time, and we’re beginning to realize that failure goes hand-in-hand with doing more things for oneself. We can’t be experts in everything, or even many things, but homesteading has given us the opportunity to try to do a lot of things on our own. The first time Judith tried to make fermented pickles with our cucumber harvest last year, for example, they turned out to be a mushy mess of mold. When Evan started out trying to construct a simple chicken run for our future hens, it took him over six months and a couple different iterations to finish it. Then there was the time we remodeled our own bathroom, which took us just shy of seven weeks due to some serious trial-and-error and watching of YouTube how-to videos (it really did turn out pretty well, though). We just try to learn from our mistakes and try to make better decisions going forward. 

capture-20150909-103614Have you ever dealt with a person who disregards your lifestyle? 

We haven’t yet, at least not to our knowledge, but we’re prepared to encounter this eventually. Most people are incredibly supportive, and are interested in learning more about growing food and homesteading. One of the reasons we are committed to living as we do is that it doesn’t much threaten or impede on anyone else’s way of life. We know that there are flaws in what we do, and this lifestyle probably won’t appeal to most people, but we aren’t living this way to convince anyone else to do what we’re doing—we’re just living in a way that feels best for us.

What are some of your greatest rewards with a lifestyle such as the one you live?

The greatest reward for us is being connected to our daily life in the most physical and basic sense. Our food tastes better when we watch it grow from seed or forage it in the woods; transportation feels truly remarkable when our bodies are the engine; heat seems hotter when we have to chop the wood and nurture a spark. There is enough detail and beauty in the most fundamental and biological cycles of life to entertain and educate us for a long time.

capture-20150909-103855What tips and tricks would you like to share with other people? 

This is going to be a boring answer, but to be honest, one of the best tips we have for transitioning into a more self-sufficient lifestyle is to keep an overall family budget that everyone agrees upon and that you all consult often. One of the biggest challenges we have faced from the onset in conceptualizing how to live a more self-reliant existence is figuring out how we’re going to support ourselves financially. We want to do more for ourselves, but this requires an investment of money for infrastructure and personal time for labor. We sometimes feel like we’re stuck in an ongoing game of tug-of-war with our day jobs and accomplishing what we need to do around our homestead. We still have a long way to go before we can rely on the homestead to support us in a way that would allow one or both of us to leave our jobs, but having a budget has been critical in moving us in that direction. What we have realized is that homesteading takes a lot of time, but also has the potential to significantly reduce our monthly expenses. As we begin to make the shift away from a system where we work for cash and then trade cash for goods and services, it has become very important for us to understand the resources we have to work with and what we are obligated to pay each month. Once we started to identify (and really think about) what our household expenses are, as well as what we want our lifestyle to look like, the easier it has become to make decisions that are in line with our overall vision.

capture-20150909-104018What are some of the other things you would like to have other people understand about living a healthier and self-sufficient lifestyle?

For as much hard work and planning go into living an intentionally more self-sufficient life, it’s a truly fun and exciting way to exist in the world! We look forward to every evening and weekend, when we can turn our attention back to the simple, basic projects we need to complete to live well. When we’re working on projects around the house and garden, it requires us to employ our intellectual, creative, and physical selves, which truly feels fantastic.

What are your favorite plants to grow in the garden?

We love growing plants that seem to thrive in our space and climate: a wide variety of greens (kale, chard, arugula, lettuces, et cetera), carrots, beets, peas, beans, and all sorts of summer and winter squashes. We’re also very excited to be growing many different kinds of herbs and flowers, which add color, texture, and aroma to our garden. We’re studying the value of pollinators, too, and love adding new plants that will attract them to our yard. Someday soon we want to take a class or classes about soil science, as well, to more fully understand the value of good dirt.

Links:

Hive of Industry Blog / hiveofindustryblog.com

Hive of Industry on Instagram (@hiveofindustry) / instagram.com/hiveofindustry

Hive of Industry on Tumbler / hiveofindustryblog.tumblr.com

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Red Wine Lover. Easy Going Photographer & Gardener. Meet Paula!

capture-20150819-100831How would you quickly describe yourself to others?
I’m easy-going and like to spend time at home tending to my garden and watching my chickens while enjoying a glass of red wine.

How did you get started with your blog/instagram page/etc? 
I’ve had a blog ever since I can remember and it started out as being more of an online journal but morphed into a food blog and now have integrated gardening. Photography has always been a part of my blog no matter what the topic. I started on instagram mainly posting photos of food from restaurants and my home-cooked meals but started posting more on a daily basis and gaining followers when I moved and started posting chicken and gardening photos.

Did you start when you began your transition to live this life style?
No, my instagram, blog and youtube channels were around much longer than my life style change however the subjects and audience have changed since then.

Have you always been growing your own food?
I’ve always grown some of my own food. My staples were always herbs, tomatoes and zucchini. It wasn’t until my move last year that I started growing a wider variety of fruits and vegetables. I also grew up in a family that planted a backyard garden every year.

capture-20150819-100358Have you ever made mistakes or failed doing something?  How did you overcome any obstacles?

I’ve had a lot of failures in the garden, some from my own mistakes and some beyond my control. I posted a couple of videos on youtube detailing some of those failures. I always learn from my mistakes and will not repeat them. For example one of the mistakes I made this year is planting all of my lettuce at the same time instead of staggering the plantings so they were all ready to harvest at the same time and we couldn’t possibly eat it all before it began to bolt. The chickens enjoyed my mistake though and were happy to have the bolted lettuce. Next time I’ll be sure to not plant 25 lettuce plants at the same time.

Have you ever dealt with a person who disregards your life style?

No, quite the opposite. I hear about a lot of people that tell me they are jealous of my lifestyle and younger people that want to do what I do when they are older.

capture-20150819-100946What are some of your greatest rewards with a lifestyle such as the one you live?

The greatest reward is being able to eat straight from my backyard without having to go to the store and sharing it with friends and co-workers. I frequently give away or share the extra produce and eggs from the chickens at work.

What tips and tricks would you like to share with other people?

Don’t plant things you don’t like. I’ve been known to make that mistake and I know others have to. If you are unsuccessful growing something, don’t give up. Try again next year in a different location in the garden and look up growing guides online to see if there’s something you might have missed. If you have more than just a couple of garden beds, use a garden planner! There’s no way I could have planted out my garden without one.

What are some of the other things you would like to have other people understand about living a healthier and self-sufficient life style?

You are what you eat. You only get one body and it’s important to take care of it. There’s nothing better for you than eating fresh, clean food that you know where it came from. It doesn’t get any fresher than your own backyard.

capture-20150819-100703What are your favorite plants to grow in the garden?

Now that I have a large garden and room to plant just about anything I want, my favorites are cherry tomatoes, kale, cabbage and lettuce. Kale and cabbage can be tricky to keep bugs off of. I had some challenges this year with that but used neem oil to keep it under control and they are doing well now. Cabbage takes up quite a bit of room and after planting it, I was thinking I may not plant it next year but I quickly changed my mind after tasting it. I was surprised how much better it tasted than store bought cabbage so I might plant it again after all.

capture-20150819-100508Is there anything else you would like readers to know about you?

In addition to spending a lot of time taking care of chickens and gardening I also have a full time job. It’s not easy, but it can be done. There’s nothing more rewarding than turning seeds into food and being able to share it with others. I also started beekeeping this year and have two hives to help pollinate the garden and hope to get a honey harvest next year.

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Family Gal. Floridian. Quick-Witted Goofball. On a Journey to Grow More Food.

UntitledHow would you quickly describe yourself to others?
I am a wife and a step-mom who is a kind hearted, quick witted goofball with a goal of making everyday full of laughter!  


How did you get started with your blog/instagram page/etc?
I had an instagram page for a while but I hardly ever used it. About a year ago I decided that I wanted to start a home garden in efforts to help me and my family lead a healthier lifestyle. I thought that Instagram would be a great outlet to document my journey. Never did I imagine that one small raised bed, that I thought would probably fail, would turn into a passion for growing my own food.


Did you start when you began your transition to live this life style?
Yes, actually I did. I started documenting my journey on instagram just for my benefit really. Then once I started gaining followers and noticed that I was inspiring other’s to also grow their own food, I knew that this was something that I wanted to do. I wanted to inspire others to be more conscious of the food they put in their bodies and the bodies of their families.

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Have you always been growing your own food?  If not, what sparked your passion?

I have never grown anything successfully before I embarked on my journey! I would try to grow a few flowers here and there but I never took the time to dedicate myself to it. It wasn’t until I started learning about GMO’s and the dangers of pesticides in non-organic foods after watching documentaries like “GMO-OMG” and “Food Inc.” and hours of my own online research, that something inside of me told me that growing my own food was something that I just had to do. I knew that I could no longer leave my family’s health in the hands of someone else.

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Have you ever made mistakes or failed doing something?  How did you overcome any obstacles?
Absolutely! I was a little over-zealous the first time I started my garden. I packed so many different vegetable into one small bed that I ended up with a jungle! Many of the plants still produced a good amount of fruit but it was difficult to manage so many plants in such a small space. I had 6 tomato plants, 4 zucchini plants, 7-8 baby spinach, 10 carrots, 4 bell pepper plants, and 4 heads of lettuce packed into ONE 8-4 raised bed! Needless to say I have learned my lesson and now understand the space that is needed for everything I grow. I also learned the concept of companion planting the hard way. I know that every day is a learning experience. Sometimes you will fail at growing a certain plant but you learn from your mistakes and keep your chin up. It is worth it! 
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Have you ever dealt with a person who disregards your life style?
I have not so far! Everyone has been really encouraging! There are those that say they could never do what I do because they don’t like to get dirty or they just don’t have the time. Some people just assume because they “killed” a plant at one time or another in the past, that they must have a “brown thumb”. Those are the vary same people who are my target audience. I tell people that I was once just like them! ( I once killed a bamboo desk plant y’all! That is very hard to do! Haha!) But after a little research anyone can do it! If I can be a recovering “brown-Thumb”, so can you! 😉 

What are some of your greatest rewards with a lifestyle such as the one you live?
My very first harvest was a bunch of cilantro and two green bell peppers. That night I made a fajitas. While slicing up the bell peppers my husband wanted a sample. After one bit he looked at me and said this was the best tasting bell pepper he has ever eaten. THAT was the first time I made a real  commitment to this lifestyle. There is no going back. The fact that I sowed a seed and now my family is eating from something that I grew is the greatest reward I could get. 
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What tips and tricks would you like to share with other people?
If you are interested in starting a home garden, don’t think that you need 10 acres to do so. You can easily have a successful garden even in a small space. There are so many amazing urban gardeners out there that are feeding their families with what they grow on the balcony of their apartments! The sense of accomplishment you will feel after your first harvest will make you wonder why you didn’t start you home garden sooner! 

What are some of the other things you would like to have other people understand about living a healthier and self-sufficient life style?
There will be bumps along the road. Pests, birds and seeds that just don’t germinate are just some examples that can make any organic gardener want to pull their hair out. But KEEP TRYING! The reward outweighs all obstacles. 
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What are your favorite plants to grow in the garden?
In the hot Florida sun, peppers seem to be the most successful in my garden. I have been able to grow various types of peppers from Ghost peppers and Habanero peppers to delicious sweet bell peppers. 

 

Follow @GreenThumbJourney on Instagram! 

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Chicken Keeper. Urban Organic Gardener. Advocate of REAL food. Meet Kati, the Urban Lady Bug!

This post/content/images are from www.SeedsNow.com

How did you get started with your blog?

How I got started with my blog, The Urban Lady Bug, was through Facebook originally, I posted pictures of our garden on my personal page almost everyday and had dozens of my friends and their friends, comment, tag and ask a bunch of questions. So I figured I should create a page where people who might not know me or be my friend on fb, would still “like” my page and gain gardening information or advice from me! Once Instagram took off (follow The Urban Lady Bug on Instagram), I decided to make a IG for my blog as well and because of hashtags, it has really become popular!

Did you start your blog when you started your transition to live this life style?

Once I had completely transitioned my life over to home gardening and homesteading is when I created my blog. Although I had began this life transition about 2 years prior to creating my blog.

Have you always been this way?

No I have not, I grew up in a military family. My mother worked all the time and didn’t have much time to cook us wholesome dinners, my father being in the military didn’t have much time either. So we often settled for hamburger helpers, sloppy joes, anything that was quick, easy and inexpensive!

After moving out of my parents at 19 and into my first home is when the transition to this lifestyle really started. I began to like cooking and wanted to be able to walk into my own backyard and pick dinner, instead of having to drive to the grocery store and pay for it! Even with such little knowledge back then, we knew the importance of using only organic soils and seeds.

What sparked your passion?

 

It all started when I moved out on my own, I had a huge back yard and with a lemon and apricot tree that were both struggling to survive. Nursing them both back to health is what sparked my passion! I realized how bad I wanted to be able to grow all my food, and so I bought a few 2x4s & built my first raised bed. Not the best raised bed but a learning experience nonetheless!

Then about a year after I built my first garden, I unexpectedly lost my mother to colorectal cancer. Absolutely heart broken and convinced it was all caused by the foods she ate & unhealthy lifestyle she lived, I was determined with a fiery passion to change my life completely. She was only 51 years old and wasn’t a drinker or a smoker, her kryptonite was processed foods & the doctors say the cancer started when she was in her 20s.

The transition soon became an obsession which was kicked into high gear, focusing on repairing and preserving my health and body. So after purchasing my mother’s home, I planted our second garden. Which was a lot bigger than the first but was hardly an educated decision. I dug holes and planted directly into the grass (that was the bad decision). It ended up being such a pain to maintain throughout the season because of the overgrown grass and bugs that the grass attracted. This is the reason why most people and why I eventually built raised beds to plant in!
I also got our first two chickens,

Lucy & Ethel that year.

The next year, which was last summer, is when my passion for gardening and self sustaining really took off, I decided to invest the money and time needed to create the dream backyard garden that I have always wanted. I researched a local lumber yard that had rough cut untreated redwood (one of the most durable and long lasting) and ordered them to my house. With the help of my boyfriend, Kyle. Together we measured cut and built the raised beds by hand. Then I researched a local organic soil provider and had organic sandy loam soil in large quantities, I ordered 5 cubic yards and filled all of our beds up. Then added organic compost, organic peat, perlite, a bag of OG Tea per bed, and organic chicken manure. I ordered the Patriot Seeds “Survival Seed Vault” which contains a large variety of organic, non GMO, heirloom veggies and fruit, which we sowed our entire garden when. I also installed drip lines from my automatic sprinkler system so I could vacation or work and not worry about having to water my garden and saving massive amounts of time everyday from not having to hand water the entire garden!!

This summer…is where my blog and passion for organic home gardening and homesteading has really really blossomed into something fun and educational. I have learned so much over the years and the progression is clearly noticeable via the pictures!

Time is everything, so don’t worry about rushing into a large undertaking. Even a few potted herbs and tomatoes can help prepare you for a garden like mine!


What are some of the other things you would like to have other people understand about living a healthier and self-sufficient lifestyle?

It’s not an overnight thing, it is a gradual life change that you don’t want or need to rush into. It takes time to learn how to properly read labels, make better eating choices, grow your own food, and then learn how to cook the food you grow from your garden. It is impossible to learn that amount of information overnight.

Many people are super eager to jump in head over heels, without understanding that becoming self-sufficient is all about learning and experiencing through trial and error. Gardening and being self sufficient can be extremely frustrating & overwhelming to someone who has yet to live this lifestyle, so jumping too much into it will often lead to giving up. Take your time, read a lot, ask lots of questions and gradually change your life, at times when your ready!

Another thing to keep in mind is that it is an investment. It does take money & time to invest if it is something that you want to last more than just one summer. Once the initial investment is made you reap the rewards and benefits from your garden, for years and years to come!! Saving you tenfold of your original investment!

What tips and tricks could you share with other people?

DONT GIVE UP! Gardening can be so frustrating when you have no idea what to do or where to begin. I always tell people to start small, then build after you gain some experience. There is no way I would be able to successfully care for what I have now without the knowledge I have slowly gained over the last 4 years through experiments, trial & error and failing!

Have you ever made mistakes or failed doing something?

 

Yes!!!!! A millions times and I still
make mistakes! That is how you learn what works and what doesn’t! The important thing is to never beat yourself up over a mistake. It happens to everyone, just remember you learned something from it and that will all come into play at some point later in your gardening!

How did you overcome any obstacles?

I have overcame many obstacles in gardening, that is when you learn the most I believe! A large obstacle I have encountered and have overcome is root knot nematode. Which causes extreme scarring on the roots of your plants causing them to suffocate and eventually die. Gardening in unknown soil can lead to a lot of issues, and this is one of them! Even though I built raised beds with my own hand built super soil, the nematodes made their way into the new soil. These nematodes are not beneficial and can destroy your entire garden! I use Monterey brand “Nematode Control” which is OMRI listed, to help kill and control our nematode problem. Many obstacles like this can be very easily addressed and shouldn’t ever be stressed over!

Have you ever dealt with a person who disregards your lifestyle?

Oh my gosh!! All the time! Often time it is family! Educating them is the most important thing you can do! With education comes understanding and with understanding comes knowledge, which is what sparks desire to want to also live the same lifestyle!! Although I haven’t been able to convince all of my friends & family to live this lifestyle, I have been able to change a lot of them! Including my entire immediate family, all of which are now tending to their own backyard gardens!!

I have learned the easiest way is to lead by example. To show them what a healthy person looks like and how I healthy I feel on a daily basis! People ask me all the time what my secret is to looking 16 years old when I’m actually 26 years old, and I tell all of them what I firmly believe is the reason, the pure, clean food & water I put in my body every single day! Balanced, wholesome & organic meals made from home, straight out of the garden!

My biggest motto is – You are what you eat!! Most people don’t realize the reason they feel and look like crap is because they literally eat crap!


What are some of your greatest rewards with a lifestyle such as the one you live?

Gosh, how do I just pick a few? The rewards are so endless.. But I guess if I had to name a few, the first would certainly be the money saved. What an incredible amount of money I have saved because my grocery store is my backyard! My initial investment into my backyard garden was probably around $1500. Now because I am able to garden all year long, through the summer, fall, winter and spring months it has been over a year since I’ve had to buy veggies from the grocery store! Saving me thousands of dollars on organic foods & hundreds in gas to drive to the store! I also raise my own backyard chickens and ducks and it has been over two years since I’ve bought a carton of eggs, saving me $850 alone just on eggs!

My garden will be here for years & years to come and we have already made back our investment in food alone!

A second huge reward is that when you grow your own food you have ability to grow your favorite veggies & fruit and know without a doubt exactly where they came from, that they are farm fresh, you know how they were grown, what fertilizers were used to grow them, what pesticides were & weren’t sprayed on them and if they are really Organic, Heirloom & NON GMO!

So many times, we over pay for “organically” labeled veggies and fruit, that have still been treated with some sort of pesticide! An “organic pesticide” but a pesticide nonetheless!! When you grow yourself, you control what goes into your body!

A third but certainly not the last reward that I get to benefit from, is that gardening has become an extremely therapeutic activity for me. Losing my mother to cancer has been the hardest thing I have ever had to go through. So being able to nurture and grow plants which produces me, my friends and family wholesome organic clean food, brings me a sense of fulfillment and pride that cannot be obtained by anything else! It has also been scientifically proven that the microbial life inside of soil is beneficial to our mental health and over-all well being!

What’s your favorite variety of crop to grow and why?

Summer squash! I love summer squash of all different varieties! Crook-neck, straight-neck, zucchini. Etc. There is a million and one ways to cook summer squash! From soup, to lasagna, you can make summer squash into noodles or even just as a simple side dish! You can cook them for breakfast, lunch or dinner! There are endless ways to prepare them and they are so tasty, good for you, very low in calories and the easiest plant to grow! Not to mention you can harvest tons and tons of squash off of just one plant!

 

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Mom. Wife. Dreamer of self-sufficiency. Meet Naturally Loriel

This interview is originally from SeedsNow.com (source: http://www.seedsnow.com/blogs/news/28929665-featured-homesteader-blogger-naturallyloriel-com)

How would you quickly describe yourself to others?

Mom. Wife. Dreamer of self-sufficiency. Lover of sweets. Knack for storytelling. Chicken & cat lady. =)

How did you get started with your blog?

I got started with my blog, NaturallyLoriel.com, because I had just found out information on feeding babies that totally contradicted the information I was given by my doctor — my son was 9 months old at the time. From there, it was a domino affect and I began researching and questioning every single thing I was doing, eating, and buying. After about 4 months of steady research, I began talking about it with my close friends and family. In March of 2011, three different people in the same week suggested that I start a blog. I took that as a sign and so I did. 🙂

Did you start your blog when you started your transition to live this life style?

Yes and no. At first my blog was about real food and learning about GMOs. At the time, I was living in California and I was heavily involved in the Prop 37 campaign so a lot of my blog geared towards that. As you may probably know, once you become passionate about the food you eat, you start to realize that the best way to control what you are eating is to grow it. Now Naturally Loriel is more about the journey to living a natural life and everything that comes with it — real food recipes, gardening, chicken raising, DIY, and more.

 

Have you always been this way?

I’ve always been conscious about the earth but it never occurred to me how MUCH there was to *really* know about life. My mom always had a garden when I was growing up but as a child, I was never interested in it. My continuous journey to living a natural life began those first few months before I decided to start my blog. I really began being interested in building a thriving backyard homestead when I moved to Florida and realized my options for fresh food were limited. I knew that it was up to me to create healthy food. Plus, I’ve always been somewhat of a rebel so the idea of growing my own fresh food and raising chickens for eggs is like a huge middle finger to big corporations like Monsanto… which excites me.

 

 

FEATURED PHOTOS FROM HER INSTAGRAM


What are some of the other things you would like to have other people understand about living a healthier and self-sufficient life style?

A few things I’d like people to know is that most likely you won’t receive instant gratification. I’m in my third season of gardening and it has been a struggle — between the bugs, the weather, the fungus, more bugs — it seems like I never win. And actually, sometimes I wonder why I still try but I guess it’s because growing my own food and showing my son what real food grown in a garden from love tastes like is absolutely worth trying over and over again.

Living a healthier lifestyle is about trying, trying, and trying again and sometimes it’s certainly anything but easy. It’s about learning to lean on other people for advice, it’s about researching, and ultimately, I think it’s about teaching you to enjoy the process and slow down a little. Our world is moving so fast right now but moving towards a self-sufficient lifestyle takes time and patience.

What tips and tricks could you share with other people?

Honestly, I’m not sure I have any tips or tricks to share on gardening because I’m much of a beginner and haven’t had a successful garden season I could rave about. This spring I thought it would be abundant but I put the garden in too late and the heat has just been brutal. I’m ready for the fall though and I’m pretty confident I’m going to get a good harvest (at least that’s what I keep telling myself)!

 

Have you ever made mistakes or failed doing something?

HA! Yes, I have totally made mistakes or failed at doing something. One thing that is constantly a battle for me (and my husband) is my lack of watering the garden therefore keeping my plants alive. If it’s not because I forgot to water, my garden seasons have flopped because of the bugs that I deal with in Florida. Though, with each failed garden season, I am more prepared for the next one.

How did you overcome any obstacles?

Since I’m terrible at remembering to water my garden, I made sure I put my garden beds near my chicken coop. It has helped a lot since I have to change out the chickens’ water every day, but there are still times that I forget simply because I have a lot on my plate.
I am also starting a garden journal to record the things I learned and the solutions I’ve come across to help me remember for the next season.

Have you ever dealt with a person who disregards your life style?

Yes, and I think it is totally normal. 6 years ago, my whole mindset was different. I was ignorant but it wasn’t my fault and I think this is the case with lots of other people. When you think about it, it’s hard and scary to essentially unlearn everything you were taught, so I can see why people have a hard time with going against what mainstream says.
When I first began to make switches, mostly close family members couldn’t understand and I admit, I would get frustrated, upset, and hurt. I would try and preach and give facts but nothing ever changed their minds. It wasn’t until I started just living my life the way I wanted to, that people started to notice and come around. I’ve also learned that some people won’t ever change so it’s not worth using my energy to worry about it and to just keep moving on and focusing on my ultimate goal.

What are some of your greatest rewards with a lifestyle such as the one you live?

I could go on and on about the amazing rewards I get with this lifestyle but I’ll try and keep it somewhat short. In a few words, this lifestyle has taught me patience, gratitude, motivation, excitement, and appreciation for what it takes to grow and raise my own food. For example: by the time I actually account for all the money I put into my chickens, my eggs probably cost me $15-20 a dozen but I never doubt for one second that it’s worth it.

Out of all the rewards, one of the biggest of living this lifestyle is making it possible for my son to grow up with a backyard homestead. I think the problem with our world right now is that most of us have been completely disconnected from our roots. In my opinion, as a society, we’ve all lost the appreciation and knowledge of what it takes to grow real food (veggies, meat, and dairy) and would rather resort to convenience. Most of us don’t realize that the convenience comes with a huge cost that impacts our environment, and ultimately impacts the future of our children.

In my eyes, our children are suffering because they don’t know where their food comes from. That’s why it’s so important to me to continue what I’m doing for my child’s sake and to keep trying each year even if I’ve failed at gardening. It’s imperative for him to see that in order to get an egg that nourishes our body, we need to make sure our chickens are fed, hydrated, and cared for. It’s only until then that a child can see the full circle and learn to appreciate what it takes to have food that makes them feel good.

It’s only until a child sees the patience, handwork, and dedication it takes to start a plant from a seed, water it, love it, and see it grow that they can appreciate their food and truly know the difference between something home grown and something from the store. Ultimately, I want him to know that the good things don’t always come easy, hard work pays off, and there is nothing more gratifying than harvesting something you grew or raised with your own two hands.

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Top 5 Featured Urban Organic Garden Photos on Instagram

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Why and How I Quit My Job, To Be a Full-Time Homesteader

Source: The More One Sows; The Greater The HarvestThis is the story of how and WHY I quit my full-time job, away from my home, to become a full-time homesteader. Can it be done? Of course it can.  And although I’m not advocating rushing off to put in your “two weeks notice” after reading this article, maybe it will give you something to think about for your future, where you want to go from here & how you can go about doing it.DSC_6803

So WHY did I quit my job?  It certainly wasn’t an easy decision. I had spent just over a decades worth of my time engulfed into my career.  I owned a small business and cherished the relationships I had built because of my job so leaving and closing the doors forever seemed a bit robust at first.   It was something I had been thinking about for a while, but then all of a sudden it just came to me and an overwhelming sense of peace came over me and I knew that “my calling” was to be home.

So if “my calling” was to be at home, and to pour everything I had into being a full time “mommy-homesteader”, was it going to work? Where would I struggle? How would I make the transition from career woman to living my life full-time on our urban farm?  Would I eventually give up my shoe collection all together and find myself wearing my hair in a bun everyday?  What was going to become of the person I had been for the last 10 years?  All of these were questions that I had and have since learned the answer too.

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My Kids. 
Obviously, this is one of the biggest perks of quitting my job and becoming a full-time homesteader.  Being able to devote more of my time and energy to them has been better for all of us.  I feel like a better mother, and better caretaker.   I am truly INVESTED in my children. From the moment they wake up in the day, until everyone gets tucked in, I am there.  I find myself having more patience. I truly have been able to slow down to enjoy every moment with them though-out the day.

Homeschooling. 
Homeschooling has become very important to me over the last few years as I’ve been more and more concerned with the problems of our broken school system.  I feel at peace knowing that I’ll be able to homeschool my youngest daughter now that I am a full-time stay at home mom.   I feel privileged to be able to teach my daughter in a way that I know will suit her best, and she’ll be in a safe and loving environment without the struggles that come along with being in a public school.   With a “faith-based” curriculum, I’m confident I can teach our daughter all that I can about how this world works and give her the basic tools to start creating a wonderful life for herself.

Saving $.
I’m not kidding, I actually SAVE money by not going to work everyday.  That $5 latte on my morning drive to work, the constant refilling of the gas tank, not having to buy new shoes and work apparel constantly…it all adds up. No buying lunch while I’m work….Not to mention the money I’ve saved on rent/ utilities/ and overhead costs associated with the small business I owned.

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 Better Health.
Staying at home during the day to tend to my home, garden, and farm chores has been good for my health.   When I stopped feeling like I had an obligation to be somewhere all of the time, I began to learn to focus my day around things that were important to me. Things like cooking, cleaning, making a home, tending to our chickens and goats during the day, talking to my plants, teaching my children different aspects of running a homestead, exercising, and preparing healthy meals for my family.   I learned to slow down, and just enjoy the day as it came to me.  I learned to prioritize what was truly important and what was best for my family.   Less stress makes for a better day and when you cut out the demands of a job away from home, it’s nothing but natural to feel as if a weight has been lifted off of your shoulders. It’s so relaxing to be able to take a deep breathe and just enjoy your surroundings, your home, your garden, your family.

Quality of Life.
I’d say not only has my quality of life gone up, but so has the lives of my family members. Because I am less stressed and more focused on goals and priorities I have within my home, everyone wins.  I’ve become more spiritual, and happier because of my decision to stay home and truly devote my time to this family and our homestead.  More gets accomplished around here now, which brings along an incredible amount of self-satisfaction.  At the end of the day, being home has made me a happier, healthier, and more spiritual person.

Read the rest of the article here: http://www.themoreonesows.com/2014/10/why-i-quite-my-job-to-be-full-time.html

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Grow Food, Not Lawns [Photo Gallery]

This is a collection of images we’ve found floating around the Urban Organic Gardener facebook page. Hopefully this will give you some motivation to transform your yards into something like this. 10537077_10153074255558082_1075346034231245651_n

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2Grow your own food! Everywhere!

3Urban Gardening Masterpiece! Photo Credit: crustyroll35

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A a great TED Talk on how you can grow your own food, regardless of your living situation.

“Britta Riley wanted to grow her own food (in her tiny apartment). So she and her friends developed a system for growing plants in discarded plastic bottles — researching, testing and tweaking the system using social media, trying many variations at once and quickly arriving at the optimal system. Call it distributed DIY. And the results? Delicious.” –http://www.ted.com

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How Megan Got Rid of Her “Black Thumb” and Created Her Balcony Garden (a case study)

She called her thumbs black.

She said that the gardening gene skipped her generation.

That’s what Megan Blevins was telling me on Twitter during the winter.

We Tweeted back and forth about it and I assured her that her thumbs need not be green, but they just needed to be opposable.

(Two things about that sentence. 1) I can’t believe that I wrote “We Tweeted…” 2) I can’t believe that you understand it.)

That and some additional encouragement was what she needed to get her first garden prepared.

Megan is a writer and first-time paranoid grower.

Here is her story as told by her…

I was an unqualified grower

Despite the fact that I grew up in North Georgia eating the freshest produce grown by my mom and dad, I’ve never really wanted to grow my own food, because I had convinced myself that I was incapable—incapable of keeping a plant alive, let alone growing a garden.

For example, flowers that I received as presents always died within 24-hours. You could say my “green thumb status” was at an all-time low.

My quest to become a gardener became a personal challenge.

I had run out of excuses to not to grow my own food; I needed to stop complaining, pull up my big-girl panties, and start growing.

And that’s where Mike came along.

After months and months of talking about it, a co-worker of mine told me about Mike Lieberman and how he was an urban gardening expert that I could reach out to over social media.

I decided to give it a whirl—and I’ll be honest, it was Mike’s encouraging words and sincere outreach to me that tipped me over into the gardening world: “You don’t need a ‘green thumb’ to garden, just two opposable ones.”

The advice became my gardening motto.

My expertise… or lack thereof

As I mentioned, my prior gardening experience was negative zilch.

Even though I had grown up eating fresh tomatoes, bell peppers, squash and raspberries, I didn’t know how to make things grow.

I knew that I needed soil, seeds and water, but it was making them all work together that I needed help with.

I read every single one of Mike’s posts on his website. I learned that I needed to germinate seeds weeks before I planted them outside.

Mike’s posts helped me determine how much sunlight my balcony received, and how to make my own greenhouse and growing pots. And, I also learned that I don’t need a lot of space to grow my own food.

Sometimes, I feel like gardeners are squeezed into a category of “you must live in the suburbs and you must have a huge backyard to be successful;” but that’s not me—nor is it most people.

Step-by-Step

Starting in February, I germinated cherry tomatoes, bell-peppers, mint and jalapenos in my apartment.

I made homemade greenhouses to keep them warm and watered them. I had no idea whether or not I was actually doing this whole gardening thing “right” till five weeks in after my first seed sprouted.

It’s silly, really, but I don’t know if I will EVER forget what it felt like to see that first sprout.

I danced around the apartment—I may have even screamed to have my boyfriend come over and see.

I felt accomplished and that I was doing something good for myself and for the environment. “My babies” instantly became my pride and joy, especially as they continued to grow.

After fear of the last frost passed, I planted my seeds outside (all except the mint, which never sprouted). I water them every-other-day, and also planted petunias, daises and poppies on my balcony.

Today, my garden is HUGE. I swear my cherry tomatoes grow 3 inches a day and all my guests compliment me on my new skills.

What I have accomplished may not seem like much to some, but for me, it is gratifying. And more so, it is fun.

I look forward to spending time in my garden—something I never thought I would say. My thumbs are greener than they’re even been, and are now simply waiting to pick the first produce of the season.

Starting your garden is that easy, but…

…you have to get over your fears and take action.

I’ve been sharing these simple tips and advice since I started this site in 2009.

You’ve had plenty of opportunity to implement it.

Have you?

Megan did and look at her rewards.

My content contains no fluff. Just simple and to the point gardening advice for beginner’s.

But how about you?

What’s been holding you back?

In the end, starting your own garden and getting over your fears is possible…

…but you have to take action.

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Share Your Spring Garden Ideas

A lot of my posts contain the words “I” and “me” a lot. If you’ve been following along, you know that I started my garden from scratch, did some succession planting and thinned out the seedlings. My thoughts on that right now are, “who cares?”

Most of you have been buried in more snow than you can imagine this past winter and are finally starting to see some regular sunlight. It’s almost April and planting season is certainly near .

Since the purpose of this site is to get you to grow your own food, I wanna hear from you. Leave your comments below and let everyone know what your spring garden plans are. Is it your first time? What will you be growing?

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