By following this method, you grow double the food in HALFthe time, and without weed pulling, pests battles, and non-stop daily watering… compared to the average garden.
The Revolution Garden
Look how fast it grows:
With this method, you can produce enough food for a family of 4 (or more) on ¼ acre.
It works indoors or outdoors.
It has nothing to do with hydroponics or aquaponics (AKA no fish)
Plus, I get to grow an abundance of nutrient-dense veggies YEAR-ROUND and don’t have to stress out over planting everything at exactly the right time.
By following this method, you grow double the food in HALFthe time, and without weed pulling, pests battles, and non-stop daily watering… compared to the average garden.
The Revolution Garden
Look how fast it grows:
With this method, you can produce enough food for a family of 4 (or more) on ¼ acre.
It works indoors or outdoors.
It has nothing to do with hydroponics or aquaponics (AKA no fish)
Plus, I get to grow an abundance of nutrient-dense veggies YEAR-ROUND and don’t have to stress out over planting everything at exactly the right time.
Pineapples аrе a tropical herbaceous perennial belonging tо thе brоmеlіаd fаmіlу. Thеу grоw tо аbоut 5 feet іn hеіght wіth a 3- tо 4-foot spread. Thе idea thаt ріnеаррlеѕ аrе аn exotic, decadent fruіt isn’t fаrfеtсhеd. Thеу were first іntrоduсеd tо Eurоре іn the 1700’s whеrе thеу were dеlісасіеѕ of great vаluе ѕоught after оnlу by thе vеrу wеаlthу.
Grоwіng ріnеаррlеѕ rеаllу іѕ vеrу simple. Bесаuѕе of their tоugh lеаvеѕ, thеу lose little water through еvароrаtіоn. They have ѕmаll rооt ѕуѕtеmѕ lіkе оthеr brоmеlіаdѕ, and аrе not fuѕѕу аbоut thе ԛuаlіtу оr ԛuаntіtу оf thеіr ѕоіl. Due to thіѕ, thеу mаkе еxсеllеnt соntаіnеr grоwn plants, еѕресіаllу nice fоr those оf uѕ whоѕе climate іѕ lеѕѕ thаn tropical. If уоu dо lіvе іn a wаrmеr region, grоwіng ріnеаррlе plants in the garden іѕ a match mаdе іn hеаvеn.
To start growing ріnеаррlеѕ, уоu’ll еіthеr nееd thе tор of a store-bought pineapple оr if уоu know someone thаt іѕ grоwіng thеіr own, ask fоr a sucker or slip. If you’re using the tор оf a purchased ріnеаррlе, mаkе ѕurе to rеmоvе аll thе fruit рulр аѕ well аѕ thе ѕmаll bоttоm lеаvеѕ. Rеmоvе the ѕmаll lеаvеѕ frоm the bоttоm оf the ѕuсkеrѕ tоо. Just рull thеm off.
1. Choose a hеаlthу pineapple from thе ѕtоrе. The ріnеаррlе should ѕtіll hаvе grееn lеаvеѕ аttасhеd to thе tор аnd nоt have аnу mold оr bе еxсеѕѕіvеlу drіеd. If the ѕmаll lеаvеѕ іn the center оf the top рull оut easily, уоu ѕhоuld try a dіffеrеnt pineapple.
2. Cut the lеаvеѕ оff of the ріnеаррlе аt the роіnt whеrе the lеаvеѕ соmе оut at thе tор. Do not lеаvе аnу роrtіоn оf thе fruіtу раrt of the ріnеаррlе аttасhеd tо the lеаvеѕ.
3. Pull оff thе lower, оutеr leaves tо rеvеаl thе ѕtеm. Cоntіnuе rеmоvіng thе lоwеѕt lеаvеѕ untіl 5-10 lаrgеr lеаvеѕ are left plus the mаnу ѕmаll leaves hidden inside. This should еxроѕе 1/2 – 1 іnсh оf ѕtеm tіѕѕuе
4. Plасе the ѕhооt in some wаtеr аbоut 1/2 іnсh dеер. The bаѕеѕ оf thе leaves should not be rеѕtіng іn thе water. A drіnkіng glаѕѕ works wеll to kеер thе ѕhооt uрrіght. Thе wаtеr ѕhоuld bе сhаngеd еvеrу соuрlе оf dауѕ to рrеvеnt rоttіng.
5. Plасе the ѕhооt in a bright spot that rесеіvеѕ little оr no direct sunlight. Rооtѕ should bеgіn to fоrm wіthіn thе next few wееkѕ.
6. Aftеr the rооtѕ hаvе fоrmеd, your new pineapple plant саn be trаnѕfеrrеd into a pot оr gаrdеn lосаtіоn wіth wеll-drаіnіng ѕоіl.
Cаrе оf Pіnеаррlе Plants
Pineapples аrе fаіrlу drоught tolerant аnd can thrіvе with vеrу little wаtеr. If уоu аrе іn a low water аrеа, or if уоu nеvеr rеmеmbеr to wаtеr your plants, a thісk layer оf mulch should be incorporated tо rеduсе evaporation.
If уоu hаvе thе ріnеаррlе іn a роt, be sure it hаѕ wеll-drаіnіng soil and drаіnаgе hоlеѕ. Don’t drown thе ріnеаррlе bу оvеrwаtеrіng thоugh! Addіtіоnаl pineapple рlаnt саrе іѕ mіnіmаl. Pіnеаррlе lеаvеѕ uрtаkе most оf thеіr nutrіtіоn.
For thе fіrѕt few mоnthѕ after planting, just leave thе рlаnt alone — nо fertilizer, thаt іѕ. Aftеr thаt, уоu саn use lіԛuіd fеrtіlіzеr ѕuсh аѕ fіѕh еmulѕіоn оr seaweed еxtrасt. Mаkе a diluted ѕоlutіоn аnd uѕе a wаtеrіng саn tо apply tо thе ѕоіl аnd thе lеаvеѕ. Stау away frоm artificial оr соnсеntrаtеd fеrtіlіzеrѕ, which саn burn thе plant.
2. Next, the wind picks up the pesticides and blows them around…
3. The Pesticides land on organic farms, contaminating the crops.
NOTE: Typically organic family farms are run by hardworking, dirt-loving stewards of the Earth who try their darndest to produce quality food… but Pesticide Overspray contaminates their crops.
Organic farmers are NOT at fault.
What’s most concerning is that people don’t know this is happening (and that’s why I’m writing this article).
The wool has been pulled over our eyes.
We’re led to believe organic food is safe…
But it’s not.
I call it The Great “Organic” Food Hoax.
Organic label produce is no different than conventional produce because it STILL has pesticides on it.
LOL Seriously? The USDA Straight Up Allows Pesticide Produce to be Sold as “Organic”…
Of course, the USDA knows that pesticide overspray is unavoidable and impossible to control.
Get a load of this…
This is an excerpt from the USDA report featured above:
“The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) establishes the maximum allowed levels of pesticides, or EPA tolerances, which may be present on foods. Although most EPA-registered pesticides are prohibited in organic production, there can be inadvertent or indirect contact from neighboring conventional farms or shared handling facilities.
As long as the operator hasn’t directly applied prohibited pesticides and has documented efforts to minimize exposure to them, the USDA organic regulations allow residues of prohibited pesticides up to 5 percent of the EPA tolerance.“
No doubt, it’s gotta be tough to control pesticide overspray in a country where 95% of all farmland gets sprayed with pesticides and 1 billion pounds of pesticides per year are applied…
But that does not make it OK…
Pesticides are extremely dangerous, even in extremely low-level doses.
Similar to radioactive molecules, pesticide chemicals can actually become more dangerous as they break down.
This study from UCLA concluded that 11 commonly used pesticides increase the risk of Parkinson’s disease by 80% even in very low concentrations.
PERSONAL NOTE: I have a close friend who suffers from early stage Parkinson’s disease. This friend struggles to function normally every day… I kills me to imagine what will happen as the disease progresses.
So… I just popped your organic bubble.
Now, how can you eliminate toxic pesticides from your food supply?
Can you avoid being contaminated by these lethal poisons?
Answer: YES
The Solution That Heals Pesticide Contamination at the Root
But it will involve a shift in behavior and mindset.
No longer can you regard the grocery store as a place for safe food.
Instead, you have to step up and take 100% responsibility for your food.
You have to take Extreme Ownership of your food.
By growing it yourself.
Sure, growing all of it yourself on day 1 is a tall order.
But you have to start somewhere.
Even growing some of your own nutrient-dense food will help keep your body free of carcinogenic pesticides and agro-toxins.
Practical Action Steps to Pesticide Free Living
Step 1: If you don’t have a garden yet. Start one. A simple 2 foot by 2 foot wood on your patio will do. Or try container gardening.
Step 2: If you have a single family home with a backyard, learn about Backyard Homesteading.
You can produce enough food for a family of 4 (or more) on ¼ acre.
You can produce even more than that if you use some of the methods like The Revolution Garden I’ve developed and share here on Planet Grow Everywhere.
Look how fast it grows:
For ALL the details on The Revolution Garden, watch this short video clip now:
Step 3: Form relationships with other gardeners, market gardeners, and farmers in your area.
How? Visit the farmers market and talk to people selling things.
These people WANT your business and you WANT their fresh food.
My favorite part about this is that you can trade and barter goods or services, thereby cutting out Federal Reserve Dollars (an instant 50% savings because you’re not paying any taxes on the transaction).
Look for sellers who are growing in greenhouses and located in areas away from conventional farms where pesticides are applied.
Your Best Bet to Eliminate Pesticides…
However, the best way to eliminate pesticides from your diet is to grow it yourself at home. You’ll know for a fact it’s clean.
There’s nothing more satisfying that growing your own clean, nutrient-dense produce and sharing it with your family and friends.
Onions are a staple in many kitchens around the world.
They not only enhance flavor, but will taste like pure satisfaction because they are the direct result of YOUR labor!
It is easier to grow onions than many other vegetables because they are low maintenance plants. Onions can lend flavor to any dish.
You can easily harvest garden fresh onions right outside your back door. All you need is just a little effort and to follow these steps.
Plant Family and Companions
Onions belong to allium family and their other family members are chives, leek, and garlic.
Many varieties of onions are available including bulb onions, multiplier or perennial onions, tree or Egyptian varieties, welsh onions or spring onions, yellow onions and sweet onions.
Depending on the variety, onions can be pungent, tangy, mild or sweet.
Onions are categorized as long and short day varieties. Long day onions are predominantly grown in North America and Europe.
Methods to Plant
Many onion varieties can be grown by planting seeds, by using onion sets or by transplanting onion plants into the garden.
It’s advisable to grow onions by transplanting onion plants and through onion sets because it requires long daylight hours approximately 15 hours to grow onions by planting seeds into the garden.
Onion sets are like small bulbs less than 1 inch in diameter, which are grown in a year before actually growing the onions.
These sets can grow into mature bulbs the following year.
Transplants or seedlings are preferred in areas with shorter seasons where the seeds are planted indoor, watered regularly and transplanted back in the garden when it is right season.
Soil Preparation
Onions are cool season plants so they grow well in a loose soil that drains well. Add manure to your soil and fertilize it almost a week before planting the onions. Keep watering the soil occasionally for steady growth. They need a weed-free area because the presence of weeds around the bulbs hampers proper development.
Planting!
In North America the best time to plant is the spring season usually mid-March to April. Onions fight well against frost so onions can grow well in any climatic conditions. Feel free to plant early as long as you have frost cloth.
If you are planting the seeds then set them 1 inch apart and 3/4in below the soil. Sow them in rows with 1 foot spacing in between. When planting sets, leave them around 4 inches apart, then dig a small hole and place the set with the neck upwards.
A great way to ensure a healthy crop is by using a greenhouse which will prevent weather fluctuations from affecting the crop.
Harvesting
Green versions (chives or the “leafy” part of the onion) can be harvested when they are still young and green to get a milder flavor. Once dried, sometimes become red, white, or yellow in color.
They are harvested once their tops are withered completely and skin becomes dry like a paper. This indicates that the root/bulb is fully developed.
Storage
Though green onions cannot be stored for a long period, you can keep them green and fresh for few days by putting them in a water jar.
Dry onions can be stored for months in a cool, dry and ventilated place with temperature ranging from 35 degrees F to 40 degrees F.
You’d have to eat EIGHT (yes 8) whole oranges to get the
SAME dose of Vitamin C!
What the heck happened?
That juicy orange you buy at the store sure LOOKS delicious, right?
Yeah, well… there’s nothing in it anymore.
The store-bought fruit and vegetables you eat are mostly empty… Devoid of nutrients.
(yes, even the ones you pay double for at Whole Foods my darlings)
And I’m not the only lunatic talking about this…
Here’s an article from Scientific American diving into the stats.
So…
WHY is this a problem?
HOW did we let this happen?
Allow me to explain…
I’m amazed by just how little the average Modernized Humanoid Cyborg (MHC) understands about Earth and it’s connection to their primitive human body.
Sooo, to explain what I consider common sense, I’ll use simple diagrams so anygoldfish-attention-spanned millennial can understand in 8 seconds or less.
But first, let’s cover the pre-reqs, shall we?
“C’mon James, Who Needs Nutrients Anyway?”
Many Americans seem to think if they eat enough cheetos to fill their hungry belly, they might get lucky and live to 100 (unless they get hit by a bus while texting).
Because remember: as modern humans whose technology solves everything for them, the sole purpose of eating is to satisfy hunger.
After all, your body is just like a car that goes vroom vroom! The engine just needs fuel when the tank runs empty.
And, that is why The Colonel in all his glory bestowed $5 Fill Ups upon us!
Sorry folks, it doesn’t work that way…
Here’s how it does work:
Your cells require a wide variety of vitamins, minerals, proteins, and fats to replicate properly.
Your DNA needs these vital building blocks to replicate, rebuild, and repair itself. If the DNA becomes weak and breaks (from lack of nutrients or exposure to a toxic pesticide) it produces mutant cells.
It’s simple… as the nutrients in soil and food disappear, our levels of disease skyrocket.
This chart shows the correlation between availablenutrients in soil/food and increase of diseases caused by mineral deficiency.
Newsflash: 2,500 Americans are dying of cancer PER DAY.
That’s almost the number of people who were killed on 9/11… except they’re dying everysingledamnday people!
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that as we give our bodies LESS of what they’ve needed over the last several eons, we F ourselves up.
But, as Dr. Linus Pauling (two-time Nobel Prize winner) said…
“Nearly all disease can be traced to a nutritional deficiency.”
The cause of our health problems is stupidly simple – and yet the “we’re finding a cure for cancer” foundations trick you into donating your hard earned money to their futile research.
(NOTE: Yes, cancer is serious and I have personally been impacted by the disease… but our way of approaching “a cure” is utterly ridiculous, and from what I gather, shockingly corrupt. I recommend diving into Dr. Pauling’s research)
The cure to our cancer epidemic is to eat nutrient-dense foods without carcinogenic pesticides.
Boom. Solved. Please send the Nobel Prize for Obviousness to the address listed below. We can skip the award ceremony. Thanks.
Now, you might be wondering WHERE did all the nutrients go?
How do we get those nutrients BACK into our soil and into our food?
Where’d All Them Nutrients Go Anyway??
Feast your eyes on this chart from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Well looky there… minerals in soil are disappearing.
But where are they going?
Again, the answer is embarrassingly simple:
Step 1: Farmers grow crops.
Step 2: Crops are shipped to the city (right after they’re picked early and sprayed with argon gas to ripen).
Step 3: City slickers spend bookoo bucks on these crops and eat them.
Step 4: City slickers digest and excrete the crops in the form of poop.
Step 5: The poop floats away to a waste treatment plant via modern day plumbing
Step 6a: The poop water is then blasted with chemicals, the water is separated out, and the poop sludge gets dumped into a landfill.
Step 6b: The poop water is flushed into a river, lake, or ocean.
Step 7: The undigested minerals and nutrients NEVER make it back to the farm where they originated.
This is a classic example of the broken cycles of the modern world that destroy our planet and our health.
We forget that Earth is a living, breathing organism that regenerates itself and that WE play a critical role in keeping Earth’s natural cycles intact.
PROBLEM: All that poop FULL of undigested minerals and nutrients is NOT making it back to the farm where the food originally came from.
The “Simple as Sh*t in a Bucket” Solution
For some reason, our advanced technological society just couldn’t figure out how to not drink the SAME water we poop in…
Yes, the water you crap in gets “treated” with loads of chemicals and then pumped back to your faucet for you to drink and bathe in.
Yum!
Here’s what we should be doing instead:
Step 1: Do your biz in a 5 gallon bucket and cover your dung with wood shavings.
Remarkably, this smells 10x less bad than when you air drop human excrement into a giant bowl of water. Go figure.
If you wanna get fancy, you can add dried lavender flowers and activated charcoal to the wood shavings mix to eliminate the smell even more.
Step 2: Toss it in a pile outside and let it compost for 2~ years (killing all the scary pathogens that supposedly live in it).
Step 3: Use it to grow amazing vegetables in your garden.
Step 4: Eat the vegetables and enjoy vibrant health without cancer or fatal, life-limiting disease.
Again, see below for my address to send the Nobel Prize for Obviousness. Thanks.
For more detail, you can buy a copy of The Humanure Handbook by Joseph C. Jenkins which has sold 60,000+ copies despite the fact that every book publisher on Earth refused to publish it because the topic is “gross”.
If you’re not as hardcore as most people reading this blog post who have already stopped reading and are feverishly searching their garage for a spare 5 gallon bucket…
Don’t worry.
You’ll eventually warm up to the idea…
Just wanted to plant the seed in your soil.
Thoughts on this rant?
I’d love to read your comments below and continue the discussion.
Keep growing,
James~
James Fry
Founder
GrowEverywhere.com
The Dirt on America’s Disease “Epicdemic” – Where Did All The Nutrients Go?
City living is often inherently associated with the “concrete jungle”.
When picturing life in an urban center, it’s easy to think only of miles of pavement and sky-high condos.
But the truth is that more and more urban planners, developers, city-dwellers are catching on to the ways that nature can thrive in conjunction with a bustling metropolis. Living in an urban center doesn’t mean abandoning your garden or your goals of sustainable living. To show you exactly what I mean, here are five inspiring stories of city buildings turned into gardens.
The Michigan Urban Farming Initiative, Detroit
After economic downturns left many homes and apartment buildings abandoned and derelict in downtown Detroit, the Michigan Urban Farming Initiative stepped in and purchased a six-unit apartment complex at a tax auction. This building became the central hub as the group converted a nearby plot of land into an urban farm centered on local food cultivation and distribution. As the project has grown, the Michigan Urban Farming Initiative has found other ways to convert derelict buildings into pieces of essential farming infrastructure. Not long ago, they purchased a severely damaged and abandoned old home and converted the basement into a rainwater harvesting system.
Bosco Verticale, Milan
Designed by architect Stefano Boeri, the Bosco Verticale is a two-tower skyscraper built to house trees as well as people. During construction in 2013, the building was planted with 730 trees, 11,00 groundcover plants, and 5,000 shrubs. The team of botanists and engineers who designed this purpose-built living skyscraper have done so with the goal of creating a symbiosis between the natural and urban worlds. The plants growing on the Bosco Verticale purify the surrounding air, filter sunlight, and create a micro-climate for the building’s residents. In the words of Boeri himself, this “biological architecture […] refuses to adopt a strictly technological and mechanical approach to environmental sustainability” (Source).
The Pinnacle Duxton, Singapore
The Pinnable Duxton is an award-winning residential high rise in downtown Singapore, a country known for its unique vision of public housing. These seven connected towers boast the world’s largest sky gardens on the 26th and 50th floors which both span the distance of 500 meters. These sky gardens also feature a jogging track so residents can exercise daily in their building’s private garden. Singapore is leading the way when it comes to sustainable development and biological architecture. Their incentive program encourages developers to make up for any lost green space on the ground with sky gardens and terraces.
One Central Park, Sydney
Sydney’s skyline now features the world’s tallest vertical garden in the form of the One Central Park building. Designed in a collaboration between architect Jean Nouvel and botanist Patrick Blanc, this multi-use building’s living green façade is the vertical extension of a street-level park. One Central Park features 250 species of plants and flowers native to Australia, thus promoting local cultivation as well as environmental sustainability. Soaring 166 meters into the sky, the gardens of One Central Park are supported by mirrored roof panels designed to capture and reflect sunlight where it is needed most.
Fairmont Royal York Hotel, Toronto
The rooftop garden at the luxurious Fairmont Royal York Hotel in Toronto is an example of how older buildings still in operation can be greatly enhanced by the addition of an urban farm. This hotel features a 4,000 sq. ft. garden which grows herbs, vegetables, and edible flowers for the hotel’s acclaimed restaurant. In 2008, the garden expanded to include an apiary of honeybees which is managed in conjunction with the Toronto Beekeepers Cooperative. Guests who visit at the right time of year can request tours of the Fairmont’s rooftop garden to witness urban farming in action.
Whether you’re designing a new building, updating an old one, or saving an otherwise derelict piece of real estate, there are many different ways to turn city buildings into urban gardens. I hope these stories have inspired you to find a way to get involved with urban farming in your own city.
Do you have other inspiring stories about city gardens? Share them in the comments!
5 Inspiring Stories of City Buildings Turned Into Gardens
Hi, I'm James! Here you can find resources and inspiration to help you grow your own REAL food with LESS time, money, and effort than you thought possible.
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Here at GrowEverywhere.com you can find resources and inspiration to help you grow your own REAL food with LESS time, money, and effort than you thought possible.
