This Gardener Grows Almost 100% of His Food: Here’s How He Does It
Permaculture, homesteading, and self-sufficiency are all the rage! Though they seem like difficult tasks, there’s a gardener who proves you can survive off of garden produce! Meet Mike Greenfield, the creator of Pro Home Cooks and the new YouTube channel, Life by Mike G.
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Here at Epic Gardening, we like to feature other gardeners and home cooks who live and garden like we do. Our founder, Kevin Espiritu, recently visited Mike Greenfield’s home and garden in Long Island, New York. Though it’s across the country from San Diego, Mike’s garden has many similar features to Kevin’s!
Both gardeners love to capture rainwater, grow in raised beds, and cheat the seasons for maximum harvests! Though Mike uses a dozen different ways to grow food, he always mentions that it’s important not to overwhelm yourself. Don’t bite off more than you can chew—start small and build on the winning momentum!
Grow Vertically
Fences and arbors are more than garden structures; they’re supports for vining plants! Grapes, cane-producing berries, and hops love twining up vertical supports. Instead of using valuable land space to grow these crops, you’ll use vertical space that fences and arbors create.
Mike uses fences to keep the deer out of his garden, and he likes to grow plants on them. If you lack a fence for support, you may use trellises, stakes, and other support systems to grow vining fruits and vegetables like peas and beans.
Raised Beds
Cheat the seasons with raised beds! They heat up quickly in spring and cool fast in fall, allowing you to grow plants early and late in the growing season. They’re perfect for areas with poor soil. Fill them with rich compost and plant perennials, annuals, and vines.
Mike made his raised beds himself with cheap wood. You may do the same, though other budget-friendly alternatives are easy to set up too!
Try metal or wood-based raised bed kits for a simple set-up. This three-minute raised bed kit truly takes three minutes to set up! It’s also made of cedar wood that resists rot, meaning it’ll last years in your garden.
In-Ground Beds
In-ground beds are the traditional way to grow food. Kevin calls this method the market farmer growing style, as many farmers grow crops in the ground rather than in raised beds. With annual additions of compost or mulch, in-ground beds are perfect for cold, hot, and perennial crops.
To start an in-ground bed, first locate an area where you’d like to grow food. You can convert pieces of your lawn into beds in a single season! Simply layer chemical-free cardboard on top of the grass, place compost on top of the cardboard, and plant seeds or starts into the compost. The plant roots grow through the cardboard as it decays.
Three Sisters Method
This popular planting style originates from North American Indigenous planting methods passed down over generations. Native American groups grew squash, corn, and beans, or the “three sisters,” together in a clever system. They plant corn to grow tall, beans to twine up the corn stalks, and squash to cover the soil below.
Mike tried this method in his garden and found immense success! He had butternut squash, corn ears, and beans bursting out of their pods. Not only is this a great way to grow veggies, it’s also perfect for saving space. Try it in the ground or raised beds this spring.
Greenhouse
Every gardener dreams of the perfect greenhouse, especially if you live in a cold zone like Mike does! New York has frigid winters with recurring frost and snow. These conditions make it difficult to grow crops during the winter months.
A greenhouse makes anything possible! You’ll be able to sprout cool-loving plants in the winter and grow hot-loving ones well into the fall. Some greenhouses have heaters and grow lights, meaning you could cultivate tomatoes in the thick of winter!
Though greenhouses are awesome, they’re often expensive. Start simple with a row cover on a raised bed. Put metal hoops in the soil, drape UV-resistant greenhouse plastic over them, and weigh the plastic down with bricks or similar heavy objects. This structure lets you cultivate veggies well outside the normal growing season.
Fruit Orchard
Fruit trees are a must if you want to grow food! Kevin and Mike have them on their property and swear by their value. They produce readily and rapidly for years, giving you free apples, pears, avocados, oranges, and dozens of other fruits; this list goes on and on! Select semi-dwarf trees that grow well in your area, and prune them so they’re an easily manageable size.
With yearly pruning and annual additions of compost, most fruit trees take off in no time. When planting, opt for bare-root specimens as they’re cheaper and better performing than potted trees. Find them available in fall or late winter, and get them in the ground before their buds break open.
Plan for Fall and Spring
Most gardeners think of seed starting and transplanting in spring, and they complete it as a one-and-done activity. Though you can grow dozens of different food crops in spring and summer, fall is the ideal time for many cold-loving species! Types like cabbage, kale, and cauliflower prefer maturing during autumn than spring.
While gardening outdoors in summer, begin starting seeds indoors for the fall season. Some other species that grow well in fall are beets, turnips, and winter radishes.
Protect from Critters
Critters can be pesky in the garden! Some, like squirrels and birds, target your ripening fruits and veggies, while others, like moles, eat your tender root-growing species before they mature. Others, like deer, will eat anything and everything they can get their hooves on!
Small critters also target growing veggies. Pests like aphids, thrips, and worms infest maturing plants, causing growing issues and fruit defects.
Structures like deer fencing protect garden beds from large critters, while things like row cover keep pests off of maturing vegetables. If squirrels or birds target your fruits, protect them with mesh bags and string. They’ll keep most pests from eating your harvest before you can!
Consistent Mulching
Mulch is necessary in the process of creating humus-rich garden soil. It protects the dirt from adverse weather, keeping soil life safe. Microbes, worms, and other critters turn the mulch into soil as they decompose the organic materials. Then, when you’re ready to plant plants, you brush the mulch away to find crumbly, black soil perfect for growing food.
Mike uses free wood chips that New York provides, as many trees need chipping on Long Island. Rather than paying to dump the wood, many companies offer it free to gardeners and farmers. Consult your local government to find out how to find free wood chips, or ask local arborists if they have extra they can give you.
Rainwater Capture
Save water, and you’ll save money! Rainwater capture is a superb way to collect water for home gardens. It’s free, and rainwater is a gift from Mother Nature.
Though rainwater capture seems complicated, there are some easy systems you can set up. Your house works as an excellent collector; set up the storm drains to lead to a water holding tank instead of the gutter. Then, when it rains, the water will fall into your barrel, and you can use it as you see fit.
Compost
Like mulch, compost is an organic material essential for soil building! It stimulates decomposing organisms to work quickly, turning kitchen scraps and garden waste into valuable humus. Starting compost is easy—all you need is a pitchfork and lots of organic waste.
Hot compost is the best method; it works fast and kills pests and pathogens. Cold compost is another method that takes longer but requires much less maintenance. Which pile is right for you depends on how much time and energy you can invest.
After it’s ready, use compost to plant in, as a mulch, or to replenish raised beds. It helps increase drainage and absorbency in existing soils, turning clay or sand into loam!
Farm Animals
A part of many of our diets are animal products! Eggs, meat, and dairy come from chickens, cows, and sheep. Rather than trusting large farm corporations to tend to the animals, why not have some yourself?
Whether you like pigs, chickens, cows, or sheep, some animals work well for homesteads and permacultures. Chickens are the easiest to start with. You only need a hen or two for egg-laying. Keep them safe in a chicken coop with mesh wire so predators don’t target them.
Not only do animals provide meat, eggs, and dairy, but they also offer free manure! This amendment boosts soil fertility and microbial presence, creating healthy, nutritious loam for your transplants and seedlings.
Preserve Your Harvest
The last step in growing food at home is preserving it! Without preservation, your produce will quickly decline in quality. Some fruits, like cherry tomatoes, are best fresh, though others taste great in a variety of applications.
Canning, fermenting, drying, and freezing are the best ways to preserve vegetables and fruits. Make tomato sauce, grape jelly, or dried chiles. The possibilities are endless!
