Grow Your Own Food for the Raw Food Diet
Many raw foodists also believe in organic foods, as organic foods are better for the environment and can be better for you. Avoid pesticides and other chemicals harmful to yourself and to animals by buying organic fruits and nuts, and you could try growing your own food in a backyard garden. If you don’t have a backyard, you can try container gardening for some smaller plants, such as herbs for tea.
Table of Contents
1. Choose What to Plan & Grow in Home Garden
In choosing what to plant, you first have to consider what will grow in your area. Also, and this should be fairly obvious, plant things you will want to eat and be able to eat raw. Many people plant things because they are easy to grow – zucchini comes to mind here – and then end up with so much that they cannot give it all away.
2. Carrots, Zucchini plant, Tomato, Berry Bushes and Strawberries to start with
Nice things to grow might include carrots, a zucchini plant, a few tomato plants, and some berry bushes. Strawberries are easy to grow in a pot and can be fun for kids. And there is nothing nicer than walking outside and snapping a few peapods of your pea vines and eating them right of the vine.
3. Sow Plant Seeds before Spring
Plant in early spring, after you are sure the final frost has finished. Before planting, prepare the soil with a layer of compost or manure. Let it sit for a few days before beginning your garden. Each package of seeds will have instructions as to when and where to plant the seeds. After the planting, water the soil with a generous amount of water. Be careful to leave tags to show where you have planted your rows, so that when the plants begin sprouting, you do not mistake them for weeds. To keep pests away in an organic fashion, spray the leaves of your plants with soap and water if you see aphids. Some insects are your friends, though – ladybugs will eat aphids, for example.
4. Container Plant Needs Drainage
If you are container gardening, either because you don’t have a backyard or you just want more garden space, make sure your container has proper drainage. If water stays in the soil, the roots can rot. If your container does not have proper drainage, try putting a layer of pebbles at the bottom, where water can sit. This way the water drains out of the soil, and can later be reabsorbed by the soil if needed, but your plants’ roots are not sitting in wet dirt all the time. Be careful not to over water.
5. Small Herbs are Good Choice for Containers
In your container, plant plants that do not need a lot of space. Small herbs are often good choices, as they can then be easily tended. Tomato plants or cherry tomato plants will work well in an outdoor container, with some sort of stick, wall, or other support for when they grow taller.
You would be surprised at the number of things you can grow in your own backyard, plants that are not only edible while raw, but also will look nice in your garden.
