[moniquill]

[anarchistmemedistro]

Three Sisters (agriculture) - Wikipedia

Three Sisters (agriculture) - Wikipedia

[isuggestrevolution]

i have a suggestion

[forrest-sterling]

There has been a growing trend in permaculture called "food forests," where you plant a bunch of native edible plants (and plants that shelter essential wildlife to keep the edible plants healthy) in layered ways that increase productivity and protect each other from extremes in weather as climate change ramps up. There was a study in Japan that produced the Miyazaki Method for planning a food forest. It seems now that, while this is extremely effective in the temperate parts of Japan and ecosystems similar to the one the test was done in, this may not be universally true, especially in places that don't naturally sustain forests.

Still, I think the concept can be expanded to produce things like "food scrublands," "food prairies," "food marshes," etc. The biggest hurdle in my opinion is that many colonial settlers are unfamiliar with the native food that grows or once grew in their area, making the idea of a native food ecosystem daunting to those who hold the power to actually implement these ideas.

So, learn your native flora. Learn what edible plants are/were in your area and try to bring them back. Look up recipes that involve them. I promise you there is a native blogger who is happily sharing their family recipes. Give them some support while you're there. Maybe some day in the future we'll go to the local food forest to harvest produce instead of the grocery store to buy it.

[anarchistmemedistro]

Ancient pathways, ancestral knowledge : ethnobotany and ecological wisdom of Indigenous peoples of northwestern North America : Turner, Nanc

2 volumes : 25 cm.

[ominouszombienexus]

Often the local displaced indigenous people in your area have resources about native plants and how to efficiently grow them.

My garden got started because I went on to the website for the cultural center for the Lenape people, and they had a bunch of books put together on local flora and fauna, what's edible, and how to grow that stuff in efficient ways on small amounts of land

[jamaicanmango]

Dug up a root/clump? of ginger yesterday.

I'm planning make some june plum juice again now that everybody's back. My dad keeps talking it up, and now that the kitchen is (mostly) back to normal it doesn't make sense to delay. Also, the june plum tree looks like she really appreciate some unburdening. 🤔

Anyway here's the ginger-

That's them freshly dug. I got a bunch of cuttings to replant - hopefully I get to replant most of them before they die.

The rhizomes were big and really quite pretty. I'll post another pic later showing the final product all cleaned up.

[kleefkruid]

As promised, some budget advice for absolute beginner garderners! It's a slow process to fill a garden while spending little money, but it makes the pay off all the sweeter, and isn't it nice to slow down in this day and age?

[turtlesandfrogs]

Also, find the garden swap groups in your area- gardeners are very generous(aka, every one I've been to had multiple people giving away plants without wanting trades), and by getting plants for free you know you're getting plants that do well in your area.

[growingwildgardens]

Seconding the advice to look up gardening groups and free seed or plant swaps - also, perennials aren't impossible they just tend to have more specific needs. A lot of perennials native the US, especially northern regions like the pacific northwest, require a period of cold stratification to let them know they've survived a winter and spring is coming. This can be as easy as putting them in winter sowing containers and keeping them outside all winter, or putting the seeds in damp paper towels in the fridge or freezer for several weeks. If you're growing a perennial from seed, its worth a quick check to see if it needs stratification or Scarification (scratching wearing them down dipping in acid etc) to help initiate germination. Definitely more trouble shooting, but worth it when you figure it out.

[tomorrowsgardennc]

as someone who gets a lot of questions about seeds for totally no reason whatsoever confirming that non-native perennials are EXTREMELY hard to start from seed and you are legit better off buying a transplant for those.

[modelsof-color]

Nyagoa Diu at Richard Quinn Fall 2025

[plantnerderyallday]

Having grown up with an acre of raspberries that we did pick, eat, process, and sell, sometimes I see people do/say things that make me want to tear my hair out.

A previous gardener told my client that 'sometimes raspberries just fade away'. Uh, no. Raspberries are survivors. They will survive neglect, forming thickets over the years, just doing their own thing and slowly spreading. If you want the best fruit yield, you will want to give them a lot of fertility and irrigate properly, but no, they don't 'fade away'.

This gardener also made the choice to cut the canes, floricane and primocane both, down to two feet tall. Just below the bottom wire on the trellis. This is infuriating to someone like me who cares a bit too much about plants for a number of reasons:

1. Reduces fruit yield. Even cutting them back to 6 feet reduces yield, much less to 2 feet!

2. The new growth does reach above the wire, obviously, but it's a lot weaker than the over wintered cane, so if I tie by that, it's liable to rip off the branch entirely.

3. They are now extremely branched and much more crowding is going on knee to waist height. Annoying to pick at that level, and there's less light and airflow. This means less photosynthesis per cane and a greater risk of disease.

4. They left the spent floricanes! Bah.

5. It is my considered opinion that you should prune and tie canes at the same time. Like, even just from an efficiency standpoint. If prev gardener had done this, they might have noticed after the first cane that they were creating a problem.

6. They didn't even remove the canes that were too far away from the trellis.

7. If you did think they were weak and fading away, then why in the good green world would you prune away three quarters of their mass?

Ah. Between 3 & 7 I just realized why prev gardener thinks raspberries just fade away sometimes. Don't prune them like this.

I feel like I shouldn't leave without saying what I do so here:

1. Grow in a row with a trellis consisting of two sturdy posts and a wire strung at 5 feet/150cm ish.

2. In the fall, after they have dropped their leaves, cut out the canes that overwintered last year and fruited in the summer. These would be good to use in a bug hotel or deadhedge.

3. Tie any canes that are within a foot of the trellis at their base to the wire. Use a square knot around the canes so it can't sinch down:

4. Once it's tied at the wire, arch the tip over and tie that down too, so it's not flopping all over the place. You can shorten it a bit if you want. This is a simplified drawing to give you the idea of what I mean:

5. Dig up any canes that are too far to reasonably tie to the trellis, and either give them away or replant them closer if there's space. Or make a new row.

6. Mulch over the winter, and then feed with rich compost in the spring. Cover that with a layer of mulch.

7. If you're in a dry summer area, you will get a much better harvest by irrigating. One good strategy is a soaker hose run under a layer of mulch.

If you want a second opinion, I'd recommend your local extension office, or WSU's "Commercial Red Raspberry Production in the Pacific Northwest" and modify to suit your conditions.

[jamaicanmango]

This makes so much sense. I've been wondering for years now, why ants seem to be increasing at impossible rates everywhere. As the areas where we live become more developed, the diversity of local species declines, the soil becomes poorer, the ants proliferate- taking advantage of the broadening ecological niche. 🤔 All the pavements and lawns. 🤦🏾😮‍💨

If anyone wants to read the post from the screenshot:

Got a case of ants in your garden soil? Before reaching for the insecticides, let's learn about the role these important critters play!

[greentide-blog]

Hellstrip Vegetable Gardens

[plantyhamchuk]

The biggest reason I’ve run into gardeners finding this to be controversial isn’t whether it is legal or not (in lots of places, it isn’t, so it could be removed at any time by the local municipality) but rather how healthy it is to be eating food so close to the road, bathed in things like exhaust. It may not be healthy to hang out near diesel fumes.

There are some very cool examples out there of pollinator gardens (flowers useful to local critters) and rain gardens in these tricky curbside areas. Pictured above is a rain garden. For anyone in the US, here’s a list of regional suggestions for pollinator gardens.

[plantyhamchuk]

Designing with vines - passive cooling with plants

Okay I wrote a big thing, based on a conversation started by @socalledunitedstates that was followed up on by some esteemed members of #plantblr such as my colleague @plantanarchy. It was a well-intentioned piece but encouraged the use of English Ivy. Apparently it was all deleted, which is too bad - these are all learning experiences y’all! Anyway, here is my response:

We’ve been battling English Ivy for 5 years on this property. It is choking out some cool native species here in Western NC. Please don’t plant it anywhere but indoors unless you’re in England. It’s a great indoor plant though! You want the right plant in the right place.

Hedera helix / English Ivy - A great indoor plant! Excellent for beginners and just busy people in general. Please keep it indoors though.

In the spirit of OP’s attempt to be helpful though, here’s some ideas:

Let me preface by saying that you have to be careful with vines. Even if they aren’t on invasive species list… sometimes they ought to be, and just haven’t quite made it there yet. As OP did mention, do your research before planting anything. These suggestions are based on my experience as growing them in the American Southeast. YMMV.

Actinidia arguta / Hardy kiwi vine - Delicious edible perennial. Can be eaten fresh, right off the vine, like a grape. USDA hardiness zones 3-8. This is definitely invasive in some places.

Vitis / grapes - Delicious edible perennial. Growing zone depends on the type of grape involved. Some require processing to be used, others are for eating fresh off the vine (aka “table grapes”).

Lonicera sempervirens / coral honeysucke - this is native to the US Southeast. Vigorous, gorgeous, wildlife (esp hummingbirds) will fucking love you if you plant it. Long bloom period. Once planted, you may never get rid of it. Z 4-9

Clematis - short bloom period, though there are some rebloomers out there. Stunning while in bloom, meh the rest of the time. There’s tons of different varieties. Hardiness zones vary.

Gelsemium sempervirens / Carolina Jessamin - Beautiful and fragrant. Like Clematis, short bloom period but a showstopper when it does its thing.Toxic as hell but pollinators love it. Foliage is evergreenish. Zones 7-10.

I’m growing all of these currently (except Gelsemium), and they are the most well behaved vines in our garden. Vines have a well-deserved reputation for getting unruly, though of course this depends upon where you are in the world. Vines can be great fun, but it’s good to grow native and/or non-aggressive ones.

Honorable mentions: Ipomoea alba / Moonflower and Lablab purpureus / Hyacinth Bean Vine. Both are well behaved annual vines in my biome and what we use on our home - to cool the Solarium. This is been an amazing year for the moonflowers.

(please ignore how neglected and ragged my plants look in the Deck Bed - it’s been crazy hot, crazy dry, and I’ve been insanely busy but I wanted to show how we’re actually using them to cool the house.) And yes they actually legitimately cool the house in summer, we’ve been able to tell via thermometers and energy bills in summer. It’s a THING.

Here’s a nice photo of a moonflower I found on the internet. They’re simply gorgeous, and excellent for moon gardens and witchery generally. 

[plantanarchy]

Nice, this is a great post!

I hope I didn’t come off as overly harsh on the original post with @socalledunitedstates I just… reallly…. really… hate english ivy.

In my climate for the potential purpose of cooling your house and aesthetics, I’d really prefer annual vines to perennial ones, because a lot of perennial vines look just plain ugly in winter. But just because it’s an annual doesn’t mean it can’t spread like hell. For example, morning glories lol you will never get rid of them if you plant a normal ole morning glory. They will eat your garden and spread easily from seed. I mean, I love morning glories but damn.

This year, my mom planted a bunch of annual vines in the garden that I posted about the other day, including:

Cardinal Climber (Ipomea sloteri)

Love-In-A-Puff (Cardiospermum)

Firecracker Vine (Ipomea lobata)

So those are some more potential climbing options.

[anarchopuppy]

Just for the record, I never explicitly said English ivy (I didn’t explicitly say not English ivy either, though, because some people do live in England lol), but I included a link to research what is/isn’t good to plant in your area. I understand people’s aversion to it though - I’d definitely be hesitant too if I saw someone suggesting kudzu as a ground cover, for instance Thank you for the more extensive post! I also mentioned in the original that, if you are able to safely plant climbers on a significant portion of your walls, it can help with insulation as well - and, provided your walls weren’t already damaged (don’t plant climbers on damaged walls, they can reach into cracks and widen them), might even help prevent damage

[victusinveritas]

[naughtypiggy]

Scientists uncovered the nutrients bees were missing — Colonies surged 15-fold

Scientists have developed a breakthrough “superfood” for honeybees by engineering yeast to produce the essential nutrients normally found in

TLDR- Modern agriculture pollen is low in nutrients, and there aren’t enough wildflowers. Science has to develop vitamins to supplement the diets of agricultural bees. So plant some wildflowers for the wild bees near you.

[heydocverdant]

you’ve heard of vitamin B, now get ready for bee vitamins

[gallusrostromegalus]

Gallus, why is everything brassica? I'm upset? How am I supposed to get a crop rotation going, in consideration of soil, climate and what this family actually eats, when everything, I can think of, is brassica? What were our ancestors thinking?

"Why are all crops Brassica?" is like asking "Why are all dogs wolves?": Because we found ONE very genetically manipulable species and pushed it into as many fun and exciting shapes as possible.

HOWEVER, Like how we also have Cats, Chickens, Horses, goats and Pigeons, we also have:

Nightshdes: Tomatoes, Potatoes, and every kind of pepper except black pepper. Like Brassicas, they need a lot of calcium, so you shouldn't put them in the same bed, and supplemmenting both beds with finely crushed eggshells will help.

Cucurbits: Summer and Winter Squashes, melons, cucumbers, Chayote, Pumpkins. Not as demanding about the calcium, do need the kind of sun that will literally Sunburn brassicas and nightshades to death.

Alliums: Garlic, Leek, Onion, Scallion. What are you doing if you don't have these???

Special shouthout here to CEREALS like Corn, Sogrhum, Wheat, oats and Barely, which *can* be grown in a backyard garden if you are insane.

BEANS: Look. There is some bean somewhere your family will like. Black beans, pinto beans, peas, lentils, chickpeas, and PEANUTS. There's also Carrots and parsnips, but they have weird sandy soil requirements so they require a similar level of dedication and research as cereals do.

And that's just vegetables! You also have "fruits" which for purposes of this post are "assorted sweet-tasting plant parts", including but not limited to:

Strawberries, blueberries, Raspberries, apples, pears, peaches, plums, currants, cranberries, and cherries all of which I've grown in my yard before.

You've also go HERBS, which are generally not related, but you can interweave them between larger crop plants to keep your biodiversity up and help prevent disease outbreaks by acting as physical barries between plants: Rosemary, Thyme, Dill, Sage, Parsley, BASIL, Savory, lemongrass, and Mint if you're nasty.

I have to believe there's a few things in each of these categories your family will eat. Look up the nutritional needs of each and you can probably swing a crop rotation schedule from there.

[spaceshipsandpurpledrank]

[gardencorekid]

With all the talk about telling people to start planting and growing crops to feed themselves and their communities during this time of crisis, I’m surprised I haven’t seen much about HOW MUCH to plant to feed people. Here’s a good article to serve as a jumping-off point, to give people an idea of when to plant and how much to plant to keep people fed. Keep in mind that unless you live on a fairly sizeable plot of land that has ideal growing conditions, you probably won’t be able to completely feed a family of four, at least with traditional gardening methods. However, you can still heavily supplement your diet with homegrown food if you plot your garden carefully.

How Much to Plant per Person in the Vegetable Garden

It's time to plan the vegetable garden, but how much should you plant per person to feed your family?

Some things you can do to save space include growing plants in stackable towers rather than flat rows. Not everything can grow this way, but growing herbs or even strawberries or some kinds of tomatoes in them can save a lot of space. Bonus points if you can get some vertical vining plants like beans or tomatoes to grow up the sides of them to maximize the space used.

Hanging planters can also be used for things like tomatoes, herbs, some berries, etc. The people who grew up watching TV in the 2000s may remember ads for the topsy-turvy tomato planter. I can’t vouch for the effectiveness of them, but it may be good inspiration for creative DIY hanging planters.

Many people don’t seem to know this (to be fair, it’s not very intuitive), but small melons and gourds can be grown vertically on a trellis. You will need pantyhose or something else that can act like a sling for when the fruit gets large enough, and you’ll also want to make sure the trellis is very sturdy. Here is an example of a watermelon growing on a trellis, with squash growing in the background:

Other good options that require a bit more DIY are hydroponics towers and walls. It’s basically just a series of pipes with holes for plants to grow out of. The only downside is they will require very regular fertilization and supplementation with other micronutrients that are essential for plant growth, because the plants are typically grown in either a non-nutritious medium like coconut coir or nothing at all.

Planter walls are the next step down, basically just building shelves with pots in them to fill with soil. Put these on a wall that gets good morning sun and some afternoon sunlight for best results. These and hydroponics both also have the advantage of being able to hook up to your gutters so that rainwater will go towards watering your plants rather than just being wasted.

If you want to get really fancy, aquaponics is the next step up. With aquaponics, you create a system that circulates water between plants and a tank full of fish. The fish waste provides fertilizer for the plants, and the plants help filter out the waste so the water stays cleaner. I’ve heard they’re a bit tricky to establish, but once you find the right balance, all you’ll need to do is feed the fish. This has the added bonus of providing a source of fish for people who can’t eat things like nuts and legumes but need protein. Here is a link to an article explaining what aquaponics is, how it works, and how it differs from hydroponics.

What is Aquaponics? | The Aquaponic Source

WHAT IS AQUAPONICS? What is Aquaponics? Many definitions of aquaponics recognize the ‘ponics’ part of this word for hydroponics which is gro

I also want to add that if you don’t have the space or ability to maintain a large garden, there are other options. Find or create a group with access to enough food to supplement or completely fulfill your diet, and offer another service. If you have space for a vermicompost bin or tower, that can still help contribute to the garden. Learning other skills like soap making, cooking, sewing/knitting/crocheting, electrical skills like wiring and soldering, welding, woodworking/carpentry, etc. means you will still have valuable skills to contribute towards the group, and this will set up the basis for a larger mutual aid network within your community.

[queeranarchism]

Unless you have a huge amount of land, resources, a shitload of free time and a lot of gardening skills, trying to live completely off your own garden within a year is a ridiculous idea.

Most of us can’t do it ever even if we use all our space perfectly. Some of us can do it after years of building those skills, and we might still have bad years. And in the end, what does it get us? Self-reliance is a right-wing preppers dream but it isn’t what we should be aiming for.

If we’re thinking about collective survival and we’re looking at food as part of that survival, there’s two things that work:

Start a community garden. Bring together the resources, time and skills by getting together in a big group. 

Or learn to grow a few crops really well and share them with all your friends. 

The last one is what I’m going for and it works great. You can chose a few crops that are perfect for your soil, shade/sun conditions, skill level, amount of time, etc. Perfect those crops so you’ll have a huge harvest, and share share share. With a couple of friends doing the same, it’s much easier to get to a point where you’re no longer relying on stores for your fruit and veg.

[queeranarchism]

If you have permanent long term space but limited time? Fruit trees and berry bushes.

If you have a lot of nice soil and can do physically exhausting work? Potatoes, pumpkins, zucchini.

If you have a green house? SOOOO many tomatoes. Fruits that require warmth. etc.

Are you a gardening nerd with time and an interest in learning complicated plants? Take on the challenges like broccoli, cauliflower and depending on your needs, location and options, maybe cannabis? Or build a permaculture garden if that’s your thing.

If you have a balcony or window sill or prefer to do light work in high mobile planters due to limited space or mobility? Leafy greens, herbs, radishes, carrots, maybe a small tomato plant.

Together, we have complementary needs and abilities.

[jamaicanmango]

Finally sifting some dirt to get started on some seed snails. 👍🏾

[jamaicanmango]

Due to insufficient time yesterday, I did the actual snails today. Not sure I put enough soil in, but I figure I can add more later. I did 7 snails with mostly different seeds-

And 3 pots of soil with 4 more kinds of seed-

Some of the seeds looked a bit iffy but I decided to be an optimist and try them anyway. The iffy ones were herbs I'd been hoping to catch for some time now, so I hope they're still ok. 🤞🏾

[jamaicanmango]

Finally sifting some dirt to get started on some seed snails. 👍🏾

[jamaicanmango]

Maybe I should look up recipes for papaya salad. 🤔

[jamaicanmango]

Love it when we get a good shower of rain. Not only do the tanks get topped up, but I can rest assured that all the outside plants got some water and I won't have to stand outside for 1-3 hours triaging shit so at least some of the plants get water.

[learndirt]

So you grew some vegetables, but now they’re flowering and you don’t know why. Let’s talk about it… Why Do Plants Flower? In the flowering stage, angiosperm (flowering plants) utilize their flowers for sexual reproduction. When flowers are pollinated (by wind, insects, animals, or water), plants can then reproduce by developing seeds that carry on their genes. Is Bolting the Same as Flowering? You’ll often see the phrase “bolt to flower” which might make it seem like these two terms are identical. While often used interchangeably, these two terms do not quite mean the same thing. What Is Bolting? Bolting is the name for the final push for plants to flower and reproduce before they die. It’s the transition period where the plant goes from the vegetative stage to the flowering stage. Bolting is the liminality between these two. Once a plant bolts, it will focus all of its energy […] CLICK HERE TO KEEP READING FOR FREE