#climate activism

[novemberblackburn]

[maximumhumanoid]

Basic food growing tips

I was raised by a hippie and spent most of my time in the garden as a kid. Ultimately, that led to me being able to grow pretty much anything, any time of the year. Here's my (very basic) guide to growing your own food:

(Disclaimer: I'm not a professional, so keep that in mind. I also completely understand that not everyone has access to seeds, soil, etc. This is just what I've figured out over the years.)

- seedlings are good if you're just getting into growing food. They're a little pricier (ranging between $1.99 - $7 per set where I live) but they're good because you've already gotten one of the trickier parts out of the way- actually getting the thing to grow in the first place.

- you can find seedlings at most garden centers during the spring and summer months, but you can also find them in places like walmart at certain times of the year.

- if you're just starting out and dont have much space to grow food, an indoor container garden is a great way to start. I still do this during the colder months and I've been growing food for 10 years now. Just get a container (I like to use old salad containers, the kind you get with greens at the supermarket), it can be literally anything so long as you're able to poke some holes in the bottom to provide drainage. Just fill it up with soil and you're good to go!

- soil. Most of the time, you can't just use soil from your yard as it tends to not be airy enough for produce (found this out the hard way, although maybe in some areas it's different) but that doesnt mean you need to go buy the expensive stuff from the garden centre that claims to work miracles. Lots of dollar stores and supermarkets sell smaller bags of potting soil as well as garden soil- potting soil is generally a grainier soil meant for potted flowers and such, whereas garden soil is more aerated and nutrient rich- which is good for growing vegetables. However, potting soil is cheaper and plants arent really as fussy and delicate as we think. I would however suggest getting a container of powdered veggie fertilizer, or making your own to add nutrients to the soil.

- fertilizers!!! I'm still new to using fertilizers but I've seen them really give my plants a boost. I get the cheap fruit and veggie kind you can pick up from the garden center, but you can also make your own. There's usually a specific ratio of fertilizer to soil, but it tends to give you more info on the back of the package.

- okay, now my favourite part- the solar punk part of growing food. Being able to grow your own food is an incredibly powerful skill to have- not only does it save you money, but it also puts even just a little less money into big food corporations pockets. Seeds can be expensive, yeah, but there's loads of ways you can get them for free: I've experimented with taking the seeds out of a piece of produce and then growing it (peppers, carrot tops, onions that have gone bad, strawberries, squash, etc) and I've had great results over the years. Not only does it reduce food waste but it's also great to not have to buy seed packets that can range from $2 - $10 depending on the store, variety, etc. Another great way to get seeds is to check out if your community has a local seed library; some libraries have them, some don't. If you have one in your area, take advantage of it!! It's there for people to take. If you don't have a seed library near you, ask around your community if anyone has seeds they don't want anymore, or have an abundance of. In my experience fellow food growers are lovely people who are more than happy to share their resources with others<3

- seed starting can be tough, and I'm not NEARLY experienced enough to act like I know what I'm doing when it comes to that (I can start stuff from seed, yeah, but also.... I've had a lot of failures too.) But there are loads of videos and tutorials out there that cover the topic in depth and break it down into easy steps for beginners:)

- some easy plants to start growing are tomatoes, herbs, lettuce/green mixes, beans, and squash if you have the space. They're all very hardy and are high yield crops:)

- bottom watering is best for things in pots imo because it actually gets water to the roots as opposed to just the top layer of soil, leading to fungus/mold on your soil & plants. It's simple too- get a container larger than the one your plants are in, fill it with water, and set the pots directly in the container. It might take a few hours but it's totally worth it

- grow lights can be really great if you want to upgrade your system, but they're not necessary as long as you have some sort of light source. There are grow light bulbs you can pop into any lamp that you can get at most hardware stores which is a great way to dip your toes in the waters of grow light setups.:)

- if you've got the space and energy (growing food can be a lot of work) an outdoor raised bed or an outdoor container garden can help get a much higher yield each growing season. There are lots of tutorials and info out there about both of those things so I'm not going to get into that, but I will say it generally requires higher quality soil (garden soil or topsoil) and more of it.

- mulch is fantastic to put on top of your soil and around your plants as it acts like a ground cover, keeps the soil damp for longer, and will decompose over time to create nutrient rich earth for your plants. You dont have to go out and buy any, most tree maintenance companies will supply you with free mulch as it's easier to give it to people than have to pay to get it removed. If you dont have access to that though, you can make your own mulch by layering bits of old leaves, smaller twigs, and other organic matter.

- layering your plants (for example, you might plant corn in a raised bed then add root vegetables and shade loving veggies in between the gaps to maximize space) is a great way to take full advantage of your space, and can also protect your garden as a whole. Don't make it too squished though

- different crops thrive at different times of the year, so keep that in mind when planting outside. I can't list the growing season of all the plants out there, but here's a rough guide:

Spring: leafy greens like kale, lettuce, bok choy, swiss chard, etc & root vegetables (they thrive in the slight warmth and damp soil)

Summer: nightshades (tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, etc), cucumbers, and beans & corn thrive in the summer months where there's a lot of heat and sun throughout the day

Fall/early winter: root vegetables, cruciferous vegetables(think broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, etc) and leafy greens (kale, lettuce, bok choy, etc) thrive in the chillier months right before the frost sets in

- growing food is not only great to cut down on costs for yourself, but also builds community with your neighbours. Setting up a produce trade every now and then or simply giving your excess produce to your neighbours builds a sense of community like nothing else. The sharing of resources is much more powerful than people think!

- certain nonprofits will also take fresh produce to give to people in need, so if you have an abundance of something I'd look into that

- you can also sell it! Either online (like a community Facebook page) or at farmer's markets. You can also set up a produce stand by your house, I've seen some people do that and it's a great way to make a bit of money and share food with your community

- if you don't think you'd be able to maintain a full garden on your own (I've run into that issue before. When I was first learning to live with my disability I bit off much more than I could chew in terms of gardening and most of my plants died because I was just too weak to take care of them consistently. Don't ever feel bad if that happens, it's a lot more common than you think) Then I'd suggest starting with a couple plants indoors, or ask your friends and family if anyone would be willing to do a group garden, splitting up the labour during the growing season then splitting up the crops once harvested.

- all in all growing food is one of the most satisfying things a person can do. It's good for the local wildlife (bees, bugs, etc) if executed correctly and it's great to be able to support yourself in these rough financial times. Dont get me wrong it's hard work at times, but personally I think it's worth it:)

[politijohn]

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[billyengland]

LOL! This tracks 100%.

[wachinyeya]

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[homo-house]

hey uh so I haven't seen anyone talking about this here yet, but

the amazon river, like the biggest river in the fucking world, in the middle of the amazon fucking rainforest, is currently going through its worst drought since the records began 121 years ago

picture from Folha PE

there's a lot going on but I haven't seen much international buzz around this like there was when the forest was on fire (maybe because it's harder to shift the narrative to blame brazil exclusively as if the rest of the world didn't have fault in this) so I wanted to bring this to tumblr's attention

I don't know too many details as I live in the other side of the country and we are suffering from the exact opposite (at least three cyclones this year, honestly have stopped counting - it's unusual for us to get hit by even one - floods, landslides, we have a death toll, people are losing everything to the water), but like, I as a brazilian have literally never seen pictures of the river like this before. every single city in the amazonas state is in a state of emergency as of november 1st.

pictures by Adriano Liziero (ig: geopanoramas)

we are used to seeing images of rio negro and solimões, the two main amazon river affluents, in all their grandiose and beauty and seeing these pictures is really fucking chilling. some of our news outlets are saying the solimões has turned to a sand desert... can you imagine this watery sight turning into a desert in the span of a year?

while down south we are seeing amounts of rain and hailstorms the likes of which our infrastructure is simply not built to deal with, up north people who have built everything around the river are at a loss of what to do.

the houses there that are built to float are just on the ground, people who depend on fishing for a living have to walk kilometers to find any fish that are still alive at all, the biodiversity there is at risk, and on an economic level it's hard to grasp how people from the northern states are getting by at all - the main means of transport for ANYTHING in that region is via the river water. this will impact the region for months to come. it doesnt make a lot of sense to build a lot of roads bc it's just better to use the waterway system, everything is built around or floats on the river after all. and like, the water level is so incomprehensibly low the boats are just STUCK. people are having a hard time getting from one place to another - keep in mind the widest parts of the river are over 10 km apart!!

this shit is really serious and i am trying not to think about it because we have a different kind of problem to worry about down south but it's really terrifying when I stop to think about it. you already know the climate crisis is real and the effects are beyond preventable now (we're past global warming, get used to calling it "global boiling"). we'll be switching strategies to damage control from now on and like, this is what it's come to.

I don't like to be alarmist but it's hard not to be alarmed. I'm sorry that I can't end this post with very clear intructions on how people overseas can help, there really isn't much to do except hope the water level rises soon, maybe pray if you believe in something. in that regard we just have to keep pressing for change at a global level; local conditions only would not, COULD NOT be causing this - the amazon river is a CONTINENTAL body of water, it spans across multiple countries. so my advice is spread the word, let your representatives know that you're worried and you want change towards sustainability, degrowth and reduced carbon emissions, support your local NGOs, maybe join a cause, I don't know? I recommend reading on ecological and feminist economics though

however, I know you can help the affected riverine families by donating to organizations dedicated to helping the region. keep in mind a single US dollar, pound or euro is worth over 5x more in our currency so anything you donate at all will certainly help those affected.

FAS - Sustainable Amazon Fundation

Idesam - Sustainable Developent and Preservation Institute of Amazonas

Greenpeace Brasil - I know Greenpeace isn't the best but they're one of the few options I can think of that have a bridge to the international world and they are helping directly

There are a lot of other smaller/local NGOs but I'm not sure how you could donate to them from overseas, I'll leave some of them here anyway:

Projeto Gari

Caritás Brasileira

If you know any other organizations please link them, I'll be sure to reblog though my reach isn't a lot

thank you so much for reading this to the end, don't feel obligated to share but please do if you can! even if you just read up to here it means a lot to me that someone out there knows

also as an afterthought, I wanted to expand on why I think this hasn't made big news yet: because unlike the case of the 2020 forest fires, other countries have to hold themselves accountable when looking at this situation. while in 2020 it was easier to pretend the fires were all our fault and people were talking about taking the amazon away from us like they wouldn't do much worse. global superpowers have no more forests to speak of so I guess they've been eyeing what latin america still has. so like this bit of the post is just to say if you're thinking of saying anything of the sort, maybe think of what your own country has done to contribute to this instead of blaming brazil exclusively and saying the amazon should be protected by force or whatever

[tmninjagirl]

[wewantclimateactionnow]

Jail climate criminals now before it's too late. They are really not this dumb.