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'l:P.ata it for tb11 1aau' Wit.t'l your b.elp,
tne next lauue wilL ue more
QOwa?!.Jll'..bi...

don't. nave to
be an expert to .Oil"' or edit tb4a guide,
e\1ara what you.vu lea.rnoCl p;o to town
with a pa.l.r od s.nd acme -r;a.pe,
photooopy a.nd glvo 1t to :rrienda.
We'd l.lJce to aee a mora oomprehena1ve
pla.Q.t ana u .roaoLUoo tailOl!'ad
to every town. we want all aorta of
.!'un ways t.o garuon wll.h no monoy.
a::J&awt-
Ws'd lilt& t.o have J.OL'
ltl.d.a .an gardens- or aowe sort o:t' ta..l.k.ing
point.G !'or to new gurdene.DS we I d
11.1:te more, t.-t.ter ,tn1'oxuiLLl..lOH un aoao
rtera'e a du.UeUKtl tor yuu& we'Jre boen
tr.ying to u. llunun.l.llgb.1.r<J. ,.L'ueuer
Of an 6 Lllpty 400:G UUH .YOU U UlllO UlJ W.l l. a
gooa. way to do 1t'/ you 1nolude
1n tb.e next, issue of this guide i
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H 0 M .W M A., D E
S ALA D
DRESSING
3 tablespoons red wine
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/o teaspoon pepper
w1x 1t
together.


I
I
melons 1n
the northwest 1a
possible but tricky
are a
a and idate tor oold-.
.t'ramas and hoop-aloshas .
Just remember that t..heyre
flowers need insect, PolL:l.nat.ors
so you need to ramovo any cover
when they start to flower. Also they like
sandy soil o
When someone f l.l:'st sue;gosted dehydrat1ng
me no less ) we thogught they
ware 1d1ots. '.Chen tried aome were
sold. We've hadd all sorts o:t: dehydraed iX'U1ts
and ber,.r ias- mai:Mqx malons are the best .

d.al:lydrating
Get a foOd d a hydrator. You can find thom
cheap at garage sales or on cra1gslist,
botter, find someone that already has one, O.ft'er
to share the bount y for use ocr the dehydrator.
SJi. as move skin a..na s u ada from the melon
-. <,.ut into little l/2 inch cl:lLUlks C:tnd ru&jt
tbem out 1.n tt:e derzydrat.oo.:ro ..iiira up tho
deb,ydJ:>at01 betwe en 125 ana 135 degrees
lot it dry about 8 - 20 hours
Boom,
.uonec
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lay

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I
/
Fuok Your Lawn
Fuok your Fuek any
division between you and the food you
the food that. and g:tvee you .
lifeQ You:r lawn and your neighbor's
.. .. .
lawn etand as a g;ta:dng offense
the bMio reality that our , ..
. "' 1 ...... " .
communities our culture and our
are, only ' ae eeeure ae the food eieteme
...... .,. .1 . w.
around ue .. '1 Throughout the entirety of
the food web around ue has
key fOUl).dation o"f our
exiete.noe- a.nd it ie not until reoently
tbat we have removed .oureelv,ee from
thie ecologically eoun"d eyetem and
.. .
surrounded ou.:N,.elv.ee in lawns.. -
Fuck your lawn 'because it
depri vea you of the. baaio dig:ni ty and
J; ... U\. ,joy of surrounding youree;t:f with foodt
"'
and happiness.. Fuck youl" lawn
because .... it tells you to ,go inside and tul"n
' . 9n the TV l"ather than experiencing the
r .
; "thl"ill of trying to figure out what soil ie
telling you.. Fuck your ' lawn beoauee :tt
could never radiate the warmth and humanity
, ,
'
., . )

!
!
i
over the top (you can uae any booze
1

We've used Vodka becau.se ita avai.Lable
1
.... wl:zy ita in tt:arec1pe. J:he.higher.
the. better it will work. .ui..veralea.r
is perfect. !n Washington state you can get
a tincture licence for a coup.Le. buclm from t he
state:; then with that you can bLzy supor cheep
tincture grade booze. Vr you can
shine your own.) .Pour it .t'Ul.L ... you want a
bunch of' mass fiLUilpended ;tn booze . Ihe liqu.er
will slowly pull out the use.ful part s o.r the
the Plants. Leave 1t in a dark place .for
at least one month. J.'he best way to do t.bis is
to nota down the current Phase ot' tho moon,
then Just wait until tbe moon does that
.l'.OLt can shake it up if
you are so :Inclined. When its done, st:.ra1n
1 t and lteep it in a sealed jar.
can be really strong: whenusing
, them s tart by takings maJtl b.ub,1r h t
... " :ts o s or
eye-droppers to get tAle dosage
And remember that taking any medicine isn't
the best health sometimes
the best slaeping aid is to stop staring at, a
computer screen :h 1'or hQurs be.fore trying
to sleep.

Opium is aaaicti ve and da.ngeroua however
lot muc h. so wh.en used responsibly !n tinct ures
if you your tonic to nave an extra narcotic
k 1clc, c b.op up t ne r ipe a e eo. hes.d s and throw
tb.em in.
..

Ua.lifornia popple a aren't real I)oppies
and don't contain .&:hey are a.
!pretty sot:t petaled orange flower tbali
lll8.rly people cpns 1der to be a weed .
J..t is used as a mild sedative,
anxiety and sleep Gl'isorder.
.a lot of women know iutu swsa.r by
California poppies in helping to re_.tieve
menstrual orampso up the above-
. ,,
gro .. ma Part:. o1" the Pl a.nt- particularly
the pretty Ol''ange tlowers-. and. throw them
into your reo ipe :
dreaming
lll1Ugwort is said t min ) J.t iS u.s ed
la.ndp:ropnetl.o drea ildB sedative and !or
medicinally aata ml use mugwort
in
mens :ru.a. I t
regulat g t add sweet draarp. magic o
if you want o unop up tne lea..ves
your potion. :tn.to you ja.:r

iaclc wbai:.ever proport ion of nops, Ca.li:f'ornia.
.Poppies , Opium l'oppiee andMugwort T lG.H'l' into
yoUl" jar. vodlra

..
...
1
or e. vegeta..'ble garden!'"' it can share ite bounty
with your or fill your ' ' with good
food.. Fuck y,our lawn becauee ,it will never
be half a's 1 or hal:f: ae fun ae a gardAl'h
Fuok lawn' ;beoauee. it'e -etra:ngling the world ..
G'iving up regional ' autonomy to. grow and produee our
own foqd pute a ' o:t agriohem:teal
companies in control or the fundamental building bloeke
of 1if'e.. Your lawn ie a wMt6 f'lag euTTendering to the
hietorically unparalleled shf:f't in agriculture: the

consolidation of food powE\r, poieoning of our
communi tiee, etarving of natione and of
biodiverei ty ..
your lawn because it eoets you mon,ey. Even
if you wate:l" it, fertilize it or one oent on
itt;, your lawn ooet.!'! you money by robbing you or
the a-bility to pt'Qduce your own food.. Your lawn
permanen tl.y in-debte
rou to the rnonet&Jry of :. : : . ;
industt'ial f"ood.. It
mattel:' if you eat all your
meals :t.:x-om dumpetars or
from food etampe, youx-. li"iYil
lawn STILL px-evente you . .__ ..
from ever truly bx-ea.king
.......
of thie eyetem.. Your le.vm you not ,juet
your lawn coste you freedom and eeeurity in a very. real
wayo
l-
,
Fuck your lawn becauM it means complacency with
what going on. Industrial food production ia racing
towards catastrophe ae it robe all natural resources to
produce enough food for 12 billion people when only 6.3
billion are living and 800 million still face
starvation. ln the quest for profit margina it destroys
life sustaining biodhereity- seventy-fiv e percent of
agricultural
crops are estimated to have been lost
eince the beginning of the laet century ,
as this unprecedented shift occure. Qf
the tena of thousands of domesticated
species- a. dangeroue EIGHT industrial
crops are being used to feed the world.
Fuck your lawn because when we loose our garden
heritage, we loose the genetic diversity we desperately
need in order to grow any food at an.
And ruck your lawn becauee the ourrent
transnational industrial :food system is collapsing in
on itself. Fuc k your lawn because the human ability to
feed ourselves has never been as fragile or as
dangeroua as it is today. Fuck your lawn because
local food pt'oduction is a right; it is a responsibility
and a 5oy- and exercising this freedom hae never been
more important than it right now.
3
in fact, bops growsso wall that soma people
are soared to grow it for fear of it taking over.
'l' '.J!b.ase pEI:l.ple are fools, but. th.ey do b.ave a
va.!l.id point 1n you need to watch. tJ.ops and
onlY let it grow wh.era you want
Hops_ \flowers b.ave a strong a.rGma ani .
many medicinal affaots (besides bear). It
1a an 1c depresses, th.e centra
nervous aystam and e.i'i'ecte on tb.a
d1gas"t1va 1t ita UfilOO to treat anxiety,.
insomnia and tent10ni most
llerba'lists warn against us 1ngt, when pat iant is
from Usa tb.e female
flowerfi (bizarre Ctt green s tyrapb.ome ball thir
you' 11 kl'l.ow what we're talking about wl:lan you
a ea,_ it) You can lllj:t.ke all sorts of mad ic ine
of 's ana recipe we've o.reatad fllong
with other Plfiltnts we Xou can fallow
or make your own ....
rrv rrrv TNtc
..
Fill up a Jar with. b.opa flowers to usa as
a. add 1n tb.esa oth.ar ingredients .t
as you. sea fit: . .
..
Baa tb.a : PPi&"s aection 1n tb.is gu.1.d
for more 1nformat1o n. Wb.ite ones,
pa.paver somniferum,' are th.a most
but any ot will do. Opiu.m is a.
hardcore drug th
, active ingredi
1n
ha.roin, and
rt a.ati as a Pa.l.n killer' sedative"
antis
PasmOdio and (clears
'sb.a.t out ot you lungs).

To jv.St .ir':) d.
ef ov- 1,._<! rlos c:...v-v:;t._
Vp \"\....e..u;""e J,...'-) "-'a\<..h
\\'<\\TorS l oo:....f'-\ c..c.J S : M.: "'-\- S 'h.> fe r lo

tor s -\-o ""- "l\ c:.. pro \o ..."""s
tf v f S"o""R...
a,.. c\ ao;
B,.... '"'';tff' :"" e. s.s..
Yov C. J..r ', '"'"\ \:.. K "- -te. d.
,,
\oos c...
( e. . f'' o r
'-)Ov c:.:..tt...,_
re...-::tl \'":) ""\; c...e.. I: -\-e. 'a
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.
ORS
\1 J
I
'J:alking about ,h.ops as JUst
a plant for brewing beer
/ is missingtne amazing beallty ,
and possibility of this 1ncr00.1ble
plant. .iiops is the u.l.t 1ma. te a.l::'o h1tectural
plant the south wa+l of avery build 1ng
1n the laoific Northwest be
grow ina; b.opa. r
1 In the heat p:f the hops I
r1nes Will ashoot llp andpr<hvide I
shade to cool hot rooms Any
1ntows witl get a lovely, living
glass effect. In tile winter
whe t.h room neooa mora light and warmth,
uat llt hops back to th.e ground andyou
ont evan know its t n6lre unt'il you
n7d .it next a t.tm.mex :
Wa
Ve fa a.a 1ly grown h.opa llp to tb.e
..,
.P$a,.Jt or .roots 1n its f irat year
Fuok your lawn because we deserve bettet" tha.n to
surround ourselves in lawns of compla.ee:ney- you are too
smart and too free to be held prisoner in this
which devalues life. Fuok your lawn beeaueo it can be
transformed- it ea.n bring about a revolution if you
juet let itQ
Fuc k our lawns.
Plant a. gardeno
t

..
"
4
We ceueve ror a muuon reasons gardenilll! is
very important. We believe it oontributes to our physical,
emotiOnal and ep1ritual health. W believing tnat gardanl.ng
and sharing rood 1S the beSt way to promote healtl:i)'
communities tbat know end oar ror one anotner, and we
believe tbat gardening ill infeotl.oulY run end rulf:llling.
J
{
When we began to
get seriously into
gardening, we discovered
I
that a lot of the lit&rature'\
and resources out there didn't
really apply to our needs. We
started to feel as though
gardening was only for people
with expendable incomes, and /
that certainl y isn't us. We
became frustrated by
gardening books which
,;.
told us over and over
that THE way to garden was to buy
this- or--that apparatus- pay money on such--and-such ::J.
soil te8t- we were being told that plants grow in money
rather than SOil. We felt alienated by a gardening
community so reliant on money- and we began to feel that
this is the oonMit.A r'\f' - -
\
i
I
tne piotoral to
elsewhere in t b.ia z1n6.
1
oanntng
4
Tomatoes are pretty easy to can,,
ao 1e tomatoa sauce which can ba used
all yea.:: long.
.i11.rat, slip tb.e skina. no tb.ia
by putting tha tomatoes in boiling
water for about 30 seconds, tb.en takingtb.em
out and putting them in cold water. The
akins should slip off.
Next,.t&kAnu out tl:lem into ohunka
andoook them in a pot for like 20 mins.
\
Ln a skillet, sautee garlic, onions, etc
in oil o (we 1 ike to u.s a b.ot peppers J b
up the tcmauoes as you add thetwo togei;.b.er o
Add sugar and salt if you want.
all tb a boil, stirring constantl
to kaep from sticking. wnan it gets to the
want pour 1t into sterilized jars
(flEE S.t!AC:.C IOl.'l) o .L..eave 1 inc b.
b.eatl S.Paoe on the .. jar and . makfi t b.ere are
no air :Prooesa in boiling watr
for like 20 or 25 minates .
e'fJ(l
are. a lot- J#\il-'+
d \- of W\ r.t- - e w , th-e.'. r
avJI'\ prore.--+:es- hut 01\\ of -\-"'."'"""'
4o ove....-- jcvr
\-- tV\.. I "sh h'AY'Ve..sl- V(..') V'\ a r s I'VI lc...e..
-b.
R. .E C .l. i .& for T R 0 U B L E
'o make t.he kindofopium tha'S:t you oan

1. seeds and atama, crush
or choP up the seed !leads as fine
possible (or as as your
patience allows).
2
,..
Boil- just barely boil not a big
boil,' for about half an hour o
.uon't use muon water, either,
little as possible. Xou
can also uae 50/50
3. fitrain it,' but get all the 3ll.1caa
eut of it that you poss1blyoano
" I
Add in a few squirts of lemon juice
(this can also be done earlier)
,.
4. lour it out really thin 1n a
glasa baking sheet. At tb.is point
what you're trying to do is
evaporate that water- you might
be able to do this in the sun or
you migb.t need to use your oven on
the lowest possible setting .
Keeplan eye on it- what you don't
want is to bake it down to a oriap
that is unusable and will be hard to
get out of the pan (like fruit leather).
5 acrape it up into a big brown ballo
From th1a point theopium can be waed or
precessed all the way into heroin. Remember
that just because youve made a yourae lf
doean' t make it aat:d" or less a.d.diotive.
lill go.iJdelinas use
fa inj action and drug apply o
lS' of: _
We were also told repeatedly until we started to
believe it how difficult gardening was. Gardening books
terrified us into thinking that if soil pH was not perfectly
balanced with the help of laboratory analysis thea our

laughable vegetable patch would be doomed to complete
failure. As beginners with so much to learn, we were
starting to that gardening was a mysterlmHl

science unfathomably
complicated for scruffy
kids suoh as eurselves.
J.

,

l
We nearly fell into the '
'
,/
\ deadly trap of
thinking that food _,--<
production was too complicated and
too muon bother to ever participate in.
So when our garden began to
grow- really grow- we were mesmerized.
Here- in our garden and in our etoma.ohe-
was living proof that a garden does
not need money or perfection to
It just needs you to try. Vegetable eeeds are
miraculous genetic codes which nave evolved alongside
humans for thousands of generations- and their entire
purpose in life is to grow. Seeds want to growl
are genetically predispositioned to growl
Of course, there are undoubtedly good and bad ways to
fll
garden. It is an art which takes a lifetime to master and
even then improvements can always be made. Knowledge, both
technical and traditional, is important to produce heal thier,
happier gardens. But if you take one thing away from this
guide may it be this: gardens want to grow. Never get
overwhelmed or stop trying- the number one thing about
gardening is to just do it. Without a doubt you'll screw up
a lot of stuff along the way- as we have and will continue
to do- but if you work at it you will also undoubtedly be
rewarded by good food, good times and good gardens. Just-
We set aoout to design tkli.S guide as
the orle we wiShed somebodY would have
handed us when we first started. It
reflects us, our experiences, our values,
our local climate and our local growing
But our intent is not to write some zine telling you
how you should do things- our intent is for you to
experiment with this knowledge and educate US on how we
can garden harder. Our dream is for this guide to act as a
seed of knowledge- and like a seed we hope that this guide
t he milky brown go op inside
the ..i;)o. pjl:.e seed head
(actually found in smu.lls-l:i'
quantities .in t hewnole plant
ie opium. 'J:his is a
painkiller and l"'ecreat iona.l
drug .
ro stlmula.te the plant to
mo:rti opium, you c&.n
it V0ry gently across
tl1a vertical ribbing on th.e seed POd
tne plant S nada itS R'.&pea.t as lOno
a.s t lle plant atlll ' bleeds' {it will como out
wb.l te at fir at, but ,..,turn bX>Ow.n after a few days)
This ata9 ian't necessary (and sometimes ita
not at tnis point you are
actually commiting a crime and its kind of hard
to cover up wh.at you're doing)
1
1 but if you dh
cnoose to cut your you oan put a rolling
paper on where itsooz {just let the milky
opium hold it up there) Leave it on for a fe\'f
hours or days andwhoo you peel it off you might
get a little buzz.
1 d ifferent ways to process
'l.: here a.re flevera .
op1um for use- both medical
'J.:he a4.s1e at arn one of the most power :t'ul
methods is to make tea. Chop.,or grin:i up
the seed pods, put them in hot water and
let them steep. If you don't like chunlty
teas, strain it throw a coffe ..filter (use 4 or
5 big heads per person) .L.t oan taste a little
groaa, try flavoring with mint leaves, orange
Peel or honey,
Another thing you can do wit h POPPies 1s to tinct
t1nctl.U:'e them. is actually called u laUdanum"
and USed to be the most common Painkil.Ler. J.'his--
makes a lot of sense especially w b.e:J.. Using the
Plant medicinally. aee our own Happy foppy
Tonic' recipe elsewhere ih 'the guide.

.t'lWJ.t and take cru.oo of
raspberry Ill canes und you' 11
havo a e;ood y jeld year ""
after year. Look for people
thut hz;.,ve product.Lve berries
rwuling wild and ask them for
a tnrter Qanes rather than buy 1ng o
'.i.'he secret to freezing be..rries 1a to
ap.read tb.em out on a oook ie tray to
initially freeze tb.em (most people ad,d
sugar at this point.) O.tlly once they're
frozen like that. do ,ou put them 1.n a,., '
z.tploclc bag. :.t.'hia keeps you from getr.ing
tl1e big solid brick of .frozen berry, and
you.'ll be easily making emootb.ies c..ll
y long o
I IS
fop-p 1e.a . legal, can

easy to grow. J.'ney only
become illegal a-v the
point wl:lere you b.ave
intent ion to get up
on them. ( llke a.ll.icins tb.e
pOds to -milk the m for
opiurJ)
When farmers save seed from their gardens every year
to replant the following spring, these seeds carry with them
subtle changes and attributes that adapt them to grow better
in local conditions. Similarly we hope that you change this
guide, too, to make it specific to you and your needs. If
you're not okay with stealing, figure out other innovative
ways of obtaining supplies and add them in. If you want
more information on how to grow a certain crop- add it. Add
yourself- your knowledge and your experience- into this
guide and help it grow and change every year.
This is your guide. Use it. Add to it.
it away. Change it, Photocopy it. Sing it. Pass it over
your back fence with a handful of seeds. Spray-paint it on
a wall. Protect it and share it. And when its too old- when
its tattered and so smeared in dirt you can no longer read
it- rip it up and throw it in your compost .
. :.,,,_

0 "(} 0
.. ' xZvcc"rh; \\_.-eaclx
) -
f
Ingredients:
atep 1:
prelleat oven
to 325 a.r:d lightly
grease two 8x4x2 inch
loaf pans .
Jitep 2. :
uomotne flaxseed meal
a.nd water; wb-1P till
tnick. and creamY MO.
oil , v inesa.r, s -
mix well Add 1n
grouna
t. cu.p water
1 cup canola 011
ll: white dis tilled v
2o granulated sugar
2c grated z uocbini
;;o tm.bleaohed flour
2t gl."'ou.hd cinnamon
it nutme,e; ,
1 t baking
t t baking powd e!' ,_
It salt.
icu.p chopped
t cup
2t v a.n .
z,uccb.ini arrl vanilla.
rni.X mix miX . In anotner
bowl, sift all d.rtY
inf9i'ecnents. ir in nute.
and ra.ie ids drY

>


stuff int)o vre.t at.uff
( c1 on t o'V er uriz)
-
atap
two loavee,
bake for (j) t.o 70

S-tep '4:
..
Get u OJ::Je ...
r-11"\

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:to'
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Mm
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o1a ... t)lOdll of gaTaeoing in single rows aT ..,..en
on commercial rar!Diog, onn tllO oee<l ror U vestook
or tractor to preP"" onn care ror the soil
Pl.antinS crops in single rows tal< 111ore space,
gets more soil co .. paction, tal< more time to
maintain, onn will result in a much less rood tnan
garaeninS in thiol<, aeep, <liverse bedS
Providing deep, loose, wide beds will allow roots to
spread and absorb more nutrients and moiSture.
The part of the plant we see above ground is only
a tiny bit of what's really going on; the roots are
where its at as far as the plant's concerned. For
example the carrot, whose root we feel as though
we're familiar with, sends small hairlike runners
down as far as eight feet. A beet root can go as
deep as ten feet looking for the stuff it needs.
Even in the best soil a plant with cramped, bound
roots won't be able to get what it wants. So give
roots room to roam by loosening the soil and then
staying off of it.

J
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t7ra:;S
. .. _
, ..
Soil supporting healthy lawn is a good candidate to become a
healthy garden. We need to !till the grass, but we don't
necessarily want to remove it. The sod- grass and root- is
a mass of organic matter which has absorbed a lot of
nutrients to grow itself. Removing the sod also removes
these nutrients. Let it lie and soil microbes will recycle
these nutrients back into the garden.
Use the nutrients in the grass sod to fertilize the garden.
'l'his is one of the reasons why putting in beds in the fall
or winter long before planting can lead to the healthiest,
richest soil- it makes it easier to use the resources locked
up L11 a yard to grow food. , _ . .
Like all plants grass needs sunlight. One of the easiest
ways to turn lawn into fertile soil is to rob it of light for
several months. Lay down carpet squares, black plastic or
old tarps over the section of lawn you plan on
gardening. Cardboard is the best. It's free from
cardboard recycling bins found behind just about every
store, and it's an excellent way to smother grass.
Make sure your area is completely covered by
laying down several layers. An added benefit I -
/i21!.
of cardboard is that it will break down over
time and add even more organic material to
,/
I
aquasn (including and
w-inter sq,ua.sh (including 'l?umpldM) Wt'e bott1
aeed e1 in tb.e early apr ing l check your seed
.pa.olceta) sctu.a.sh mat t..U:'es .tn toe summeJ
and aq,ua.sb. matures in fall.
reason winter aqua.ah is winter' is
beoallee you can save the fru.i t i,;Q, a roo.t
cala.r (or garage) to eat all winter .
aquaah, aepeoiallY summer aquu.sb. a.nd 1s
a really good example of themore you piolt, tne
mor o tb.e plant grows.. Zuccn1n1 andl summer
tastes wub. b...,tt.er smv.ll , don't let it get big u.nc1
(;roes. You can eat :taoware, too:. t.llej'
-c.aste really good ani neali'tY 'broooed and
deep .,
equ.a.sb. , e.special.lY wint.er squ.a.sb., can eastilY
ta.k.a over juet acout anytuing 1n garden.
t.hey' 11 grow on up and over otner p.Lauts
1
:
tr.ellic1ng, walla ana: sheds. Its pretty
cool , but give theiO room to ro<J.m so dont
destroy atLtf:f
\
An old Amel1.11oan plc.:illting method is
o<J.lled tl'le
1
golo.en tr or
1
oG sis tors
co:npdnion ;>lanting' , eimy.ly gr owing
&l1.d UOR.l.\1 c.ll thor e
Let tb.e-. oor.n r_et going first , M1e beans wll:
climb Ltp i t and tne sqLta.sb. wlll mLllch. down
trying to grow down oolow. beru
also fert111ze as the
puta out a TON of f y gFow. its sweet and
oOd on small space '
uucumber s lovu t o climb- .J..I yoLt treliLe
vneo you'll get b.i gb.er yield with lese 1'ruit
c ctting lost or rotting. Cucumbe r::. &.r e
a great candidate for palleu trell1.c1ng.


4 cloves (garlic)
( 0 r

lllOre)
I
\
I
pappara
(yo.tlt' favorite k,lnd .)l:m
_ (lots .) . ..,
step 1:
- ,.
sterilize everything
(see canning basics)
fraah. dill
(easy to gro
w)
10 gallons of tiny
cucumcers .
step 2:
2 cups v1nigar
'lb.ro'.> a couple cloves
in eachq uart jar and
some poppers (sliced
l cup canning salt.
for I.(lOlr e flavor, whole 1'or
pickled peppers in tb.era. Or bot n .)
a 'sprig' of dill . If you want _ to
get real fanc8 put s or:.1e nasturt ium flowers in
ther e , too.
3:
narvest goou lookine cuces fresh.. tiUlean
tb.em up real good ana puL. to n.em in the jars.
_, 5\
.::Jtep 4:
brlng ana uo a ooil.
.I:' our 1.hat brine in t he Jars. uap
that sb.it, process lt in .boil ins VH11.oor
10 m inutea > no L. longE>r) a co Ll'"ll
we eka, oat w G
'04.. enjoy,-
I
4 11' \
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.

_,. , . :
. ' . , -1
: ,..,.
Another way to turn grass to garden is to cut the sod into
square chunks and flip it over. The exposed roots are
vulnerable to freezing weather and will die off over winter.
Be sure to knock off as much dirt as possible to leave the
roots exposed and vulnerable to frost. Use these two
methods together by first exposing the roots to as much
freezing weather as possible then covering them with
cardboard to block out light. (However any light-cover like
this will also trap heat and warm soil temperature-
protecting grass roots from further freezing damage. Use
best judgment about when to cover the roots.)
--
The more damage we can throw at sod- the more we chop it,
bury it, knock it around, dig in it- the more the plant
starts to die off and break down. When the sod is dead, turn
in the decomposing cardboard (if possible add a layer of dry
leaves or other natural, organic, easily decomposing
material) and use one of the following methods of loosening
the soil. The result will be accessing the naturally rich
soil of the yard without adding fucked up expensive chemical
fertilizers.
L o o s e
TGOLS N!EOEP: ehoYel
loosens eoil deeply and thoroughly
fairly labor inteneivet allegedly
rune riek of swapping top layer
macro-nutrients with deeper micro-
Double digging is the process of digging down two
layers of soil, ueing the top layer to become the
bottom layer and vico-versa as you rnove along
the bed. It's a lot of work, but aleo one of the
best ways to really looeen and work the soil for a
fantastic garden. (eee diagram opposite.)
''lJZ>v or 0 .., so" ( tecnnical term)
'
0 0
-- JJ;.very ""o' "' h
sP.a..k.a O..Q. some saltt .,., .!.t' ll
a w 1cl & rans e of aal t' 0 U.s j lla t
a matter o! taste Tne salt. Plllls the
waue.r out of tne cabbagea:b:i creates
a br ine tor evuryt.lling to f'erii. ent in ..
3. Yell can ada shredded carrots, onions,
garlic, seaweed, whatever. It 11
still ba good without any o1 tnat-.
4, . .LVl1x it togetber, pound it down inLo
with your of':tst, Get it. aLL
bl"iney.
5 ihis step you can do dlffer antly
dapendlne on what you huve a va11a.blo :
basically you want to do lo aet
the c.:hLulky cabbage and stll.f.f dovm
of th e brine You can do
s by Putting it. all in a oi
then PUtting something lik . g jar,
in on top as a Wai ht e a
the gooas aubmer Just try to get
gea down llndcr the br -
6. Leave it somewnere
aLit of tho way vo torornent
(but don t about i1) .
7 o .... .J.ibec.l! Qrour kraut.. every OJ. o.a,vs
skim ot:r any molu 011 OLne sur.tace
(the rest is still sood) J.ts done
when it tastes
NOJ.'bi: this ('lis not the kir:d
. of sa:.l.erkraut thaT. you
can with. You can ml...ka 1 L
last longe:c by L'efridgeraL
the i' iniahed uOOd s
this isnt f0r keoping
'
lSO
t b. en cov er i n cardboar d to keep mo i at. 1
'.!:alee cardboard off as soon as tnere' s germinat i
to let tne llvtle plant s get lignt.

i
f r om massing u.p the roots. throw
away a ny carrots that get bi'Ltised
no . na v erwlxxl - eat. t h.etn) .. Cut off th(;l t,op
of tbr ca rrot u.r.1 clone c!:,s po s n 1ble wi th.Ju.t
damag ing U1e uctt.la. l root. bury the roots
i n xi::tg.k a box of sli g htly rno isL sand..
;;;tore your samoox in a dark gar age,
. basement or aowoth:ing J. i ko tt<..t , When you
get 11ungpy f or a ca.l' r ot al l wint er long ,
go ha.rvoat one f r ollJ your sand box ..
ild.
f " f t
W .tld ft3r mentaviOJ.l is all tne rage
yTit.b...bea.l.t.l:l.food nuts rie;b.t now, PLt t
l'ta also prett y c ool. J.t.s basically t b.a
art of ll.ve-cultwr 1ng f o0d s o it.
reallY gooc1 :::..rrl rlolves all healt h .
pro blame ev er b.Lah. blab. blab.Jii
read r:ea.l lY annoy iL'1g b;)l"'\1
to learn. mmre . I(
He re's how we weJJe taugt1t to
a a.uer J.tl!"au:t :
1. \.l rlOP lAP cabbage ( r ed, gr een or bo \.otl)
h.owev er fine you-J.il{e i(, am. p u!i.t
it ln a P:. big glass bow 1.
...,.
--
\
- -
l
1}1 /)., St"-1>,\.\.. S'\iW
't;l\Cr
'\WO
S''-, V\..f>.C./(.

A.
'i\\t
'NE'i:l t.\l-l tJ
PLP.c.t. \T \o'?
or "'\'At.
'St<-1\0N.
MUI&IE
.....
Sl!;'p%.;
Nttr D1 <i-
DotvN TlJ.r 'lop
At>l>
I t To T\1 E Bcsrrot\
er T(.\ rtltSi
sc:c.Tio t-J .
Jru
Co"--Tit.IUE, nHS
-t"l-\
\H.\). W\\N '{au UAC.\-\
E:Nt> , LISE \\-\E. SO\v
l N i\lt: lN..1< .I
111 sc..t' aiJ -ro
nLL \T W.
DE'Ef> fORKINC-
shovela
Another great method for looeening the soil- one
that requires a little leas work if you have aoeeas to
n forkQ Dig off the top layer of aoil, as you
would with doul:lle digging, but instead of
down another layer with the shovel juat drive
the garden fork aa deep down ae you can and
wiggle it baek and forth to break up the aoil
Do this a lot- all over- and you'll have niee,
shovel or hoe or any t
instrument with Made strong
enough to cut
Pt\OS e eaaiert removes grass if' bed ie
being sta:rted too late for it to be
killed, loosens well, good way to
get to know garden eoilo
CONS:
This is a good method to use if a bed ie going to be
planted right away- not having the time to properly kill
the grasso Cut grass sod (sod being the leaves and roots
I
I
.S ..l. It. : Bon an otb.ar
r .. into a syrup e io Ul:' syr Llp I
oves Jarred up beets u.p to r
6 i- 1nob. of top. "
Ste.p t>









t
'
'
' t


Seal up Jars and process tb.em for 30 minLttes
1n bpo1ling water. Pull them out,
space them a little bit to cool
. . .... . . .



- . - - - .... .. - I
and. s.row
. - Broccol i Wil.l set
n;u>e haaijs 1:f you harvest tow,
<' U:p untu I one Of tb.e head.s goes
' to seed, So stay on top ot them',
t:aulUlown, on othar b&nd, onJ.y s.ro.w
one matn il<lad ao let H S<>t as big as Posaibl
it you mu th.l.a up ancl <lo it bacJtwarQs as we did
one time you Will tae.l vexoy tool1f.ilho
:r:ou can usa tho stalk o:r: broccoli, too,
stJreQ U .tnto a deluxe COleslaw With Oabbago,.
cal"l"ots ,L kolraba , ,
mayonaisa, lemon
J l.lice and warahtesblre
aau oe.
one
Sometimes
can be tricky
1'hey need a consist
tr 1cJr is to t h
to F.NrruinatH.
ly mo 1st seed bad.
Stlads water,
--. u. 1-Wh.Q..---
R--BTS
Beets a.ra a root
crop but you
can also eat
the greens. 'Ihay
malta you. sl1i t red. j




1.:
}1a.rveat
tamar Dfresb. beet.:;,
t be yoLtu,:)dr ones will
taste better.
tf.et> 1-o:.
dro.r t b.em into
water j uat until tb.alr
skin easily slips of:f
tl1e root.
( lS minutes)
s+ep 3:
.Pl.l.t t.hem .tn cold water,
I"arnove tbe skins, cut
cu.ps
cups water
cups
tabla spoon
of cinnamon
tbaro into mouth-sized
Step 5:
\'-\1
I
I
I
of the gre.e!'l) into small manageable ehunk!'l- then bang
tho hell out of it to knoek every last pieee of dirt and
nutrient off the grass rootso Some people do this with a
garden fork or shovel- we find our hands work better
than anything elseo Its really important to get as mueh
of the soil off the sod and back in the bed ae poeeible-
that's the good stuff and we don't want to remove it just
because your grase sod :l.e not totally deado For beet
result!'! loosen the soil underneath the sod, as wello
Once the eoil l!'l thoroughly shaken out, compost the sod,
pile it up !'Somewhere, ring the bed with it to try to leek
water in (be careful for grass exploding into your bed
if using this methodooo) or uee it to build a duek pondo
This method uees a. mesh ecreeno Sift all dirt through a
mesh ecreeno Remove weeds, rocks, etc and watch the
beautifully loose soil pile up in little mounds below.
We've eeen really cool tri-pods with the metal mesh
screen hanging horizontally beneath on a rope or
chain- making it really easy to .Just bang that against
the tripod support to sift the eon. Its easy to make,
and would alec be very handy for compost
round.

CONS:
can large space5 quickly
need rototiller, reliant on oil, repeated
uee oreatee "hard pan" under garden, chops
weeoe thoroughly into beds, destroys crucial
eon microbes, don't get to
eon at an. L'.

ri l \ '( '\)
.. rr J. , ...... \1.., .
1n MmE'l scenarios a rototiller might make sen5o-
but Wfl havA not encountered them.. There is nothing that
can bo done with a rototiller that can't be done better
by hand.. 1f working on a chunk of land too big to work
by hand, think about maximizing more food production in
a smaller space or getting more people on board ..
Build{t\g good be<bs eome time. Keep chipping away
though- keep mak1 ng tiny etepe of progress.. It doesn't
all need to get done in a. day or a week as long its
slowly happentng. If :tts too much work to build all the
bede planned, its a pretty good sign that it'll be too
much work to work and maintain them, too.. Slow and
Steady always wins when putting in beds ..
wa-r k parties w:i.th lots of friends ..

rnere 1s a lot of fancy equipment out
there but you don't nlted any 'or it. You don't
need special
HAV.I!.i

*
or pressure cookars. Alryou
to have:
t pot to boil stuff in
canning Jars: Ltko
Jt ma son jars, tb.a ltind
with. two-par t lids.
pot to COOk 1n
* .fres b. PrOd uca.
I 1.--
conventional wisdom says
you can't use non-canbnincs
Jars Peanut butter
Jars O!> Whatever We
1
va
never expel:' imented
Always can Wlth .fresh P!'Odu.ce
it tas tes better anct
1
'
a b - b . s sa.t'er,
.. o.x.
01
d umpstered
th
a J.s temp t.tng but b
e l'.lak ot t Uu
best avoideq am1nat.ton 1s
also retain 1 ;a reah PrOd U.ce Will
textt.l.l:'e bet
m
\b .. s . : c > . -
Different recipe's work differently, but l:lere'a
t he basic Prooeedure for canning: S,terilize
everything 1n one big pot by boiling .for 10 mina
In a different pot, mix togetb.er tb.e canning
wixtLU'e (found 1n tb.e individual recipe). At.
tb.is point some recipes call .for blanch1ns:
(dropping v1.,gtss or f!'u1t in water fo!'
a couple aecoma) Tl:le longer you blanch
something the aofte!' 1t becomes. l:'ut the P!' od . cs
into a. Jar and. Pour the canning !''ec i.Pe on top

ICt;


doesn t actually
- at !t
uses Ja.re, a.nd it can
danger
nelp you save Pickles,
Jams, kraut, sauces, reliant:Js
1rr1ts, vegetables, eggs,
1 ohee ,, aplesauoa, 1.,.
'a lot of stuff
don't

c on ta.rn1n.at
We re not totail.ly s Ul"c
what bot.uliam is
11
btt we do
know tb you probp.bly d on t it.
And you oan get lt from
canned food. We're typically not
aoout
1
safe'-'y' 1 b,uL a few years ago while
learning ,t.o can ,there was a daba.cle wltb. a.
potentially jar of Pickled a.spagus .,
a.od ave:r since we ve been pretty oaref.iklU.:
&
about sterilizing sturt.
0
... ,
..........
IIIL
C>
0
0 boil e v e r y t n .L n e; when you.'ra


canning. It l{D.le potantially po1sonollJ3
microbes berore they ge"V a chance set up
and cause Lrou.ola. l::)ealed up, you. !ood
o can tnen bang out for al9ng long time before
"6

: (
o going ba.Gl .
.tlo il anythine; tbat comas :1.n ocontact witn foOd
or aomet l1ing touches that
i'ood . '.!:t1is includes jars, llJia,: r i ms , ladals,o-
0 tongs (0t; wilu.t.nver you.
1
re us1118 tQ PlU.l bG>111ng
.,-lltutf out tne water) "" .t10.L.l t.b.ings :ior at
C> least 10 minutee a rn don" t touch tb.a.m wh$
\ they re done. PLtt stuff on olean towels,
, yeur hands and tb.e wbole kitchen a
1
1Def'ore do.in, goOd scrub
& anyt hiL1g . ..
0
0
0
Arter taking the time to loosen the soil, Mn'U to !\tep
in it. Minimize the risk of someone
stepping on the beds by keeping a couple things in mi.ndnt
Keep beds thin enough to reach everything
easily. Eliminate the need to lean precariously
over the bed to reach everything- remember
that we get into the middle of your bed
regularly for weeding, thinning and harvesting.
use stepping stones for hard to reach corners
or pathS through beds. Stepping stones don't
have to 'oe stone- wood, 'ousted up cement,
anything big enough to disperse weight and
mark a clear place to stand in order to access bed.
.......
.. ' ....

,jJ
l ,;jj
Keyhole beds. The basic idea is a big bed
with a little path inside it- or a coupl e
paths or a path and an opening. It
maximizes space, l ooks pretty, and
creates a clear path
Depending on haw they are Constructed, raisect beds can
help warm sou temperature, Prevent pests and control weeds,
They define and contatn your beds and create an easier
Barden to work in, When done Correctly, raised beds also
provide an additional few inches or feet to already deep,
loose Soil. And there are endless ways to make beautiful,
functional raised beds out of found or recycled materials,
Some methods we've had success with:

'RAI.SEO BEt> SC.Mt>
L \t.
Stay away from any
treated l umber, even
if it's free. Pressure
treated lumber looks like it has
tiny staples in the side of it. This
treatm.::nt, and other chemicals like creosote are designed
not to let boards rot- in otherwords way way slow down or
even stop and plant growth. Also they're nasty health
hazards. L.ucl<ily most lumber is not treated and will make
for nne raised beds, whether it be simply the wide side of a
2x4 or milled planks a couple feet high. Look for wood at
construction sites or sal va.ge from scrap piles.
favorite building materials iS old pallets.
But sometimes th:1.nS come all at. once Even
f
t.l
narveattns
lf you' on tol,) o con n......,..l-.1. 1n
u
11
m
are ycSU gonna a.o wp.en yo l.PS out of \
:t o! ev:tnacb. or :z.ucc:tnl oo:z.
ast.u - . - -
your
reet of th1e aaction on Ha.rvaating goes
o.ver a 1'ew different wayf:l to preserve or
prepare various plants (aa wll
eoma specU'1o tips on bow to grow them).
. . \'1.
......... , \&.\,, \'\1
1
\S\
c. \"\,, \S1

\3S
\3\
"''"e. .





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.. .


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ne.



's1, '5S
r . .
0
.. \S't

0 .... \'t,

S'avc.e.

..... 1
f"orl UopS

'4-<t
.

tSS
.u;njoy , . and don't t'ol!'e;et to add your own rec 1pa
a..hd adv1oe to make 't.tl1.a a. better, more oowv.l.et
guide'.

Y.ui.A.ti GJ!:'.l:
1'\1'\1'1
One really easy mistake to make
1s to under-estlmate tb.a t1me and
effort it t&kes to harveat all your
1
bowtty .Noth.1ng ia worse tb.en dolng
everything right all year long and than
fucking 1t up at tb.e vary end so you don\
get a. gQ9,9. y iel.Q..

Some stuff lik
bolt', e letttEa" wll.l
' meaning they will o
t.o seea. after 1'lower ing
th.1a happ en
ens you can at1 ll
eat,1
I compost or feed the Plant to
chlokena a.l though 1t may not tast
as goOd as lt did be:tore. .JJost
eed rlowers, however, taste really
ooa a11a. are fun to put 1n salads.
Other aturr like radishes JUst
at toobtg and itr1ngy and Sl"osa.
A lot of plants
rruit or s eeds you eat
(beans, pees, squash)
stop setting new fruit
as soon as their seeds
matwre. Th.is means thatl
if beans go unpickedtor
s uveral days, not only
will tney not taste very gooQ. but. . . t
wUl aa . . lirle p a
so stop P.t'a:J. uc
on top or it 1ng more beans ... ...
to 89"" mor o
bette t "', --- ... . . ,
r ast1ng fooa"
''-' 3
You can also look for windfall
lumber or cut down a tree.
Notch the corners like
Lincoln logs and set them on
the ground. A lot of sources
say that cedar, milled or raw,
will secrete a natural chemical
that inhibits plant growth- however our experience and that
of master gardener's we've talked to doesn't seem to support
this claim.
Find a brush-pile somewhere
(check anywhere with managed
trails- talk to work crews)
and collect the thin Young
trees and shrubs. Peal o!'!'
leaYes and Side branches until
you have long, rlexible sticks, Cut Off and sharpen n few
stout steaks and drive them into the P9ri,.eter of a new bed.
Weave the flexible sticks through these teaks, creating e
Woven wan around the l<al'den bed. This "thod is espeoially
Vibrant and exciting 1n the spring When some of the wall
tries Valiantly to bud out and regrow itself.
tightly in a row around
the bed. Put them
upside-down with the
neck buried. Pack the soil flush
with the tops on the inside. Bottles are cool because of the
light shining through different colors and for the creating
non-angular curves. We've used regular beer bottles, and
while we were happy with them we decided next time we
would rather use wine bottles of 40oz for a bit more height
ano. weed control. Using glass bottles also seem to be a
great way to warm and insulate soil.
Urbanite is a fancy word for busted up
chunks of cement, and can be a
wonderful rree building block for
garden and household projects.
Stack it up to create garden walls,
raised becis, herb spirals or walkways.
Urbanite can be found laying in big piles at houses that
have undergone a remodel- the only limitation shoul d be how
much we can/want to carry away (unless the supply is very
close to the garden, a wheelbarrow, car, or a whole lot of
helpful fr1ends may be needed). Its viewed as such a
nuisance for people to get rid of that an internet post
offering to haul away busted up cement away might score
something.
but r
ub tnem together until.
d
b sort already,
eh.oul e ruzr' ier and pun:yu as tney dry.
t.P8Y get even ... . . t
uut or crush. tb.e leaves i.cn:.o .:.iny strips 1ne
enou h. to roll (or smoke out or a P1P6) o .
g ' b.e secret t.l) drying moat h.er bal l.a
t
to noi.. dry "nem out all way. You do.Cl
crumoly, powdered. f 1ddle aro unct lrJ.g 't..r1t11
am you'll .1'1gure out b.ow you want tb.em to burn even
and Wnen you get 1 t right seal H. up .w an
old peanut butter jar. r1 1t gets too dry ox to
it r1gh.t, put a alice of apple or Piece !
lea.r. to keen 1 +. ..,.._ _ ...
s:
Giearoys.
tne only
bombing
rath.er tnan
Th.e 1rlea is to make a clay-soil packet arounda
few seeds o You can easily carry tneq marble
sized pa.oket a.roum in _you .r pocket and toea it
or Dennis tb.a 1t wh.erav
you. it. Wb.e.n it ra:l.na or
gets b-it wttb.&& a liPrinklerth.o
melts ani th.a seeds are
1n an axcallent little growing
package
our i 'i:rst tnougnt wb.en
seed boillbs wae to get
togeth.er dandelion seeds- tnat
wonderful an:1 useful PaPPY plant-
and rage W?-r on g
and manacur'ed lawns
we
1zed tbat wb.at we w
dolo& was directly ca.ua
to apray even
more tucked up
cb.em1oala ., Oop.,
,.,
lta still really cool
to bomb vegy seeds
Places noone cares
11\.ULLEIN:
Yell can 0 1
smoke a lot of
d iffarent stu1'1' you 8I'OW. 1-o u can grow
your own tobacco, too. Lou can atretch. a
pouch miXing it with flavoring 1. d b.e rbe 1 ike
mint or lavender, or crumb e raspoarries or
bl ackberry leaves.
oi the uselull nerba to smoke
1a Mul lein- cons1drd by many Bardoners in tbe
?ac ific Northwest to be a. weed.
Mullein is a. 01ennlal- tne
t.trst year it looks like a fuzzy
lettuce type o1' deal t>ut the next
year it sends up bigg wooly donkey
ears. Itxlooks like a fuzzier, thick
veraion.ot foxglove lwhich is a
bit toxic)
mullein hbas been useu uy
t1fferent people over the years as
a treatment o1 lung problemslike
asthma, bronchltis and bad
Iu plaoee like tne APbla.er1ina mullein 1e S:IIUatlt
smoka<i, , it can also be talc en in a tea. or
infusion. lt c1as proven expe.atorant propertie
8
meaning it clears snit out of your lungs.
If someone is antsy after qult.L.ing smoking
tP.&.y can smoke a MUllein c1ga.iet.ta. It doeefl.',tar
have the niootioe but it will nelp tna body
the rungs out l'aa"t..er

it burns smoothlY and naa a neutral
taste a lot of peopla uae it as the baas of their
nomemade smoking adding other plants for
flavors or effects.
\
\
.coamoke llllUlle 1n, narveat the fu.z.zy donksy aar
off tne stalky flower cone the second yea.r . .Cnay
''-t \
Trellising means growing a garden up, over and
on stuff. Its turning a two-dimensional ground space
into a three-dimensional garden ,jungle, and its one of
the funnest and most effective ways to make a
bAautH'ul, insanely pt'"oductive growing spac(\ on a. emall
chunk of lando Things like salad greens and ea.rt'"ott.'! j
will not benefit from trellising, but boane, squa.eh, 1
pea.e, tomatooe, borrioe, cucumbers, pumpkine and
anything that etretohoe out at it growe wUl bo happy to
grow upo Growing up eaves obscene of apa.ct",
1
makes plante eaeier to care for and ha.rvMt, g1vM them
access to tho sunlight they thrive on, and c.roA.tne
beautiful epaee. Trellis vines like hops all the
wa.y up j
to roof peaks to create maximum growi_ng spaco and cool
hot south-facing t'"oome dur:t ng in tho summer. Beanpole
teepees and archways are fun, prlva.to
and productive. r - ' --''
-.. .. w.w4_i c JICU4JII
The most important thing to
keep in mind about trellising is
eunlight Trellising should help
plants reach up to capture more
sunlight .. but in doing so it
can easily shade out other stuff
Watch whore the sun moves
around and think about where
the shadow will go. Sometimes ite
best to put tho tallest trelli ein
on the north end of the garden
elanting down to the south
- '
\

..-...

-l-op
rt-:ll

'1" .... .._.... i ... ... .!,

fllowi"1

f ;o '\ 1'\. h
eh .... \-
fk.j "'";Is
H.,;, ro:..,t
h::>o
You
can oheok: by pouring a
little bit on a plate
and putt1!1g it in the
sterilized jars (see
'oanning basios' section)
, 1 tb
up to .l.l 4 inch from

,....Jh n,;:::, I Y'lf>' l-
c:::Jit;2 _ (:1'1 DUtnrent climbing plants- or Plante that en b
CJJ1 oncouragod to climb- havn dHtnrent otratngJ oo ror
'"'\I roaching to tbe oun. Somo Plant., like pone grab
little coiling green fingers and haul themoelvno up.
Stuj"f like beano grow Hkn a Mako wrapping up
v ert.:tcal poles, ropos or supports. Plants Hko squal'lh
havo a one-wa.y roughness that grips like
it climbs. Other things like tomatoes aren't great
natural climbers, but if they're cagoct or
they can do a great .Job growing up.
With these different methods of climbing, thPrt"'
a. lot of different wa.ye to trellis. Tf we don't kno
how eomath:lng eli mbe, we ,iuet try wha.tovor a.nd w!"'ll
probably find luck. that ""ant to climb are good
a.t it a.nd they're not too picky. The best place to
trell:ll'! is on existing structures. Hun some twine up to
your r-oof- put SOmP chicken w-tro a.ga.fnAt a. fencE"- grow
shit up e.nd over rain barrels, old ,iunk and

G S t> .P. C
Gttowt w.P.t.t.
-eutBt.-e
.
showed us an amazing invention he
led an 'edible wall'. Its basically a
bookshelf leaned at an angle. Take wide piece
lywood, lean it against a sunny wall, and nail other
coming off at a right angle. The result is a shelf of V
shaped planting boxes none of which shade each other. This
more than doubles the growing space for lettuce or other
shallow rooted plants, and makes them less susceptible to
being shaded out by taller plants. Its also a great way
grow strawberries, which will send runners cascading down
and form a solid wall of fruit on a tiny amount of space.
The gardener who originally showed us this even ran a
soaker hose inside each V-shelf before filling them with
dirt- which can deliver water directly to plant roots and
totally cuts out water loss by evaporation.
Anyone who spends any time hiding in bushes knows
the slash by this nasty invasive vine, and most gardeners
have at some point gone berserk trying to keep it out of
their space. It really is a hard to remove weed that comes
back again and again with deep strong roots and threatens
both gardens and native species. We don't recommend having
anything to do with Himalayan Blackberries in your own
space if you can avoid it, but its an excellent, productive
berry bush which can be found 1n just about any forgotten
urban corner. The berries ranging from tart to sweet are
sweet filling snacks and make fresh nutritious additions to
cereal, smoothies and salads. Bake them into pie or brew
them into wine. If you freeze, can and dehydrate the
berries then a few neighborhood bramble patches can feed
you all year long. -
---- One thing you can do is make jam. It can be used on
just about anything and makes a great gift. You don't need a
lot of special equipment- learn the basics and get started
with a few canning jars. Just keep your eyes out for
blackberries as you go around town- make mental notes
where they are. When you start to notice blackberries are
i."l season, look for an afternoon you can dedicate to picking
and making some jam.
there o.re n
million
different ways
fl.avor it.
to
'l'he
important th1ng3 are
dandelion juice and
sugar. Bring potion to
boil in covered pot for
Let cool to luke-warm
and add in 1 1t or 2
tablespoons/packets
(packets
with
cheesecloth again
let sit for two
three weeks until
concoction
bubbling.
through cheesecloth-
might not be true in your area! In the city's older
neighborhoods, gas lines are buried about one
foot down and are bright yellow. They
are also leaky, and the whole area
around them smells like gas.
IF YOU START GETTING
BIG WHIFS OF GAS,
YOU PROBABLY
HAVE NOT
HIT A GAS LINE
VERY CLOSE TO ONE. If you
DO manage to hit a gas line, you'll
know it. It probably won't blow up but it
might shoot some rocks at you. The city will
also come out and spraypaint where any lines are
buried if you call them. We don't worry too much about
"{
..,
~ t l
and
_ water
them. Cover the pot
with cheesecloth (like
those old Sex
sed1 t1onary
shirts) and let 1 t sit
at room temperature
_y _!_or three days. r-
~ 3 :
of sugar
for health nuts,
sugar for Food
connoisseurs) to
your liquid. Here is
where the reoipe get"
pereonal- ade\ 3 or 4
lemon" (either juBt the
juice or the whole
things chopped up), 3
or 4 oranges
lemons), a few handfuls
o' raiaina. aome h onev -
/
~
....
~ \
l y- 1 "':--. \
ON/f'
Wlltll
Piok: dandelions. You need
a lot. Get them when
totally open
before they start
shrivel. Some sources say
the best time to do this is
the morning when
there's still dew on them-
sources say during
bright sun when they're
opening to their max- fuck
it. Just pick: a bunch of
dandelion flowers. This
recipe calls for one gallon
of flowers- don't use the
stems. The green leafs on
the underside of the flower
will g1 ve the
slightly bitter
wine
taste,
its up to you if you want
to include them or not.
you're concerned
heal th don't use dandelions
that have been
with weird shit.

Soil ie the what its all a'bouto Soil, loam, dirt, earth,
ground, soil is the 'building 'block whero
everything comes from. But its not a two dimensional
flat plan e whioh we run around and 'build a garden on
top of- soil is the three dimensional aquarium through
which swarme of roots, worms, 'bugs and micro'bea inha'bito
As gardenen'e, it almost eoems ae though we're on the
wrong side of the soil- the truth is that the majority of
what goes on in the garden ie going on underground and
we're not about to see HALF of what's really going ono
Soil goes deep, and holds teeming life in every inch.
square incho cubic incho Soil makes it happen. Soil is
bo: .

t
g
ardener e
that expel"
has 'been sald ter gardeners
- 1 . while mas
grow vegetab e t be true, but
soilo ThiS maY
r eallY grow t ... gar dener's and
t ott mae c ..
we e.re neither expel" n f soil science which is
d the true art o i ht
d
on't underetan ''le'rf' not the r g
l olumeSo '
om.,.,leX that it fil s v wo'v e never even
so c r- oil science- we
people to wrlte about s ore than one year But
g
ardened the same spot for mt n ... the basiee as wn
know abOU so
can share what we the" applY to a garden
h
and how "
understand t em-
&
rilvCJ

The number one thing that we've learned is that
bad-ass soil management is a sweet skill, but
vegetables can be grown ,just f'ine without
Stop and thinkQ Remember that in every seed there
a tiny bit of life trying to burst out into the worldQ
Plants want to grow- they've been doing so very very
well for millions of years, and they haven't always ,had
the luxuries of balanced pH or perfect nutri tionQ
Wh:i le soil is crucially important, gracious garden
plants are more than willing to cut us slack and grow
Wt'lll in a wide range of conditionsQ We do not need to
be I'Drn ..... + .. -- u successfully.. r;:'f' -'
1
' " ""
As a very looM rule of thumb, places whore
growing have soil healthy enough to grow
' other thingso Grass, while we hardly ever
think about :tt, is a plant which needs the
same nutrients and conditions that e. garden will.. If
grass is growing healthy somewhere, a garden can tooo
If its not growing, its probably because its lacking
buHding blocks-
Not only is the dandelion really quite beautiful wher
you take the time to look at it, but it's leaves are a
nutritious addition to salads, its roots are a free local .. .,
coffee substitute, and its flowers make palatable wine. Its
a diuretic which can be used to treat hangovers and has been
used since the eleventh century to treat liver problems.
f\oot [ea_
<:.bl(:<c :+u\.e.)
Pv\1 vr a ba3 of da .... d.d:o.,
il.,is i., loose.
So; I hu\- \
.J i "'J 1'\t.w bc.f s : 1\ .... J .. Il o.-.,
+t.r,. il..uriJ, C. 1.1\-- h.c.._ ;'\t-o f;tf-4_
C.'-lv>\ \q .\ ov\
o..._ Q C..OoV:..;It. lhet.\-, B ;,\<.e._ 4.1-
to,. tw
0

j&,. ..... 'b :15$
\:\ret;
Dandelion wine is healthy, easy to make, has been around for
a long time and it will get you fuoked up. There are a
million different recipes all calling for varying degrees of
effort and amounts of fermentation time- but if you want to
get drunk off weeds in your yard ASAP this one way to do
it:
I
such an arbitrary process. Plant's don't know if
weeds or not- they're just trying to follow whatever
strategy they've designed after thousands of years of
successful experimentation. What we deem as good or bad-
the ruling of weed or crop- is more than a little abstract.
There are plenty of things which we remove as weeds which
are every bit as nutritious, tasty and beautiful as what
we've selected to protect- and oftentimes these 'weeds' are
better suited for local growing conditions and will yield
than their domesticated kin.
We're not saying to let Himalayan blackberry vines
rampage through the beds- but rather that the edible. garden
landscape extends far beyond your own small beds. What is
this stuff doing here? How could it benefit or hurt you and
the rest of the garden? Why are you removing it- are you
sure you even need to mess with it at all? Rebel gardening
is all about thinking for yourself and your own unique
situation rather than just weeding out anything you didn't
personally plant. Spend time learning about the
nutritional, medicinal and aesthetic qualities of native
plants and other weeds in the garden. If possible, leave a
funky zone or two where native plants and weeds can thri
having a strange little whatever bed next to a compost pile
out both beautiful and
So in this section on weeding, we're not going to
insult anyone's intelligence by explaining how to pull a
plant out of the ground (other than to say try to get the
roots out and don't toss them in your normal compost pile)
but rather we'll take a look at a few 'weeds' and what you
can do with them. And remember, also, that the edible and
useful garden landscape extends far beyond your own small
~
~ ~ ~ ~ D
~ ~ ~
/- 7- :- - }'i;;
- ~ ; : { ~
Dig around to get to know your soil. We can learn a
without paying for soil tests. One of the easiest things
determine is the soil's basic structure. Grab a handful of
dirt and squeeze it in a fist. Ideally it will roughly hold
its shape, but very easily crumble apart as we start to play
with it. If it holds its shape too well, refusing to fall 4ll
apart with gentle jiggling, the soil has a high content of ~
clay. We can also feel wet clay smeared on our fingertips-
it feels smooth and slick. If the soil ball refused to hold
shape at all and falls through our fingertips, it has high
sand content. Clay absorbs water and looks it in while sand
will pass water straight through. Some plants prefer mor:J
clay, which is harder for roots to penetrate and holds
moisture, and some plants prefer sandy soil which is smooth
drains away quickly. As .. a general concept, however, a nice
mixture will be able to retain moisture evenly and create e
loose sub-straight for roots to spread and roam. Adding in
organic material- compost, aged manure, dry leaves, grass
clippings, shredded newspaper- can help unbalanced soil
structure and make it a better place for plants.
1>\l 'i)D1A<p\
don't really care too much about the pH of
the soil The reason why pH is important ie 'because the
microorganisms in the dirt care a.'bout it- 'bacterially
dominated eoile en,joy higher plr and fungally dominated\ :,IIIIPI'ii=+-"ff
prefer )ower. Plante DO care about thie
1
'because
- __ .. fttWI __
roots a.re actually surprisingly 'bad at a.ece3sing
nutrients in the eon, a.nd they rely on 'bacteria. or
fungus to cycle these nutrtente into a. form they oa.n
use. Some plants like their nutrients in a. form th
from 'ba.cter:ta, some plants prefer nutrients ,
cycled 'by funguso More important than understanding
plant's optimal pH levels is understanding that fungus
a. longer Ume to epree.d out and 'bree.k things
down, eo the plants the prefer it tend to 'be trees,
ehru'be and perennials Bacterially dominated soils tend
to 'be 'beet for an nue.le a.nd grM!So As a. rule of thumb, to
encourage 'bacteria. e.dd green mulchee like grael!!
clippings to eoil To encourage fungus, add 'brown
mulchee Uke dry leaves and wood chips As an ev en
general rule of thumb, jul!!t don't add shit that ,. l
mieroorganil!!lmS (like chemical fertilizers). / I
-- !' ,
----
"
There's not much to say about continual planting-
planting new seeds and starts throughout the spring and
summer- other than that its incredibly important and
incredibly easy to forget about. Especially for plants that
you harvest all of like salad greens and root crops (as
opposed to plants that set fruit like tomatoes, beans and
squash) continual planting is necessary for a productive
garden all season long. There's nothing worse than pouring
your time and effort into nurturing a thriving garden, and
then to wake up one morning and realize you've eaten it all
or half of it has bolted to seed leaving you nothing for
next week. Combat this by planning ahead and thinking
about what the garden will look like one month or even two '
months L"l advance- what will be harvested, where will there
be gaps, what do you eat or use a lot of, what might 'be
getting old or getting ready to bolt... Its easy to forget
about continual planting, especially 1o the mid and late
spring when the first waves _o! ripple through your
garden and you are struggling .. just to keep up with
everything growing. But its very important to stay on top
or it and plan ahead, because by the time you run out of
stuff to eat its already too
wQc\. '"
For some rea .... son. wlien lots of people hear 'gardening'
they think 'weeding'. This is really too bad because
is actually such a small part of what goee on in. a garden
(
d can be eliminated altogether with good mulching
an h t it takes
teohni ue). What's weird about weeding is not t a
q people think, but that its
soil, know what's up with the space.
'!'here's a lot of little tasks involved with
- 1 --
and taking time to just look at stuff will remind you to
empty slug traps, thin e. small patch of seedlii1gs, prune
some tomatoes, apply some more mulch on hot days and keep
weeds out of the beds. Hand watering, especially with e.
watering can, is an excellent way working through the
garden and seeing what's happening. Whatever you're dOing,
pay attention to the plants. Look at the leaves, the
flowers, the stems, the bugs, the soil and the pathways.
'
Smell things, taste things and touch things. Fiddle with
stuff, think about how to do things better or easier, and.
talk to people about what's going on. We can't stress enough
the importance of getting to know your garden. Nearly
everything we know about gardening we've learned from
the plants, bugs and soil of the gardens we've
We begin each day in the garden by walking around
with a notepad and just jotting down some of the tasks we
need to do, or our general observations. Sometimes this
takes ten minutes, but more often this process takes closer
to an hour and gets us excited for a day working in the
garden. Again at the end of the day we cruise around our
'
beds aimlessly and look at stuff- go over what we've done
that day and just generally check out how things are going.
If you make a habit of carefully watching plants, you can
throw away this and any other guide and learn everything
need to know through observation.
Beea.uee pla.nt'e need for pH ie more about their
microorganisms the.n it is about e.eide and a.lke.linee,
because chemical peetieldee and fertilizers kill \'
microorganil'lme- PAYING ATTENTION TO pH LEVELS lS MUCH
MORE IMPORTANT FOR PEOPLE WHO CONSTANTLY DUMP NASTY
CHEMICAL SHIT ON THEIR GARDEN THEN IT IS FOR SOMEONE
WHO IS DOING T1IINGS ORGANICALLY. Be good to r ' . '"'
mieroorganil'ltM'I and they will be good to us. 1f you're
still interested in soil pH, read on. If not, we
recommend skipping this section.
.'ll"- .
Actual pH is the mysterious science of determining
how e.eidie or alkaline soil is In some ple.eM free p
teste are available from the county- Thurston County
recently discontinued thie program A home tPst or lab
will generate a. number repreeenttng the soil pH- those
numbers range from 0 to 14 with 7 being neutral soil,
higher numbers being more alkaline and lower numbers
being more e.eidieo Plant!'! have different tastes, but
somewhere in the 5-8 range should suite most gardening
needs Decaying organic material and compost secretes
a little bit of e.eid eo its normal to he.ve slightly acidic
....
eoilv We can do e. basic eoil test with
products- wet a soil eample and add a pinch of baking
eodag If it f:lzzles the ie likely to be mol"e acidic

With another soil sample, add a few drops of cider
vinege.ro If this concoction fizzles it may be too
alke.linev Adding wood ash from a fireplace or
limestone will raise the pH- peat moss or coffee grounde
will lower itv Be careful ae it ie very eaey to overdue f
these remedieeo Don't stress too much about soil pH \ f
unless there is reason to believe its a problem (lack of j
growth in otherwiee healthy growing conditione)- even\
if pH ie not ideal plants should be able to
the vicinity of goodo
. ' .. 4JP:4.1
We can't eee nutrients so we have to look for th
impact and use a little detective work to figure
what's going on with the plants. Ae with pH, the
important thing to realize ie that ple.nte not only
nutrients but also the mieroorganiems to cycle theee
nutrientev Chemical fertilizers kill microorganieme
and therefor make it harder for plante to e.ccese the
nutrients- causing more need for fertilizers and a
cycle which gete more and more chemical dependent.
Many Tomatoes are indeterminate,
meaning you gotta prune off the
,. . ; , .. ,. Vc ; . . " ...., . tiny branches growing in the
; crotch of the big branches
" ' '
Pruning Tomatoes I
jj!YJ
so the plant puts the
energy into the places
it should.,
Fuck a fence. Unless you need one. r \ f
As shitty as it can be to put up fences around your
(for many reasons), its better than not having a
' garden at all due to rampaging deer or dogs. Fencing doesn't

have to be something ugly. either- if you'll be in a space
for a long time there are some really amazing living fence
techniques, and even if you'll be there short-term you can
make your fence cool looking and use it to trellis all sorts
vining, flowering, fruiting plants. -
II n-T Fencing off a garden can be easy and free. Bamboo r\ ..
and sticks are readily harvested or found in brush pUes-1 \ '\.
\\.
look for old netting from a fisherman or shellfiSh farm ..
dig up a bunch of native plants and plant them in a good \
thick hedge- use some corrugated metal on one part to
reflect heat and light for a watermelon planted below. Just
think garbage. 7JJIIij ,_,.
T Pallets work well for gates- rip apart an old pallet,
out the pieces to the right size and reattached them closely
with a couple cross pieces to form the gate door. For a I
hinging mechanism we sunk an old post we found in a garbage
pile and strapped our gate on with old shot bike inner .. tubes
I
acquired from a local bike shop. We've seen hinges .made of
old junk bike chains, e.s well. Keep in mind functional, 1
"' free, and durable- but also remember DIY doesn't have
mean shitty and ugly. Use your imagination and you'll comej
up with something attractive and
Just remember, deer can jump up to six feet to clear a j
fence into your garden and dogs sometimes like jumping
against fences to test their strength.
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The three nutrients we hear talked about the most are
,
Phos'Phorus (P), PotMeium (K), and Nitrogen (N)Q Known ae
PKN, or the primary elements, theee are the three t
the 'Plante use in the quantity and
therefor require thA moat replacingQ Store fought
fertilizers- like thoee found stacked in front of big
chain store garden (fredmeyer) unguarded I
overnight- will have a PKN balance 'Printed on the eide
givlng the relative content of theee nutrientsQ r
dii:t a li!Q&tr-

joke. Deer don't like to jump into enclosed areas,
if they have heavy human smell (pee around the inside of
your fence), but neither of these are guarantees for keeping
them out. If you even suspect deer of being a problem in
your garden, its best to either build a very tall fence
'
Some of the more practical methods we've seen of
protecting beds are also some of the simplest. Attaching
PVC to each side of a raised bed, bent over in a hoop, and
then covered in some sort of netting is great, simple
protection with some added benefits. You can cover these
hoop house beds with clear plastic during colder times-
making them essentially a small greenhouse or cold frame to
extend the growing season on each end of the year. Or, in
the hot parts of the summer, you can cover them in some
sort of shade cloth to keep lettuce, spinach and other sun-
sensitive salad greens from bolting. Whatever you use to
cover them, nail or otherwiSe atte,ch the ends of the
material to a loose board. This will anchor down the edges
to keep the deer out, and also be incredibly easy to flip
over the top when you want to get in end work in your bed.
Another even simpler method we've seen is two pieces
of metal mesh material leaned into each other to create a
proteoti ve triangle running the length of the bed. Throw
some end pieces on if you're worried about deer poking their
head in that way, and then simply un-lean the structure
whenever you want to get into your bed.
o:..;.,'l;----- ........
Deer are beautiful animals and fun to watch- but they
really will destroy a garden without a little precaution.
1 Dogs, while not typically motherfuckers, can be
serious motherfuckers in a garden. The reason for this, we
believe, is that a garden is about the most foreign thing in
the entire world to a dog. Plants that can't be played in-
bare soil that can't be pooped on or dug in- a perfectly
good runnin' yard ruined- it's little wonder that keeping
dogs out of beds and on good behavior seems daunting in a
garden. Then new problems emerge- we have one particular
friend who was totally disgusted by our gardening project
until she reali7ed she could pick her own treats in the form

of peas- at which time she went berserk trying to eat the
entire world. f'S?f?i ., ... ,,- 44&11
-
Sometimes simply having a garden fence will help
keep dogs in line. When a dog knows that misbehavior leads
to exile outside the zone where everything is happening,
they are more likely to buckle down and behave themselves
I
when in the garden. Remember to play with your dog,
though- its a horrible tease for a dog to have people
hanging outside all day long without any loving attention
for the canine- and if you fall for this trap then you
deserve your garden ripped apart.
- ........
Deer are genuine, class 'A' motherfuokers. Don't
underestimate them- a deer can decimate a young garden in a
single feeding. Many a bed has sa.t empty throughout the
growing months because of a ravaging deer. I
I >.:=a .61 &4
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Plants can't use nutrients in very many forms.
actually the soil microbes in the soil who are
experts at accessing most nutrients. A plant can be
grown in the richest soil in the world, but without
microbes to help them access them these nutrients,
it will do the plant little good. Chemical
fertili7ers can destroy this microscopic food web. They may
be packed with nutrients, but without microbes to help them
cycle and fix these nutrients they either leach away quickly
or sit locked up in the soil- no use to plants.
--
When we add chemical fertilizers to our soil, it
creates a short-term boom in nutrients but al so destroys
chemistry that keeps soil healthy. 'l'he result is that we
become MORE reliant on these chemical fertilizers, which
destroys MORE soil food web in a dangerous cycle damaging
the long-term health of the garden. When beneficial soil
microbes are missing or populations get damaged, condi
get better for opportunistic and harmful plant predators-
making the gardener reliant on expensive and further
destructive pesticides, herbicides and fungicides. Its a
deadly cycle for the /L!A'.-..
Luckily its not a cycle that ever needs to start.
There are enough organic ways to maintain heal thy
microbial populations and good nutrients that gardeners
don't need to rely on chemical or store-bought fertilizers

for healthy, nutritious garden soil.


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Hold the rabbit by its hind legs- it'll flail around a bit
but it should oalm down and hang with its baok and ears
forming a 'V'. Right at the point of this 'V'- deliver a hard
blow with a l-inch metal pipe or a baseball bat or
something. Try to get it clean in one blow.

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g.a:t"bage fQ:t-gottan in eoneurner drbe.
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There is a fantastic zine out there called "Skinning,
- ...
Tanning and Working Hides" put out by Yggdrasil Distro. It
can be found and printed from zinelibrary.info and we would
highly, highly recommend it to anyone interested in DIY
;: ...

4
t# riJ'-+:lrl skinning and tanning. It . . j-
Moles
_ Moles are motherfuckers.
tunneling amuck under your carefully tilled soil- eating
roots and shoots of vulnerable veggies. You can tell
they've been around by the little piles of fresh dirt that
they'll kick up in your beds and paths. They know no
fences. Before you go CaddyShack on the fury bastards, there
are some great ways to chase them away without dynamite.
Moles are incredibly sensitive to vibrations in the soil.
There is a store-bought devise called the "mole windmill" or
something like that which you stick down a mole h111 and it
spins around in the wind to cause constant vibration in the
soil which chases them away. You can make one yourself,
though, if you have a long piece of metal pipe lying around.
Bury it deep into the ground- preferably in one of their
holes- so that its sticking straight up in the air. Tie an
empty water bottle to the top on a little loose string so
that it bangs around on the pole in the wind. Or, go to a
golf course and steal one of the flags marking where the
hol e is. Stick that in their hole- if you have enough wind
the flag itself works the same as the water bottle. We've
read but can not confirm that children's pinwheels like
those you might get at a fair work well if they're placed
every fifteen feet or so throughout your garden.
Secretly we actually really like having rodent
problems to deal with in our garden. It makes us feel like
the cranky old farmer from Peter Cottontail or something.
It seems like constantly fighting with some pesky rodent
poking around your cabbage patch is just a fitting part of a
happy garden. Don't let them get out of control, though,
because given the opportunity the will fuck the garden up
'for t.he bot.h ot' You.
(J



,
Com'Poet ie the mag :to bullet of gardening- too
good to be true eolution to juet about anY f
pl""t or ool.l problom lt' lo 11 e.round \
I
ue e.nd making it ie eaey ae ehit Com-poet ie
broken down organie matter- all of whleh
eteme ie one ehe.l'e or form :from plants to
begin witht eo it earriee e:xa.otly the
nutriente the garden neede. It im-provee soil
structure and :tneree.eee your eoil'e ability to
retain water It modera.tee eoil -pR and
-providee humio e.eide which hell' -pla.nte e.beorb
nutriente. Com-poet ce.n hel-p fight eome
dieea.eee, a.nd robuet -ple.nte from rich
oom-poeted eoil ese etrong enough to fight off
the reet 11\oet importe,ntly com-post hel-pe
erea.te the teeming me.ee of mieroorge.nieme
and buge that eyele nutriente into forme that
Com 'Poet ie the ehi to

'l'he greateet thing about is that it's
ae easy ae letUng things do what they want to
do4 Everything organio wante to break down-
the world around us le nothing more than an
enormous amorphous compost pileo All a
gardener ie doing in a eom.poet pile ie
e-peeding along and utilidng thie amazing,
unetoppable natural proeeeeo And to do it
1
we
uea the shit and waste around ue that would
go to waeteo Ultimate eaeeJ ultimate
reoyelingJ ultimate gardening.
eeriouely the ehito
is easy and the:t-e is no need to be
e.xpert- but one guiding pri:neipal, oan
help a lot: G'ood eornpoet ie rnade of earbon
e.nd nitrogen. So you want to bala.nee 1. }':tle
between the two. Tbie eounde like .1uet the
kind of: nonetH)ee that fruett-atee ue 1.bout
gardening books: how the hell are we euppol!l'ed
to know what everything we want to oornpoet :te
rnade of' to get a perfect 30: 1
Ca..t-bon/Nitrogan ratio? Luckily there'e
'sse:= ...
_ -vn and brown. '-
For some reason, 'Guerrilla Gardens' seem to be
synonymous with shitty, unkempt crap growing sad, miserable
,.. plants who cry themselves to sleep ever night. Don't be the
cliche - re-write the standard, create happy vibrant space
and snatch that shit. Look for an unused spot, with some
sort of access to water (we've had luck trading produce for
friendly neighbor's hoses, but we've also looked into the
possibilities of building a bike-powered irrigation system
from a nearby creek). Most importantly, make friends with
the neighborhood really fast and get plants growing in the
soil as quick as possible. You can do these things at the
same time with neighborhood work parties. r:oo. ,
I *S1""!
Plant flowers- people love flowers- and plant flowers that
bloom early to get people on your Side fast. Get starts in
the ground- get fruit trees and berry bushes going if you
can- the bigger your plants the harder it will be to kick
you out. It goes without saY'ing, but share anything you
grow with the neighbors. We had luck one time with a
,...... .,.. guerrilla garden we were putting in where there was once a
'.
----
field of blackberries and dandelions. As we dug up new
we kept the dandelion roots to make tea which we gave to
the neighborhood.
Once you have roots in the soil and in the neighborhood,
just let someone try to kick you out. You've worked the
ground, built community, helped food grow, made people
happy... fucl:c anyone that tries to get rid of you at this
point. Make it right, make it pretty, make friends- ohe.nge
the perception the guerrilla gardens are piles of shit.
Another consideration on gardening in a squat is the
potential lack of running water. You don't need to be a
legal tenant to get water turned back on in a space in your
name (another way to establiSh tenancy, in fact) but in most
squat situations this may be unfeasible, impractical or
1
unwanted. One way to deal with this is planning accordingly
with plants that need very little or no watering, another
way is liberal use of rain barrels. Rain barrels can also
serve the dual purpose of supplying your home with water
(probably not the best idea as a sole-source of drinking
water, but certainly a great way to flush a toilet)- we even
have plans of running e downspout into a window with an
indoor rein barrel hanging over a kitchen sink- not
necessarily a gardening project but certainly one which uses
the same techniques we've learned in our garden irrigation
---r'l
We've found that a great way to balance squatting
with gardening is to put in a small squat garden (heavy on
hardy perennials that will last after the occupants are
hauled off to jail) and a large garden at the house of rent-
paying friends or a community garden. Gardening at a
friend's is a great way of spending time with people you
care about, teaming up for epic gardens while still allowing
for summer travels, having people to share excess food with,
having a space of security and permanence when your squat
housing situation is so fluid, and trading your sweat equity
for the occasional shower or shed to sleep in. Waves of
gratitude to friends who have made this life possible.

Ji)
(!)
nitrogen.
rue i:neludee graes clipping!!, yard a.nd
garden we.ete including weede, food flOI'&'PI
(een if they're not green). Brown il
and high i.n ee.rbon s wood ohipet eaw4u'
etra.w, newepapert fall leavee and
One notable exception to all thie etuff b that
manure, while typically brown, a.otudly paoke
a lot of nitrogen and is eonlddered &. 'green'
ingredient. Mix green etut:r and brown etuff
There's a seienco and art to adv&.noed
eompoeting- bilor:tng compost to eped:f"ie
plant neede or eoil conditione or working to
f'oeter di:f:f'ereDt microbial '9QpU1atione (for
example perenD!a.le tend to do better with
heavier brown mi.xturee while annuale
ineluding a. lot o:r vegetables like the exira
green eturr). But without knov.riDg any ot
th:te. great eompoet ean be made by juet mbiftl
together whateer greene and brown
you can get your dirty hands on.
40
............ . I
-
G"raee
..._._ ------
It peoPle d the ount or nutrient, th
toee into OYery ye.,. g;r
l.tppinge, the Planet WOUld be oayed. G'raeo
Olipp!B" .,.e high in nitrogen, get hot
eo,Poot Pileo eooking qu!ekly, M eon
Proyide <11 the gree teria.t :rou d.
nt graoo elippil1ge ohomieUy
treated lno- tho eheoieuo ihib!t the
that do U the eoopootJ.ng d
k up Your .:!h:l .-
produote, and thAy Oa.ll be shredded real easy
to provide eompoet browns. Avo-id glossy
ade beeauee of the naety ink.. You ee.n grab
newspapers rrom recyeling bins or grab whole
eta.eke of free publioe.tione like old
Strangereo Or through a quartel" in the
OlympJ.e.n me.ehine and je.ok the whole ete.ek.
Phone book:'! are great, too- for. eome reason
every houee eeeme to get e.bout :ti'Ye deliTered
a year, people rarely uee them the:y eeem
to carry the earbon weight of a log. Both
newspaper and phonebooke ehred ee.e:y into
etr:tpe, whieh can be eaeily mixed in or
ered with graee olipp:l.nge or other greene
for eaey, great eompoet. Ca.rdboe.rd works
wav but takee longer to bree.k down.
Assuming yours is a front-door squat (a space you are
living in openly and notoriously, known to the neighbors)
building a garden at a squat is an amazing way of
establishing your role in a space, utilizing untapped
resources in the community, and introducing yourself to
your new neighbors as a responsible, active steward of the
property. We've used a community garden party at a squat
we occupied as a way to open up conversations with I
neighbors, get to know our space, introduce our friends and
allies to our new home, and reclaim our house and yard from
hungry bushes. We lost our house before we could ever
harvest anything, but the other benefits we got out of it
were well-worth the effort of putting in a few beds.
thiS particular situation when our home was eventually
busted by the pollee our gardening was used as a way to
establish our tenancy as squatters as opposed to criminal
trespassers. With the hel p of our garden and neighborhood
good-will we were very close to obtaining a legal evictions
process and we were able to ward off Foreclosure Man for
On the other hand high-profile gardening activity
may lead to quicker discovery of a squat than it might be
under other circumstances. Carefully weigh the individual
Situation YOU are With, What benefits a !<arden r
Jll.ight to your home, what such an aotion might
lead to, and what you are looking to aohieve with I
squat. Seek more information about using home improvements
like gardening to establish tenant's rights in your own
local municipality.
Even if you can't manage to leave your full-scale
garden, plan ahead on leaving traces. Plant a fruit tree or
row of berry bushes somewhere where they would make more
sense to leave. Plant hops against a drainpipe on a sunny
south wall- you can out them back in the fall and the
following spring when you're long gone they'll spring to
bushy fragrant life and climb up the house. Seed any bare
earth with a few handfuls of edible native plants or even
vegetables and just leave them to see what happens. In a
shed or desk drawer somewhere leave a log and photos of
what you've done for the next renter. See if you can
subvert land ownership to keep your garden alive.
Don't worry too much about neighbors- even if you're
a complete scumbag in every other respect, everyone tends to
look at gardening as a positive hobby and when they realize
you're serious about it- when you start bringing them food
and helping in their gardens- you'll realize what a garden
Gardening at a squat is difficult because or the
impermanence of the living situation. It is impossible
gauge the longevity of illegally occupied space. Gardens
take several months of serious commitment. AU this is not
say that gardening at a squat is a bad idea, but rather
squat gardens tend to have a different set of goals
lar ge amounts of food.
Ser
....
A lot of people think of compoet ,1uet M e.
o:f old rotting food eerape. Yee- f'ood eorape
ee.n make great oompoetv No- compost ehouldn'i
e. groee pile of' rotv Food eerape a.re high
in nitrogen making them a 'green' addition tc
compoet pile. For 'beet resultet mix in
some brown etuf'f' (shredded newspaper or
ea.wduet works greatvov) Beeauee food scrape
appear slowly and eteadily in your waete, the:
end themeehee well to cold
HoweYer anyone who's e"ter hopped in a
grocery etore dumpster can testify to the faoi
that in one night vdth e. piekup truok you ol!l.n
haul more eompoetable gold than l!l.n entire
houM ean create in a year. Be it table J
eerape or dumpetered goode a1'oid1ng mea.t
dM.ry in the eompoet pile will keep doge e..nd
other animals from digging around and
oaueing a big meee.
Wood Chtpe and Sa.wd"""._..-
crreat high ee.rbon Ol'dWb
particular ta.ke a little longer to break
na but a good hot eompoet -pi.le oan break
down faeter than might be imagined
Remember that woodehips e.re different from
Beauty Bark- wM.eh ie nasty ehit that'e been
treated with ehemieals epeeifieallY to keep
mioroorganieme from e"f er growing on it
{you'll know the difference if you got bee.uty
be.rk- 1te groee and painful) You ean get
bage of eawduet for free from anywhere
dth wood.eho'Pt!lt
....... ro..p .. ill, fftl
.... ,.
!W.o..
A lot of etablee, be.t'ns and farms will
let you l.oe.d up a.e much e>f their me:nure a.t'l
you wanto Maybe aoid anything from an

induetr:tal feed lot. Yanure, 11hile bre>Wl'lt ie
ee>neidered a. 'green' eompoet because its eo
high in n:ttt'ogen Its a little bit de.ngerous
if ye>u don't eompoet it all the we.Y- you don't
reallY wa.nt to be growing your .,egg:tee ie
poop .. but a good hot compost pile should burn
off anY pathOgenic germs What'e eepeoiallY'
nice about getting manure f'rom ete.blee ie
that it often comee alreadY mixed in with
eawduet o.r straw trom mucked out eta.blee-
perf.eet recipe and bro.wno
A garden growe a lot ot tood the.t. you eat, but
a.leo a bunch of ott1er etutt. 'l'ope ot :'oot
erope, pla.nte going to eeed, be&l\1
1
CIOPft &ftd
tomato plante after the harYeet... Thf!
organio material eoming out or a ge.rdftn
pretty huge. Thie all took nutriente to
grown, a.nd ite exa.otly the ea.me nutrients the
eoil wante baok. So be eure to reeycle it!
You ClUJ eYen through weede in there,
.1uet not thinge like blaokberriee that might
take root or etutt the.t hae already gone to
eeed (although hot oompoeting ean actually
burn a lot or thie etu:rr orr t ite beet to be
Mfe).
take the 'after' pictures when the garden is spilling with
life and flowers and food. Use these pictures if the issue
of "destroyed yard" ever comes up.
. . \. . ; 1
,' I I ' I''
'.., .. , t: . lt i' I. ... '! t,. "
If you're on good terms with your landlord, write a
note asking casually if you can put in a few garden beds or
with leave a few if you're moving out. A couple impressive
pictures of your garden in full beauty can go a long way.
Make it casual and phrase it like you're doing them and
their property value a favol'. Get their response in L
writing, if they say yes- leave everything you've done.
they say no- you still don't necessarily have to pull
everything out.

" If you've already lost your deposit for other reasons
just leave everything. If you haven't, move out and see
what they say. See exactly what they want you to remove-
and what you can get away with leaving. Most likely they
don't have recent picture of the yard and if they do it'll
look like total shit next to yours of a lush garden in full
bloom.
If you're moving out of your house and you know
someone else who wants to move in and garden, you can
some tricky Shit and have the landlord resign a lease with
the new tenants. Make sure the new lease says something
about tenant being responsible for yard maintenance. Once
this new lease is signed, the landlord is looked in
accepting the garden. Even when the new tenants move out,
you oan establish that the garden existed before they moved
in with the pictures from your garden, and the new tenants
held up their end of the rental agreement. The garden will
either remain or the landlord will foot the bill for having
it removed. Because gardens really do increase property
value, the landlord will most likely leave it in for the

i aauc =-!fMI!'M>lJHLs ""T"""
Landlords are motherfuckers. Blood sucl.cing leeches
demanding money every month in exchange for a place to
exist that they wouldn't even be able to use anyways- and if
that weren't bad enough they sometimes have problems with
lawns being ripped up to make room for garbage-gardens.
_ It can be a frustrating to pour hours of labor, love
and thought into a garden you'll probably only have for one
'
or maybe two years. 'l'hen you realize that because someone
else owns the home you live in, the very act of putting in a
garden they didn't approve of may mean you have to move out
'
when your lease is up. Maybe before the growing season is
'
even over. Maybe spend hours undoing all your work and
reseeding lawn just so you can afford to move to the next
impermanent house. Then you might be tempted to stop
putting in a garden. But don't.
-- Cheap urban rental houses needs gardens more than
anywhere. And what you get out of just one season- half a
season- of your garden more than rewards your time and
energy. Plus, you can leave traces of the work you've done.
Give some serious thought to not telling the
had luck with getting permission from landlords- even
getting work and expenses done on the garden taken off of
the rent- but you may find this gives up too much of
own autonomy to design as you will. Check your lease, if
you have one, and see if it says something along the lines
of "tenant responsible for yard upkeep." If it does you
should be set. '

Whatever you do, take before and after pictures of
your yard! garden. Take the 'before' picture at the greyest,
most fucked up miserable looking moment of then
If ite organic (made in one way or another
from plante) it can probably be eompoeted.
Use your best judgment, keeP' in rn:tnd a good
mix of' green and brownt and make eome
tucking garden gold

are two ba.eio wayl!! to make a
Pile- hot com-posting and cold eompoet:tng.
Compoet gets hot hom the bodiee or
mioroorgan:tsme breaking eh:tt down, eometimee
dramatically so. In f'aot its a bit mielea.cU.ng
to call anything 'cold compoettng'- eel'S the
'eold' pilee oan get up to 90 degt'eee. rr you
don't believe us etiek: yout' hand .tn a. oornpoet
Pile. - ........
l.\S

not ar extra Mt The1 can get
to 160 aegr Thi I.e hOt .,.ugh to burn
ott ai and d oeed a..a break
.... rytbl.ng a" raot Thi i tb a1
to go to .. altO a 1org a,.ount of ooiDVO' taot-
lt worl<o beot whet> you get rytbing
together &t oce ?il it and aon't e.dd
anything eU !t'll get bot OnO
run or ...,J<i"g a eou?l neighbor tor their
!!"""" on weol<e,a and th" e.ddi"B
in a el>l'ddd bo<>l< I.e a go<>d exalftt>l of
" Mt '
Cold eompoeting ie what you'll want to: do for
etuf't that slowly pilee up over time like
kitchen eorape garden trimmingeQ As you
layer more stuff onto it make eure
you're get.ting a good gl"een/brown mix. It
ean take a year or more -tor a eold eompoet
pile to break down but ae long ae you're not
ueing manure you ean uee the unfiniehed
eompoet a.e a top muloh or ndx it into the eoil
in the tall. Turn the pile every> onoe in a
while to bring the stuff on the edges in to
the eenter.
------ ----
If aphids still manage to show up in dangerous
-
numbers- ld.ll them. The two cheapest, easiest and most
eoologioally friendly way of doing this are with water and
with your fists (fingers). Spray the underside of an
infected area with enough water pressure to knook off all
the bugs without harming the plant. Some people use
phosphate-free liquid soap in water to better kill them.
Two tablespoons of Dr. Bronners to one gallon of water
works and its safe. The other option is just to squish them.
Or- spray with your hose and squish anything that refuses
to fall off. Make sure you get all of them, though, as aphid
populations rebound very very quickly. If an area gets too
bad, chop down the infected stock and throw it somewhere far
When aphids or other harmful' insects get too bad to
tolerate- you can keep them off your plants with a simple
homegrown pesticide called ngarlic tea". Boil a head of
garlic in two quarts of water, then use the solution in a
spray bottle or to wet a wiping rag. While this tea is non-
toxic, most bugs really don't like it and will be discouraged
by its presence. Just like more destructive pesticides,
though, garlic tea will discourage bugs you do want in your
I
Aphids are motherfuckers. Hordes of life sucking
hell spawn wanting nothing more than to fuck your shit up.
Tiny little pencil-head sized pear shaped insects that form
big clusters on buds, small stems and the undersides of
young leaves, aphids come in all different colors and suck
the sap and life out of just about anything. You will o:rten
see aphids surrounded by moldy looking or sticky
this in of itself is harmless to your plants but in
1
infestation is not. However, ant.':l like to eat these
I
leftovers and in return actually guard the aphids from
natural predators much like shepherds watching over their
flock. -
.I
-:'' t;) I ... , ./ ..
. ;i ; . .-
.,.. ..
As with all pests, inter-planting is a key defense
against aphid infestation. A big tract of garden that is
dedicated solely to young tender plants of the same variety
creates a big buffet for anything feeding on that plant-
make pests work harder to find their meals mixed in with
other plants and you'll see numbers drop drastically.
Furthermore, there are some plants which insects like
aphids find disgusting- plant aphid-prone plants next to
onions, chives and garlic. Some herbs and flowers have a
strong enough scent to camouflage the smell of more
desirable plants- marigol ds, for example, will totally fuck
up an aphid's ability to smell anything else.

ad
If things start to Smell bad, SOmetbJng is
Most l!kel,y it that the COIOpost Pile ia.ct gettiag )
enough air. When there is no air, only anaerobic
baotel"ia can live. !lot onJ,y is tb1s the Stiney I
at\U'f, its also dangerous and not the right thing
to break down compost. You want aerobic
lbreatbing air) baoteru.- a.cd l'Ou can iM it by
turmng the compost Pile and B&tting some more
a.ir in there
Turning compost can also help rs.:ise the heat,
cool the heat (strangely) and break things down.
rr anything seems to be going wrong 1n your
compost, turn it. When .rou do make sure to bring
in the sturr that was on the edges or at the
OUtside. ...-.
Ill'
41
Tb.ingB break down just fine 1n a plle and you
don't NEED a bin. Bins help to keep things
together, make it eaaier to turn, can allow for
more air flow and better drainage {although
sometimes they can aotuall.y cause air and
draina.ge problems) and generallY make things '
more etrioient and speedy. They can also keep
animals out and be better to look at than piles
of composting debri.a.
Luolt!ly tile eas:t.e.st
veost, llle>.gt
bin ,. l:otou ac"'Co.! """'Po.st
Y" t'!-ee .otade out r
P<l.l.eta, lt """ - o a tew oaneeQ
vo o.ne Pallet b
lllega :1' 1taelt,

a
""'O.ttlpostt.ng opel'at.iol.l,

check slug traps in the morning. Feel
free to leave bloated slug corpses as
they will only attract more slugs. Clean
and refill traps regularly, though, to
prevent things from getting super nasty.
As fun as it can be to kill slugs, there are also some great
ways to keep slugs out of your garden in the first place.
There are a lot of things that slugs can't really crawl
over- sand, eggshells, hair clippings- and if you can
successfully make a ring around your plants before slugs
enter the area, then you can keep them out. Be careful not
to let this protective ring blow away, break down into the
soil or have foliage fall down on top of it. If there is a
. - . I
A great way to defend raised beds is with strips of
sandpaper attached all the way around. Ask at local
woodworking shops or painters for their worn out scraps-
the strips from belt sanders work: great and can be out into
many pieces. Tack or staple the sandpaper all the way
around on the side of your bed- make sure to create an
impenetrable wall. Attach it down well so that the slugs
For those looking for a more efficient method- one which
doesn't require you to look a small creature in the eyes aa
you snuff out its life- tap into the slug's greatest
weakness. Slugs- like many higher lifeforms- are
insatiable and incurable lushes. When provided beer (and
we've been told they prefer cheaper, piss-water variet:res
although we have never tried the alternative) slugs will
crawl into a hole and drink themselves to death. To build a
slug slaughtering beer chamber of death, follow these
use a can opener to remove the top, or
cut the can in half with scissors
if you cut the can in half, shape the top
of the can in so 1 t curves in and creates
a smooth diving board for the slug (they
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The trioJc 1s to brew it in water With an atr
t'low. A bubbler from an "'ZU.l'lUIII 1s a perfect
ellaoople, but You "'ln use an old atr PUI!Ip, a
"'Od:ltied lear blower or Shop vao, bot tub Jet.,
some Sort or Pe.Odle wheel or a l'eguJ.ar ""'Jeer
booe hOoked up to an air supply, We've made
.lanky syate.,. With a water PUI!Ip suspended over a
55 l!<lllon l'a:in barrel, but witll
an.rtlliog is !JOSSible.
A slightly better method of murdering slugs is with a
barbeque stick or any long, thin, sharp, smooth spear.
impale them like you're making shishl.<abobs, then use the
stick to fling them as far away from your garden as
possible. A hot roof or road is probably the best way to
ensure their death, but we have a far less efficient
agreement with our slimy nemesis- we just fling them into
some bushes a fair distance from our garden. They will
most liKely die (and their corpses attract more slugs out
that way as opposed to our beds) or be unable to slime
way back. But occasionally a particularly ferocious slug-
usually the deadly terror know as the leopard slug- will
turn up back in the garden scarred and mutilated from a
previous beating. When this happens, we spear them and
fling them away again, thus daring them to repeat their
feat. We feel this civil approach gives some degree of
honor to worthy foes- likewise we tend to provide a single
bottle of water when we tie people up and leave them for
Slugs are motherfuckers. Stone cold killers that slime
around leaving a sticky trail of destruction- stalking and
murdering innocent plant-children and tarnishing the fruits
of hard labor with disgustingly wretched malice. Deadly
Slugs are most dangerous when plants are young-
plants can withstand a slug rampage with only some
unsightly holes missing here and there, but small seedlings
can easily be gobbled into an early grave. Signs they've
been around include small bites missing and slime residue on
leaves. Slugs are nocturnal- fearing the sun like
vampires- but they're often around in dewy mornings
crawling along causing chaos. To find them during the day
look under boards, cardboard, straw- anywhere moist and
protected from the sun. The slug's specialty seems to be
hiding under tall tufts of grass against the wall of a
raised bed. ...........---...- ""\id( cua;aa;
41
SJ ',,_
There are several good ways of dealing with slugs and also
some bad ones. Some people choose to hunt down sni
slugs with a pair of scissors. While it might be satisf Pi
to we. tch gooe l y ng
y s ug guts ooze out their back, this method is
flawed because slug
s are actually attracted to the smell of
dead slugs- which th
ey feed on before destroying the
Similarly flawed is the method of salting slugs
pouring salt on them and watching th .
em writhe 1n agony as
their organs shrivel to death), which also has the added
problem of salting the earth. .
""W'I' ...,.
Stuff as much compost as you can into some sort
of 'tea bag'. Old worn pantyhOSe are per:rect-
anything strong tbat water can easily now
through. Hang the be.g in the airated water for
one or two days- don't wait muoh longer. We like
to squeeze tb.e tea bag every onoe 1D a while and
watch all the orown tea com.e out. If your
e.irator won't get clogged you can even just put
compost straight into tb.e water.
Verm1caoting- or ,.,.., Shit -1s -""ri"eat
like compost tea or Planting stal'ts.
TltinJc or it aa a concent,..ted super "'""""'
get a lot or this Obit Jl<Jople otl;en buUd worm
bins tlleir kitohan scrape.. mixtng them in
th shredded newspaper 1n a special box
th wornzs.
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Nobody works harder in the garden than worms do.
Like smaller microbes, they turn organic materials into
rich sou. You don't have to build worm bins- just don't
kill them or chase them away with synthetic nitrogen
fertilizers and make sure there's plenty or organic matter
and compost. Little piles of worm poop, called
vermioastings, are the best sou known to man. Use
vermioastings to make compost tea or to plant seedlings in
if there's enough. It is not true that the common earthworm
will turn into two different worms if they are chopped in
half- they just die. RototUlers, acidic soils and pesticides
birJs
We l"ead about a Situation in Which birds were trained
eat aphids by being fed birdseed next to a Yellow ribbon,
then moving the ribbon onto infeotea Plants. We have no
first hand experienee of this method, but birds do snap up
inseots when they form infestations. Put a birdbath, a bird
feeder and a birdhouse in your garden to encourage their
Participation in your gardening efforts.
birdseed in the form of sun flowers.
-
\



.. : ._,;,\ .
w-
. . . -
y may look cute, but ladybugs are actually
ferocious murderous monsters- feared super predators in a
'fery small world. They stalk, kill and devour a number of
Lnsects that cause damage to plants. They can eat 40 aphids
m hour- making them a very real, very viable form of pest
30ntrol. Their larvae look like Power Ranger villains and
1lso strike fear into hearts of aphids and their kin.
eat so much pest-flesh that its easy to forget that
:;hey also enjoy the more refined taste of nectar and pollen.
ladybugs into your garden by planting sweet smelling
flowers. The flowers of Morning Glory- a horrible noxious
Needs that will drive you crazy- are actually one of the
Ladybugs favorites. ' ' n .=:::r ;o
A healthy garden teams with Spiders. Spiders that
run around in the dirt, Spiders that dangle in precarious
webs, Spiders that just sit inside petals and pretend to be a
flower, Spiders that jump. All sorts of Spiders. Lots of'
Spiders indicate lots of healthy life- and they also work
wonders for keeping down the populations of pests that
might boom without their constant eight-legged protection.
Orb weavers are fascinating to watch as they setup shop on
tomatoes and protect the crop twenty-four hours a day.
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Just about an.rtbing that oan be comPosted oan
llSed as muLoh, too. Mulch Provides SLow-reLease
nutrients- not as much or as fast as oomJlOat- but
it aLso retains water, e1.1m1nate3 weeds IUld bu
healthy sou.
IP
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l'o heLp SOiL nutrients bl"eaJc down raster, lay
down a """PLe or inches or m' Ch (J t
11
us grass
0
PPings, straw, newalla per WOod c " )
in to the top COuple inches M -
it ' !lnd Work
llowever, to figb.t weedS m.ost effectively,
o.cwn a rew sheets of newspaper under the mulch
to Slllotber it rrom ].ight. EasilY poke through
the newspaper to start seedS or transplants.
leedS. Tiny UtUe nuggets of Ufe- a minute pacltet
JOntaininB every ele.,ent of an adult plant. A seed ill a
scientific anomalY- not quite auve bUt not quite dead.
Dormant and waitin!l for the right conditions. But iS a seed
tne beginning of a beautiful, nealthy garden- or ill it ,tne
finat bounty after a garden is grown?
. *"'" . =r
_;...- ,._ ..-J
We would recommend that if there is one thing in your '
garden that your spend the effort- maybe even a little
money-- to acquire, it would be quality seeds. Good heirloom
seeds can not only grow in a garden once, but for years and
years to come and yield higher quality, more interesting and .
better suited plants for a specific garden or gardener.
When acquiring seeds we ask ourselves this: do we really
want to put a full season of time and effort into growing a
weird GMO plant ripped off from a hardware store that we'll
have to steat again and again- or would we rather grow
plants which have been cultivated and handed down by real
gardeners for generations based on their quality and .merits,
as well as their ability to produce their own seeds?
,
. . s
v:ifJ- :: ,& i ,,
....._ .. c;p= a
The invisible little team in charge of breaking down
organic materials so that your plants may feed- a garden
could not exist without their constant effort. Microbes
actually cycle nutrients into forms that plants can absorb
and in the process fix these nutrients in the soil. What
this means is that if microbial populations get killed off-
with chemical fertilizers for example- then plants can be
gr owing in pure nutrients and they won't be able to access
any of them. This also means that healthy microbe
'Ootmlation3 keen nutrients in nlace where roots c-.an reach
them rather than washing away with rain or irrigation.
Healthy, diverse populations of soil microbes protect plants
from disease and pests because of so much competition for
resources that no one pathogen can possibly get out of hand.
Compost, mulch and compost tea all help boost these
populations to the benefit of the garden. The most basic
thing to know and understand about soil microbes is that
chemicals kill them- pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and
chemical fertilizers. But remember that healthy microbe
populations are also a natural state of things. As long as
nothings fucking t hem up then they'll be around doing
they should be.
"'
'
* lrf. ..\{
tt
'k ..L
/fiJ; ..-

,>. it
of \he
A heal thy garden is a 11 ving gar den. Most insecta and
critters in your soU, on your plants and buzzing in the air
are helping the garden ecosystem. Some are absolutely
essential to plant growth, some keep away and kill bad
visitors, some are stunningly beautiful and all help make
the garden a dynamic, fascinating place to be. Cultivate a
healthy ecosystem in the beds. The safe assumption is that
everything is helpful until you notice otherwise. Treated
well these microbes, bugs and birds will form a defensive
army against harmful pests and diseases. Here is a brief
sampling of just some of your fellow gard::::
Heirloom seeds- or "open pollinated" plant:!!- are
which have been grown in people's gardena.. The procP
has been practiced for thousands of years and is th('
basis of all agriculture e gardeners grow plants, then
select their best plants based on taste, suitability to
conditions, beauty, y:! eld, wha. t time of the so aeon
they're producing, or any other quality which a. farmer
deems important, and from these plants they eave the
next generation or Medeo Next year's crop sha.rns their
parent's genetic cha.ra.ctoristice- plus a. few va.rtations
of their owno Over the yea.re this process creates the
plant characteristics which it is be:Jng selected !or.. If'
we practice seed saving in our gardens we wUl never
have to acquire tho same seeds again and within a. .rew
seasons we will have you unique plant specially ta.norod
breeding two genetically pure parent plantso These
seeds are sold commercially, and therefore tailored
primarily towards generic growihg conditions and mass
appealo Becauee of this hybrids can be higher ylold or
more diMase resistance under standard conditione- but
more typically they are bred to be able to withstand
commercial machinery production and their ability to
look good after being shipped long distaneM to markets
around the world., The ma.jor downside to hybridization
is that the seeds from theee plants are genetically
eterile or unstable- if they are able to produce at a.ll
:it '1'1:1.11 be an interior plant not shari.ng either parent's
strengths (and theee plants probably won't produce
Deeigned for people who hate G'MOe
(genetically modified organisms) are plants
which have actually had their genes split,
spliced, mutilated and modified.. Splicing the
gene :from a :fish into a plant eo that it may
produce :! te own fish-emulsion fertilizer or
actually splicing a chemical poison lnto the
gene sequence of a plant eo that it will 'be
lmmune to pesticides and herbicides that will
kill every other living thing when sprayed o
top.. ':'heRO plants are copyrighted and owned 'by
the lab that makes them- which essentially -
them to be grown for one aeason when
they sell the aeede.. Seeds can not be aaved
from these plants, which are 'brought to ue by the
same companies which 'brought us Agent Orange
and
Seed Saver's Exchanges are being set up on national
and local levels to combat this incredible loss of
plant diversity. Joining with these organizations
is a great way to help preserve these building
blocks of life- and also a great way to get cool,
unique seeds with interesting histories into the
soil. However just saving and distributing seeds on
your own can be equally as valuable. When you do,
let people know the importance of good seed practice
and enlist their help in keeping the control of food
production out of the hands of large seed and -
As a renter, squater, or otherwise transient resident
to a house- usually big elaborate long-term permaculture
design is out of our reach. Don't let anyone discourage you
for not having a maximum efficiency edible food forest in
your back yard- its not always an option. Just work with
the garden rather than against it, think about what you're
doing, and most importantly start growing food.
consistently more wet so we plant moisture loving plants at
the top and dry soil loving ones at the bottom- then we're
practicing permaculture. If we don't know which of our
seeds will like the water and which will like it dry, plant
everything everywhere and see what happens. Learn what
things grow well together- what seedlings like coming up in
the shadows of one another's unique growing patterns. Think
about what's going on- try to figure out if and how you
should do anything to help stuff along. And when things do
need help look for the most simple, mutual beneficial fix
from available resources- its the easiest thing to do and it
makes the most sense. Rather than going to a store store to
buy fresh lumber from a. tree farm, just take apart an old
junk pallet. Compost a neighbor's unused grass-clippings
rather than buying even organic fertiliz.er. Help support a
big thriving bug community to keep one pest from getting
~
;, r
~
,y-.. t
_ . which have been
with ue for centuriee have gone extinct in recent ; y e a ~ s
with more headed down the same patho In the paet
century, the united states has lost an estimated
seventy-five percent of ite vegetable varieties with
many more on the brink- giving domesticated p1ants the
highMt extinction rate of any living organ1sm ' :tn
historyo This is a direct result of the boom of the __ _
commercial seed busineset which chooses a. single variety
of plant as the variety to be sold worldwide (selected
for the needs of large industrial food farms and not
f'or characteristics valued in a home garden)o This isn't
just a sad matter of' loosing the better tasting localized
heirloom varietiee- it is also an incredibly dangerous
move in agrieultureo Worldwide monoculture crops all
share the same genetic flaws and weaknesses- meaning
that a disease which formerly would have attacked only
.
small amounts of crops can now destroy entire food
supplies (like the Europe's apocalyptic potato famine or
the current devastating collapse of the South American
banana industr;y)o Because of this, many local, national
and international Seed Savers Unions are sprlnging up
to protect our fast-vanishing genetically diverse food
eropso Contact your local seed exchange :for more
information and the possibility of f"ree seedeo You
the guardian of an endangered cabbage
An Annual is a plant which needs to be re-planted every
year, whereas a perennial will keep coming back year after
year (some perennials die back each winter, but return on
their own with no new planting). Most garden vegetables
tend to be annuals, although there are plenty of great
edible perennials, too. There are also biennials- which
need to be replanted every other year. Some of these. we
grow as annuals- like the carrot, which will, its
taproot (the part we eat) after its first year of life and
therefor makes it useless to us to eat (but needs to be grown
two years !'or seeds). _.,...
Don't confuse annual lettuce, chard, potatoes or sunflowers
bursting from your garden beds un-planted with perennials.
These are called "volunteers" and are planted when their
parent plants go to seed naturally and spreading through
your beds (or, in the case of plants like potatoes, a part of
the root-crop being left un-dug and sprouting itself).
Volunteers, coupled with perennials, can be a great way of
growing a garden from year to year without the work of
replanting. Remember to save some seeds just to be safe, in
case volunteers don't sprout or come up in the wrong place
at the wrong time.
We hear the word permaculture tossed around and we nod our
heads in approval of some technical knowledge which we are
not entitled to- like organic biodynamic soil management or
mycorrhizael land remediation. People say permaculture is
an art and a philosophy- and that's great- but we just want
to have a garden. As we understand it- 'permaculture' just
means patterning life and land management after natural
cycles and systems. By doing this, we create an ecosystem of
life which supports the appetite and culture of people who
are part of it. That's a fantastic philosophy and practice,
but the reason the term 'permaculture' pisses us off is that
it just creates another intimidating kernel of elite
knowledge out of something as simple as thinking about what
we're doing. In the garden, permaculture is just watching
what water and light do- designing and working around how
to use what's going on in the most practical way. Trying to
fit as many pieces the way they want to be fit together.
This can include gray-water systems with complex water-land
management design, or micro-climate management with
intimate knowledge of native edible plant needs. And
thinking about this shit can easily scare a gardener with no
dollars and no expertise away from ever sticking that first
shovel in the ground. 't h ve to be
The truth is that permaculture doesn a
d
don
't have to know the word. If we
l:)ig thing an we .
thinK e.l:)out what'e natural and easy- being consclous of
ilable reeources- then we'll end up
aotion e.nd uain ava
. . t. . e\oadv else might oall permaoulture. If we
4c1n8 wna aom IN the
nave a garden bed esl.oping down a hill and we get in
- i the hose on at the top and letting it
habit of just leav ng
d
h& bed- then we reeli7C that the ton
run own u "'
cool the soil down when its too hot. All mulchea will.
moderate soil temperature- making pluntn l.&AB suaoe:ptibl.e to
sudden freezes or blasts of heat. ln the enrl.y epring, this
can mean keeping the soil frozen when fluctuating
temperatures can cause perennials to begin growth only to
be killed by the next hard frost.
microorganisms to cycle the nitrogen and carbon into the
soil. As the mulch breaks down and decays its nutrients
k their way into the soil- till the mulch into the top
inches to speed this process along or just let the worms..
es and micros do it themselves. Unlike store bought
chemical fertilizers, mulches are good for l1 ving things in
the soil. Using organic mulches (grass clippings, leaves,
wood chips, cardboard, shredded paper) builds on the snow
of garden life causing lasting healthy nutrient cycling.
One interesting fact is that generally mulches which take
longer to break down (such as wood chips) support fungal
n1,1trient cycling preferred by perennials, shrubs and trees
'
whereas easier mulches to break down (like grass clippings)
are loved by bacteria which better support annuals and
Books could be (and probably have been) written just on the
merits of mulching. We don't have the room or the
expertise- but mulching is probably the easiest, healthiest,
free-est method to making a garden thrive with less work
and less resources. And being made out of just about
anything, there's really no reason not to experiment with
mulching in e. garden.
Edible plants- seeds and starts- can be bought on food
stamps! Of course, not every gardening center or eeod
catalog is set up to take EBT, but coops, grocery bboN11,1 nnd
farmers markets are able to ring seed packets up M 'food.
Unfortunately the federal government, in all its wisttorn,
has stepped in and ruled in court that the deliciouo edibLe
flower nasturtium, good in salads, stir fries and
recipes, is in fact an ornamental flower and not edible.
, Stealing Seeds 1
Best way we've found to steal seeds is to cut the bottom of
the Seed packet and cuff the seeds as we're looking at them.
We can do this with a razor blade or by Just peeling open
the gummy glue folded over on the paper. This way we're
not leaving to store with any packaged merchandise and as
long as we're careful not to be seen opening the J>ackage it
would be very hard to be charged with anything. Read the
packages carefully for planting information, spacing,
growing information etc and jot down any important
information (either in the store or less suspiciously after
leaving) because there won't be opportunity to consult the
seed packet after leaving the store.
Seed packets give a rough outline of how and when we should
.plant your seeds in relation to an area's average last date
:or rroet. Of course the actual last day of frost differs Ei4
greatly from year to year, and even the averages given in
different books, weather services, websites and charts
differs greatly. One arbitrary date for the Olympia,
1
,.,
I
Washington are is April 30 - we can use this as a guide
'
Some plants do better when started indoors, in a greenhouse
or cold-frame, others have a hard time being transplanted at
all and are better grown from seed directly in the garden.
For plants that like to be started 1ndoors early, like
tomatoes, use a sunny windowsill. If doing starts for a
larger operation, its possible to build shelving (find milk
orates ru1d boards from pallets behind any Grocery Outlet)
against the window to maximize the sun-space (make sure you
can easily access the baby plants to take care of them).

Germination

As a general rule of thumb should be planted roughly
the same depth as their diameter so they can push their way
up out of the soil. The easiest way to do this with small
seeds 1S to dig a tiny trench with a fingertip, drop the
seeds in and then tuck them in. Or for tiny seedS sprinkle
them on ton o"f the aoil and rake them around a bit.
To see just how well mulch conserves water, do an
experiment: leave one half of a bed uncovered bare soil, and
cover the other half with grass clippings or shredded
newspaper. Spray a little water on both sides. Come back: a
few hours later and inspect the soil- dig fingers down a
couple inches to check out the moisture level. The side
with mulch should be juicy and ripe- the bare earth side is
probably starting to dry out. Check: back a day later and
you'll see no traces of ever having watered the side without
mulch, but the covered side is still wet under its blanket.
Two days later- three days later- the side with mulch will
retain moisture where plant roots can access it. The side
without mulch will evaporate even in cool climates. With
good mulching practice, a garden will drink: a fraction as
much and roots will have water right where they need it.
Water conservation through mulching is more than just some
hypothetical idea or a pat-on-the-back good deed-
water means significantly less work, a smaller water bill,
and healthier, tastier plants.
Mulches can also eliminate the need to ever weed.
all pLants need sunlight, and because mulch can completely
block sunlight, they will pr'event any unwanted weed.B rrom.
ever germinating or eetabliehing theml!!el vee. Muloh. right
around the deeired ple.nte they w1t1. grow fine (better,
aotual.ly) with thil!l blanket around tnem and no weedl!l ce.n
grow undernee.t:n. Mulon can take oe.re of even naety
probleml!l- if something does manage to poke its wa.y up it
will be so weak from. lack of sunlight that it will pull
l
Mulch is just something - anything - that a gardener puts
o.h top of bare eon. Plastic, leaves, aged pine needles,
grass cl1pp1nge, bark, wood chips, straw, well-rotted manure,
seaweed, plant remnants, shredded paper and cardboard are
all good. Mulches reduces evaporation. They prevent weed
growth. They insulate- keeping plants warmer in cold
weather or cool in heat, and they can stabilize frost cycles.
They're aesthetic and prevent soil compaction from rain.
They looks nutrients into the soil and keeps them from
leaching away. They encourage healthy microbial
populations on which all plant's thrive. Organic mulches-
anything that at one point was alive (including newspaper
and cardboard) also brings more nutrient into the soil.
Most seeds need constant moisture to trigger germination.
If there is trouble keeping the soil moist, try watering
and then laying some cardboard down on top.
This will help to soil retain moisture, but check it often
use as soon as seedlings poke their heads out they'll
need the cardboard removed so they can get sunlight.
c Ell z !me
Another trick is to wrap the seeds in a damp paper towel.
Place it in a warm spot, like on top of the fridge. This
method can either be a way to nsoften up" seeds before you
planting them, or it can aim for full germination right
there in the towel. Once seeds are germinated (opened up
with stuff coming out of them) they can planted them gently
'
into soil.
1
= *
Soil temperature is .also a trigger for germination- they
won't sprout if the soil is way too cold. We don't need a
soil thermometer or intimate knowledge of each plant,
though- just experiment and pay attention to what's going
on. If sou temperature is an issue, some people start seeds
out for germination with a little water on the warm spot on
top of the refrigerator.
A wma
If nothing seems to be working it may be that the batch of
seeds is dead. This can happen if they were stored or
collected improperly (although, seeds can often be stored and
collected improperly and still germinate into healthy plants
just fine).
But the most important thing is to be patient with
germination. Seeds can take a little bit to do what they
need to do- but they know exactly what they want and what
they want is to sprout. Give them the best conditions
003Giblc and let thom do whet thev want.
starts
To get an early start uu on a growing season, or
to minimize a lot of thinning in the garden, or
juet to make good use of space managing a lot of)
different growing things inter-planted, we f
sometimes want to start seeds somewhere other
than the bed they're going in. Starts are just
little plants waiting to be transplanted r
elsewhere. Of course, we don't have to start your
seeds in a different place- and in a lot or oases
it doesn't make sense to. Some plants can't even ~
cope with being transplanted and can only be
9eeded where they will live. But being able to
Juccessfully germinate starts is a useful tool
'or a lot of reason.
At the beginning of a growing cycle, etart things
indoors on a sunny windowsill or in a homemade
cold-frame while its still a bit too oold out in
the garden. By the time its the right conditions
to plant, the starts are big enough and strong
enough to spread their roots.
Getting seeds going as starts can also save
a lot of space and unnecessary thinning.
Grow extra- its easy to give a young tomato
plant to a friend or plant it surreptitiously
in a safeway parking lot just to see what
~ ~ ~ ~
kinds of plants next to each other so that when
they're fully formed their leaves will touch- or in a hot
summer it could be one plant providing some partial shade
for something else to germinate. The bigger plants grow
together, the more protection they give to moisture and
-
bed.
This 'green mulching' can also be used as a really effective
way to fight weeds. If the adult plants are barely touching
one another, anything down below will be completely shaded
out and unable to grow. This might not be the right time to
plant seeds, but weeds will also be helpless to even
germinate. Where inter-planting comes in is that a cluster
of lettuce can provide a whole lot more shade on the ground
for water and weed protection early in the season than and
spindly tomato start can. As the tomato grows and needs
more space, harvest back the lettuce closest to it first and
by the heat of summer the shade of your tall tomato plant
will keep the rest of the lettuce from bolting. Experiment
with inter-planting and realize that there are countless
ways which plants benefit from each other's company.
Another good reason for inter-planting is natural pest
control. A solid line of one particular plant gives a
potential pest an open meal ticket. Its numbers explode and
tion is talcen. But space
a crop is overrun unless serious ac
plants interspersed with each other- even just a few
different things in each little zone- and pests will have a
hard time finding what they want. They're numbers will
stay in check because they have to work to find food. Other
insects bob around in this inter-planted world trying to
I find what they like. and in the process flowering fruits and
Inter Planting
rving water is just one of many reasons to inter-plant.
Inter-planting means planting different crops interspersed
within one another for mutual benefit. Its also the easiest
way to design a garden bed- plant a carrot patch bleeding
into a few tomato plants shading a week's worth of lettuce
on the other side. Just plant things in a few different
patches at a few different times and thin them out where-
ever they'll fit as they grow.
'Ei!llllk:<l
Experimenting with different plant combinations teaches us
a lot about what plants like, and having several different
combinations going on in different places is If
you plant some carrot seeds under a tomato plant and some
mixed in elsewhere with radishes, water them a little
differently and see which one germinates better. If the
onee next to the tomato look especially strong, check the
soil moisture in the radish bed and try to make it match the
tomato. Because eaoh plant has a wide range of preferences,
you'll find a lot of matching combinations of plants that
like the same conditions. This is inter-planting.
Another directly relates to making
watering easier and more effective is that when plants grow
to touch one another they cast shade on bare soU. This
helps the soil hold not just a little bit more water- but a
lot. Huge amounts more water- and with it soil nutrients-
is lost out of bare earth compared to even partial
protection from the sun. Plants capture this sunlight and
turn in into growth which shelters its own water supply
below. Gardeners call it 'green mulching' but its really
just letting plants do what they want to do.
This doesn't mean inter-planting is about shoving as many
over-crowded different seeds or seedlings in a bed to
immcdietclv to ohAclo out the It can .iuot be tmttin&t

. .. Potting Soil
- ... ----" sterilized
"1. ..
pottizilao1l enriched with aged organic compost or
somtth1n1J e.nd this is probably the best method to follow if
its aVUla'ble. But don't be discouraged into thinking seeds
won't germinate without the per:feot conditions. If nothing
else, dig up eome yard dirt and give it a try. If there is
acoeaa to good potting soil or a batch or good compost, the
seedling starting might be a good place to mix that in. If
not, just dig up some of the best looking dirt from your
yard and see what happens. Either way- make sure the soil
makes it back into the garden when transplanting.
Outside or our own backyards, there are a couple of other
places to look for potting son. Large home and garden
centers like lowe's, ACE, fred meyers and home depot o:rten
leave Piles of bagged potting soil out front even a.:rter the
store closes. Look: for places that leave potting soil .Piled
up on the ground rather than on pallets- although often
pallets are left out overnight, too. Its even possible to get
a few bags relatively safely during business hours,
especially mornings.
An even cooler place to looll:: is under the upturned roots o1
fallen trees. Trees churn and yank up a bunch of soil and
organic material when they rail- and especially with logs I
that have been sitting in the weather for a while this soil
is better than anything we've fOund in a bag for
starts going. We've heard it said that unsteril potting
soil will lead to fungal problems for the fragile
development of seedlings, but we've found the stuff
There are a couple basic kinds of Seeds- seeds that don't
mind growing paoJced in together and seeds that want to
by themselves. For seeds that don't mind the crowded
conditions- like lettuce and anything that germinates in a
field or sprouts- seed beds and seed trays are perfect. For
seeds like tomatoes or squash that want a little more space
:'rom their neighbors and might want to stay a little longer
efore being traW!planteo, pots, plugs and little containers
re a better option. the plant's
i ortant to recog
With all atarts, it is mp minate, the first thing
the seedlings ger ew
true leaves. When es. These actually gr
that pops out is calle ' little shell. The second set o
d the seed leBY f
i
de of the seed s f what
from the ins tiny version o
leaves looks different- like a vTehrl.: is called a plant's true
1 k like. h
the adult leaf will oo til at least after t e
Don't transplant seedlings un _....c'NW A\_, '+JI!I
le!fl.ves.
together, and are ready to thin out once their first set of
true Leaves are big and strong. Try to transplant them
before their roots get too bound up together and it will
hurt the plants to be ripped apart. When it comes time for
transplanting, some will be bigger and stronger than others,
and some of the smaller ones will probably not fare well at
be1ng picked apart. This is okay, because with a seedbed we
onn grow a dense amount of seeds including enough bigger,
ott-nnetor nnoo to t ake out and 3nace correctlv 1n the
. ,_ G.l
when there are so many free options for making one, but you.
can still take advantage of these rebates. Make the maximum
number of rain barrels allowed for rebates by our town- take
some pictures of them and fill out a simple informal receipt
as if you bought them off craigslist. Mail that into the city,
and they'll mail you a check. In Olympia, you can get $20 per
rain barrel up to three per house- meaning you can make too
just by installing some rain barrels in your garden. You can
then take this money and apply it to your garden- buy quality
seeds or something else you're having trouble finding or
stealing. In this way, you can subsidize the whole cost of your
garden and if you're thrifty you can end up making money off
the whole thing.

A hot tub. A hot tub hotds a shit load of water, its
sturdy and won't tip over, and it has some sort of a drain
underneath that you can hook up to a hose or a drip
irrigation system. Oftentimes they're raised on decks
giving them extra pressure. Just divert a downspout into it
and let it fill up. You can put the cover back on if you're
worried about mosquitoes, or through some 5-cent feeder
fish in and see what happens. If the jets still work, turn
them on as low as possible and use the hot tub rain barrel
to brew a giant batch of compost tea. Plus that shit is free
on ora1gslist like every day.
,,
Y>af"C"t.\ \-\ed.\\"' C.Ot\C.e.ri\S
A lot of people in the world of organic gardening will
tell you all about the dangers of using rain barrels on edible
crops. They will bring up health concerns of using water run-
off from roofs, which often have heavy metals and maybe even
some chemicals, and tell you that using city water is safer. It
might be- but there's also a couple other factors. Not only do
we trust produce grown under my r ain barrel much more than,
anything we get in a store, but we also value our own e.utonomy
and self sufficiency more than hypothetical long-term
..
concerns. Don't even try to tell us that trace heavy metals in

our garden's water supply is more important than bur ,own
ability to feed ourselves with the resources available to us.
If you want to start worrying about the runoff from your
roof, you better also start worrying about a system which
pumps water from who-knows-where across town through who-
knows-what, and you better start taking accountabilfty for
whoever or whatever is being fuok:ed over in that process. If
you're involved with gardening strictly for health reasons,
maybe just use your rain barrel to water some flowers. But we
d'rink: out rain water straight out of the barrel, share it with
our edible plants, and tell anyone who says this is bad to fuok:
off.

Rain barrels can save you money on
a water bill, btlt they can also you money
with city rebates. Some places, lik:e the city of
Olympia, have an initiative to reduce people's water use and
have offered city or county rebates to reimburse people for
buying rain barrels. There's no need to buy a rain barrel
t"...Ar
-.,
A seed bed is just a special bed- full of rich, well-worked
soil and lots of organic matter, where seeds can be planted
to start out and then transplanted int o the rest of the
garden when they're ready. A seed bed is a really good
place to use extra compost because we are going to be
constantly removing little bundles of nutrients to plant out
--
in the big beds. Jj __
An ideal .. Jr a seed bed would be on the sunnY
wall of a house- where the buildin!! nelps trap and 1!18intain
heat for tb.e young seedS Early i n growing season,
1n0ulatiOS plastic or old windoWS oan be leaned over the
seed bed ror extra protaction ThiS iS also a perfect place
to use an open-toP gorbeSe can style r ain barrel next to e
downspout for gently watering the fragile seedlings
A seed tray is just the same thing- a bunch of seeds grown
densely together- only its done in a little tray that can be
moved inside or into a cold-frame. Seed trays are nice
because if there's a. good spot they can be sta.ck:ed up on
shelving- really maximizing a limited amount of space.
trays can be permanent, lik:e the plastic k:ind sold (and
thrown away at, too- check: the dumpsters) at nurseries and
garden supply stores. It can also be temporary or onetime
use- made from any shallow tray type of thing you find or
create with available resources.

. Indi-;;;:.,-;::;_".Jt_'ff(f.([ t-K.rr, 'hI J -
Other seeds like a little bit more room to spread out, like
tomatoe-s, eggplant and squash. For these plants, or for .
anything that we want to give a real long start inside, we _ :_. t :
use vidual PLW<S /r small pots. f n1 k i ;:?J /
The danger with growing things too large in pots for all
' plants is that the roots will get too big in confinemen\andJ_
not be able to get as big or strong as they should even 9
......
after they get moved into garden soil. Some plants are more&
sensitive to this than others- but try to gauge the size of F
the root space and get starts in the ground before the root_ s k
J 1 I T.::::;?7 I II I '-"'-- ... [ j
get too big.
1
1!'-. a / j ' .
. eed buy a store-bought plastic planter
There 15 no n
for starting seedlings. We can use an empty milk carton or ('.,...'r.
plastic bag with holes punched in the bottom. Experiment.
We found that egg-cartons are too small and absorb too much .

0
0
p.
\
'(-


f-..._

""
b
' t:-
Y" '
a....-!'-
::,:r:ethod. Find something that worKs and is available. ,,o '
ood experiences with(;'
t but other people claim to have g .. :_-
t to be thrown away anyways, t'
Take something that is abou . 1l and a seed or I '
h some holes in it and fill it up ( . ")- ,L_
P . --.,, .... , ... , ......... .,.,. .. " r 1'- -7'_,..._ unc ,... A ,. J -=#;
,.,. . ' fl' '
two. I ,.., "-- j


... ..
&
0
y .
t../.,
Newspaper Starts .fi'it .... _ .. _ _ ,,
I t. _
One great way to make seed trays is out of folded newsr-
\ ...,.,.,_ --- t'1!! _/' ....... ,, ..
We've seen some sort of aJDa71ng origami where newsp '(/lit .,
folded into what looks litre the lid of a shoebox (wbicl. \t...,
j llligbt also be a great seed tray, eome to think of it. .. ) and
holds together by itself without the use of tape or staples. \)
Its just a big, strong lid folded out of several sheets of
1

# ..... . -r y now::maocr. :1lt. f.. ,
f\at\tet 't>olC Ri"
A rain barrel can be more than just a rain barrel. If
you're \tSing some sort of a standard barrel, especially one
that's rounded on top, you can easily make a rain barrel with a
built in planter box on top. Just chop of the top foot or so
(depending on how much root space whatever you're planting
needs), flip in inside out and re-attach it onto your barrel
with a few screws to create a cavity to grow things in. You
can either run the downspout straight through your planter
box, or depending on your situation you might be able to just
drain all water through your the planter. Either way, you'll
need to drill some holes on the bottom of the cavity to let
water drain. To keep soil from dripping into your barrel,
cover the bottom with an old window screen or something that
will allow water but not soil to pass through. Also make an
overflow for the barrel (can just be a hole drilled below the
planter box) to keep full water from soaking and floating away
your plants and soil.
One thing we've noticed with rain barrel planter boxes
is that as the water hits the barrel and heats up, it tends to
cook the soil on top. You can fix this be trellising something
bushy up the side of the barrel or painting it white, but you
might want to consider planting something that likes heat and
being extra attentive to watering needs. If you're l ooking for
a place to plant something that loves heat and doesn't take
much water- like a cactus- this is a great spot even in colder
climates. When the summer's over, you can just move the
planter box inside to overwinter the plant.

.. A ' o, \t\cc..u\-a.\ ionS
, ... ,vsm- "" u .)
A piece of log or a stump makes a great
rain barrel stand. Just work the round log
section into the soil a little bit and make sure
the top is flat. Round log chunks are easy to
find on trails and paths- when trees fall down
maintenance crews usually just saw them into chunks
s.nd toss them next to the trail. Just roll it to the garden or
a car. \
[f the conditions ar e right- and there's a very high likelihood
they will be (somewhat moist and protected) you can inoculate
the log with edible, attraoti ve or psychedelic mushrooms.
rhere are a number of different relatively inexpensive
Jommercial products for mushroom inoculation- each is a little
bit different. Another option is that when you're looking for
a round log, just chose one that already has some cool or funky
looking mushrooms on it. Even if they break off on the
jou:ney to your garden, the spores or mycelium might still
t new mushrooms the same season or even the next. Having
some gnarly mushrooms in your garden is always really cool
even if they're not edible.

---U --
-


?.r
-
We don't know exactly how to do this yet, but we do know
that if we take a couple full newspaper sheets, fold them k,
into a sturdy platform, and fold up the edges cleanly end \ /i.
tape or staple them up as a wall - we have a relatively free,
easy, effective seed tray. Fill this with dirt and cover
with seeds that like close germination. ;
You can also make individual small pots by rolling a tube
of newspaper around a thin jar, smooshing the end of the
- roll closed by stuffing it back up the inside. It sounds
more complicated than it is- just experiment with newspaper,
a small jar or a dowel and try to make a little
that can hold SOil. Then make a lot of them. J '\__- .... \""
l- =: \\ y cv::; "\_ .ff ,f.t - - )'..
When watering it for germination, the paper will sl owly
fall apart until it eventually disintegrates and we're left
with a perfect tray of sprouts waiting to transplant into
v- . the garden. Lift the packets Of SOil gently out when enough
-=-- of the seedlings are big enough- it doesn't matter if bits of
...
- decomposing newspaper get into the garden- ita just fresh
organic mulch living in your garden. If the starts are
I ready to go before the newspaper is fallen apart, carry the
I
whole tray out into garden to make the job easier- then
compost the soggy newspaper. When this garden guide gets
,
.
k
-(
(,..,
Beer :. (/ i 1 i ''
perfect start container for something like a . .
1s a beer can. Cut the can in half- we've used scissors,
.. /'
garden shears and an old busted hack saw, but anything/
will work. Use both the top and bottom halves. Use
something like a nail to punch some holes on the bottom /. '
for drainage- and with the top half fold the
partially in to keep the soil inside but let
through 1 l/' r w:, nt different plants-
" i ed for
- . t with different s 7. 'ri Plant as 1.<'
Expenmen 22 for a big pumpl\. n.
try a tallboy or even a sunny windowsillS
oom for on d
of as there is r in your yar
many e is enough space . .
regardless of if ther i en to a neighbor or plan . . A::\,
r can be g v oeer
Anything left ove ve a lot of access to ' \-(
. we typically ha the can to
in a ditch. h about saving
too muo torn
so we don't worry tin iS cut and
oaain and age. . st peel the
reuse '-"0 d we can JU
edge an . he
(
<:)/

cans in- sometimes the 1"
somewhere along the h le soil packet l.nto t "'
d plop the w o -.
aluminum awe. . y an . oung :-'V ' . . . .
t disturbing they .
g
arden withou _. . , ... .
' I \ 0 .\.- < I .... '
I \ \ \ . . ... -';:-.. :.. ,
' - . .
' , \ ---,_ \.. v ' .. .'-
" \, '\.v. l ,' ., , ,
Water Berore Tl'ans l 7 "" '-.... . .. . .)..\. :ill
.. P antir1"' I __ ' ..
Water both the oeedlings to be transplanted and the bed .
they're going into. This helps keep the soU together . w
around young roots, and also gives the plant the l '\"'\:... . : . . , .....
nourishment it needs when its trying to figure out if
likes its new home. Wa ter after you transplant, too, but
be gentle- the newly transplanted plants are more [k ,
fragile now than usual. Keep an ext. ra eye on the plants ( \ \
for the next few days to try sto

sure they're )\\ . .,
getting the right amount of water. fr, I .. II '
gallon rain barrel will end up weighing over 450 pounds. So a
sturdy stand is important. A atrurdy stand doesn't have to
mean a complicated construction project, it just means don't use
something that will break under that much weight and make
sure things are flat and disperses weight well. This gets more
and more important the higher up you put your rain barrel as
it will start to get very top heavy when its full. If you're
not sure about your stand, jump on it a little bit and see what
you think. Don't put a rain barrel on anything that runs the
risk of toppling over and taking out half your garden in a
gusty rain. A raised deck (or balcony for lots of pressure)
works nicely. One of the best rain barrel stands is a stump.
Just work the log into the soil a little bit and make sure the
top is flat.
When you're building or finding your stand, think about
how you plan to use your rain barrel. Because water can flow
slow out of the tap, it can take a long time to fill up a
watering can or bucket. For this reason, it can be a great idea
to build some sort of platform (or carefully placed flat rook)
to set the watering can on to fill while you do other chores
nearby. If you're attaching a hose, maybe think of a place you
can coil it up and hang .it on the. stand when you're done.
Another cool thing you can do
with rain barrel stands is to build
trellising on them. This not only
maximizes growing space, but can also
keeps water temperature cool in
hot weather.
ttL.
..-----

actually its best if you oan have a really slow release system
that you can just leave on for a long time- but unless you
have at least some pressure your drip system won't work very
well. Raise your rain barrel a few feet off the ground and
attach an old bose to the tap. Tie shut the end of the hose
and drill some holes in it and see what happens. Take note of
how long it takes to empty a barrel or a half a barrel- and
pay close attention to how much water is seeping into the soil.
If you can adjust it just right, you can have a slow-release
gravity drip irrigation system for use all year- even when
there's been no rain you can just fill up your barrel with a
hose without reconfiguring your setup.
'
The most important thing to remember, even if ;rou're
not using a gravity drip system, is that water will not flow
out of the end of your hose if you hold it higher than the
level of water in the tank.
-

Bafre.\ S1-.""cl s
-
_ .....
...&....
Of course if you're using an open-top setup its usually
best to just put it on the ground, but with a tap on the bottom
you're probably gonna need some sort of stand. Stands give you
extra pressure, the ability to hold a hose at a normal height
when you're watering, and enough room to fill up watering cans
or buckets underneath the tap.
Be aware that a rain barrel, when full, can be heavy.
Water weighs 8.3 pounds per gallon- meaning a fifty-five
I
I
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\
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disturbed and like to be planted right in the sou
J they'll grow up in. We transplanted some carrots,
I
fli for example, and ended up with plant that
..... looked and grew normal from above, but we went
1 to harvest months later we found the roots were
\ fat balls the same length it was when
l transplanted it as a seedling. With plants that
, m- to be seeded directly like carrots, thinning
I
has to be done by just pulling out the young
seedlings until the strongest ones have enough
"o' distance to grow. Most plants, however, aren't so
picky as carrots about where they start their
lives and will be happy seeded directly into
"" .... \ bed or as transplants, J
A cold frame is like a mini-greenhouse in the garden. Use
it year ro1wd as a great place to get starts going, or to
grow salad greens into the winter or even grow fatty melons
or other hot-weather plants in a cool summer. A row cover
is a simple portable insulation bubble that C9.Il be moved
around over the beds which does the same thing.
Make a cold frame or row cover out of anything that
insulates and traps in heat while letting in sunlight.
'rhey're not needed- many a fine garden exists without one-
but there are a number of free easy ways to construct them.
Among many other uses in the garden, a bale or two of straw
can be a great insulator. To make a cold frame, make a few
simple short walls connected together in a square, then rest
an old window frame on top. Get the window slanted to the
south to maximize sun exposure. To vent to cold frame
(which is important occasionally on hot days or to circulate
air) take the window off or just crack it to the side.
Vegetables are very prone to picking up lead leached out of
old paint, so sand off any window frames old enough that

Keep in mind that when a rain barrel is full and it
rains the overflowing water needs to go somewhere. Devising
for this fact can be as simple as just letting it overflow out
the tank right where it is, or it can be as complicated as
piping the water off to exactly where you want it (although
keep in mind that this is rain from the entire surface of yoUl
roof- which might be a lot- and it is overflowing at a time
when it is already raining). The basic idea is that you don't
want to drown plants. Placing your rain barrel on gravel or
just spouting the water off somewhere you don't care about are
both great options. Look at how your space was draining the
water out of the bottom of the downspout to get an idea of how
not to end up with a big soggy puddle.
5. I. .Sytl.lw\S
The way that water works, you get t pound of
pressure per square inch (P.S.I) for every foot that the water
'
level is elevated over the spout. So, if you the level of
water in your rain barrel is four feet above where your hose
comes out, you'll have two pounds per square inch out of your
hose. It doesn't really matter if you're just using a rain
barrel connected to a normal hose- less P.S.I. will just take a
little longer to water with- but having a little extra
pressure can be important if you're attaching your rain barrel
to a drip or soaker irrigation system. Don't worry about
getting your drip system pumping out like its tap water- and
eta
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uC).sko.ts,
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important thing to know about the supplies you need
to attach a tap to a rain barrel is that home depot employs
plain clothed security. Surveillance cameras can look like
subtle black balls or strange looking fixtures- not obvious
oldsohool box cameras. Several small fittings can be concealed
in cheap larger items. Spend half an hour asking questions at
a local hardware store to make sure you're buying the right
kind of fitting then walk into home depot with the receipt iQ
your pocket. Ace, lowes, lesser chain stores like walmart and
'
fred meyers might have home and garden sections under semi-
permanent chain-link tents next to easy side doors. Small
items can be stuffed through fence holes and bigger items
thrown over the top to be picked up on the other side.
You can keep mosquitoes from breeding in your rain
S<.ret..n.S" Filters
barrel by cannibalizing an old window screen or t-shirt. If
using your rainbarrels often or have a
. constant overflow, you might find that hordes of
mosquitoes aren't an issue. If you have limited
screening material or interest in keeping
mosquitoes out, you can use your window screen
in the joint between the downspout and your
barrel. This can keep all the crap from the
gutters out of your barrel, which can clog
up a tap. Or you can clean your gutters. You don't
have to do it often, but a olean gutter will not only
run less risk of clogging a rain barrel tap but also
be able to flow more water into your catchment system.
04
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h.

..
Or lllake one :rourselt. The clear plastio needed is idenical
to the kind you can apply to house windows to save on
heating bills and warm a building up in the winter. As soon
as it starts to warll! up a bit in the spring, take the plastic
orr your house and recycle it straight into your garden to
get an eat-ly jump on planting.
We've gotten worn out wire coat-hangers from a dry cleaner
by telling them its was for a school art project- bend the
hanger into little hoops spaces closely down a row in your
garden and drape the insulation plastic over the top. Weigh
the edges down with a board or tree limp nnd just move it
and flip the the plastic up to get in and work on the bed.
control the flow out of the drain. If you keep your eyes
out for unique objects, you can design a water catchment
system that is tailored to meet your personal situation
and has more character than anything bought from the
store. If you can drill a hole in the bottom and attach a
tap you can do that, or just leave it open where you can
dip something in it. And you can make it for free.
\)owf\S o - ~ S
The downspout feeds your rain
barrel. Look: at how much of your roof
is flowing into a particular downspout-
the more the better but even a little section
can fill up a rain barrel. You can take the
downspout off and re-route it somewhere that's
convenient for your purposes. If you need to
chop up the downspout, throw away (or take with you to the
next place) the whole thing when you move out and the
landlords probably won't notice. If they do, swear u.p and
down that it wasn't there when you moved in. Elbow and
bend pieces can be really useful, look at the bottom of all
your downspouts to find where they bend out and shoot
way from your house. Take them, swap them, move
~ them around. For extra downspout material
look on old rotting sheds or rip them off th
side of a golf course.
'68
can drain pretty much every drop of water and even hook
up a hose. If using a hose, the water won't
be able to come out unless the hose is below
the level in the tank:, so close top rain
- ........
barrels need to be set somewhere high enough
off the ground to run a hose down from or get
a watering can under the spout. Filling up
watering cans from a spigot- especially a gravity fed
spigot- tak:es a lot longer than simply dunking a watering
can in the top.
\
Close top or open top- anything that stores rainwater and '
redirects it into the garden is good. In the right ,
situation, like a raised deck:, you can set up a system which
has both an top and a tap you can access on the .
bottom.
t0a.r1"er\S
Anything can be a rain
barrel. If it holds water, you
can use it to redirect rain.
Find a barnacle encrusted old
buoy being thrown away at a local
port- caulk up any holes and
throw a tap on it. If your
neighbors remodel their bathroom,
take their tub and put it under a
downspout to dip watering cans in. Garbage cans,
kitty pools and large buckets can be open top rain barrels.
A wheelbarrow can be rolled around and be dumped out
when its needed for other purposes. Broken washing
machines could probably be rigged up to hold water and
One of the easiest and most effective little greenhouses you
can construct around a plant iS a plastic milk jug with the
bottom cut off. Just place it over a young seedling or seed
and remove the cap to vent it. This is also great protection
against slugs when the plant is young and vulnerable to
decimation. Thefre easy to make and move and are very
effective at boosting soil temperature and protecting young
plants because they can be pushed right down to insulate the
Thinning is heartbreaking work:. It was one of the
biggest things we fuck:ed up as novice gardeners. First
carefully pull up our baby plants and transplant them out
into other parts of your bed. Then we'd run out of space
and start frantically stuffing them anywhere we could.
Then there is simply no space anywhere to stick another
transplant seedlings. We'd muster ou:r courage to pull out
the extra and seedlings- but we always felt too bad about
doing much heavy thinning. Oftentimes we wouldn't give the
plants nearly as much room as they wanted.
Getting plant spacing right is tricky- especially
when working with unfamiliar new plants. The idea oe.au1u
thinning 1s that you plant many seeds to ensure
germination, and then thin them out as they get bigger so
they have enough space to fully develop. Plants with
right spacing can be healthier, bigger, tastier and live
longer. Plants without enough room will grow stunted, fail
to mature, and become susceptible to disease. Seed packets
usually give spacing guidelines, but be aware that since
these are usually designed for growing plants in long thin
rows as opposed to deep, wide beds you can usually plant
them a little bit closer together. Pay attention to how
things are growing and make your own decisions about
spacing. As a fuzzy guide, get the full-grown plant's
foliage to be just touching eaoh other. The more foliage
you have covering bare dirt also acts as a green mulch.
Different plants are absorbing different nutrients and can
often stund closer planting with one another. One thing we
read md r1 to add recommended spacing for both plants
together and divide by two, but plants might find things
MAnv combi.nat.iona ot' n l ant.a are
.,1
watering cans. Whatever you choose to use, the idea is to
store the energy from the rain and direct it out into your
garden when and where needed. Just putting a rain barrel
in the garden doesn't save water- you have to actuall y use
it for your watering needs, too.
- _j
,
vs. (.\ose.A
Don't worry about things you read recommending that
downspouts need to be routed into closed tanks or barrels
sealed with netting to keep mosquitoes out of the stagnant
water. If you put any container that holds water under a
downspout, you can use it to dip watering cans in when it
fills up. Its much more convenient than most rain barrels
with taps for a lot of reasons, and great way to use a
homemade cottage cheese watering can. The major
. ' '
disadvantage of a rain barrel 'without a tap on the
bottom is that it can be hard to use all the water
'
in the bottom by dipping in a watering can. But
remember that any amount of water you use out of
your rain barrel is conserving that much water
out of the tap.
What we typically think of as a rain
barrel- a barrel with a closed top except
for a hole for the water to come in and
a tap on the bottom- gravity feeds water
out of a spigot.


Rain barrels are fucking fuun. Be realistic about how
much rain barrels can do- especially if you only have one.
They probably won't supply all your water needs unless
you have a BIG water catchment system, a lot of
})' '"r\ rain all season long, some fantastic soil
'fJ management system or a very small garden. But
barrels and other lower or higher tech water '
catchment systems really can supply a bifS chunk
of the garden's water. This not only saves water ...

bill, but also utilizes one of the most amazi.ng ,,
Jiitl!!iip;r natural resourqes around you- rain. A fifty five
gallon barrel on a good downspout can fill up in a
heavy rain or two, and every time you drain it
that's fifty-five gallons of water that you don't
need to pump out of a well or city water.
Rain barrels are especially good for seed starts
or potted plants- which benefit from careful
watering- or supplying the watering need of
one out of the way chunk of your garden if
ypu're watering the rest by hose.
And a rain barrel doesn't have to be a barrel.
being creative about building rain barrels
.
and figuring out how to get taps on them is fun
and useful, oftentimes practical solution like
J
I
beneficial and do better in one another's company.
Thin by gently scooping up the soil around the
seedling and transplanting it somewhere that has enough
room. ThiS is easiest to do with slightly damp soil, Then
water your transplants very gently. Each root tip is called
a meristem, and it cannot be regenerated if it gets damaged.
The other thing you can do is simply yank: seedlings
out until you're left with only a few at the right spacing.
Heartbreaking. But a few plants with enough room to grow
are more productive than many stunted, unhealthy and
unhappy plants. One thing we do to make ourselves feel
better about it is to eat the whatever we're thinning out,
particularly sprouts or small-sized salad greens. There's
actually a high-end gourmet market for "micro-greens" -
the young byproducts of thinning taste good, are nutritious
and are ready before the final mature crop. We cut or
them off with our fingers- and usually don't need to pull
out the root (its young and undeveloped, we figure will
decompose quickly and be a feast for soil microbes cycling
the nutrients.) Sometimes pulling thickly spaced seedling
roots can disturb or damage the other plant roots you're
trying to protect.
Or go for a different approach altogether- plant
seeds only in the precise places for adult plants to go
and and hope for high germination rates. This saves seed
but cuts down on the beneficial green mulching of young
seedling. Any method or combination of methods is good as
long as it I gives plants enough room to grow. Thinning,
transplanting out or seed spacing is an essential part of a
healthy garden and a chore that can't be ignored- however
painful it may feel to snuff the light out of a seedling
when it's barely touched the light of day
....
Everything needs water to live. Period.
yet water's whole deal is just to flow.
Treasure 1 t.
,.,
,

A garden doesn't need a regular watering schedule every day
or the exact perfect amount. Just focus on the plants and
pay attention to how much water they are wanting and how
much they are getting. f ..-_ _,_ {U\. '- -
Knowing the basic water requirements of something can be
helpful- some things like more water or less water- and
some things like lettuce care less about how much water
they get but will turn bitter if a supply isn't steady.
LuckJ Ly everything in the garden has a large range of
science.
Even if you don't exactly how much water something needs,
you can experiment a little and see how things respond.
Look at and touch the soil- get a reel for what its doing-
and inspect your plants. If they like what's going on, try
just keep doing what you're doing. If they're not, try
something different. The wrong amount of water can make a
plant stunted, wilted, susceptible to disease or not growing
well- which you can simply be fixed by paying attention to
We've experimented and had some luck with turning junk
hoses- chunks too beat up to be repaired or short scraps
from splicing projects- into soaker hoses with a small dril
bit. We haven't come up with the ideal system, but it
promising that the right sized bit and the right amount of
holes might make a great soaker hose system. One thing we
noticed with our experiments was that it was hard for wate
to drip out of small holes, but larger holes gushed a lot
more water near the front of the hose than the back. You
might be able to plan and compensate for this by drilling
holes spaced farther apart near the front of the hose. Tr:
/lflllfllll!lf drilling hole from the back forward and checking the wateJ
..........
flow every few feet. If you're system doesn't end up -
perfect, use it to experiment with different soil condition!
or suppliment uneven watering with a watering can every
be helped, sprinklers are best avoided.
lots of water through evaporation before soaking into the
and often don't even spray the right places.
Constantly moving them around to get full eoverage can
it won't be any quicker than just hand watering, and they
can't know which spots need different amounts of water.
you may find a situation where sprinklers are the best or
Only option available to you. If you chose to use a
sprinkler, make sure to avoid watering in hot parts of the
day and be mindful of where your water is going. And like
all other watering, be sure to pay attention to if your
plants look like they're getting the amount of water they
need.. 2 a
If you use a soaker hose, snake it through your bed to get
even water coverage everywhere. If you can do this before
bigger plants interspersed with sprouting seedlings are
everywhere you can save some fragile plants as you adjust
your layout to get coverage everywhere. Be conscious of
1
areas that get a little bit more or less water just because
-
of how the hose is laid out or how water is draining
differently in different spots. You'll never be able to get
soaker hose coverage perfectly even, but that gives you room
experimenting with the different little micro-climates this
effects and interacts with. One major drawback of a soaker
P.-' ~
hose is that once it's laid out, it can be tricky and tJIIi' 24 . ~ ~
dangerous moving it between beds- but this also gives you a
The most important thing to know about SOaker ho.<Jes is that
they're not a substitute for paying attention to water. _ . . . . . . . . ~
Whether you're out every day with a watering can or using a
Soaker hose, YOU need to be aware Of hOW plants are l I
responding to what's going on. Don't fall into the trap of
/ flipping on end off your soaker hose without ever looking
at what's happening in the garden. Soaker hoses can save
some time, and are great for combining watering with other
tasks, but they won't help much and might even end up
hurting if you don't still pay attention

When to water the garden is much more straightforward that
how much or how often. When the day gets hot, surface
water evaporates quick. Watering during the the heat of
day, a lot if not most of the moisture evaporates before
soaking down to the plants. Water when the soil's cool in
the morning or the suns loosing its heat in the evening. By
watering when it's cool, the goods get down in the soil where
Avoid watering your garden during the middle of the day.
Its a huge waste of water and most of it doesn't even get
where its supposed to be. Think of watering as something to
do as e final checkup at the end of the day or e way to see ~
what's going on in the morning. f.,,. ~ ~ ~
).
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-
Hand watering with a can is a great way of getting a reel
for how much water things need. It can be a big task with a r
sizable garden- but with a big can or two its entirely
possible to keep even a large garden watered without a hose.
If you're not watering the whole garden with a watering can,
it might still be good for corner is bed hard access with a
hose. Rather that unhooking hoses and dragging them
Big watering cans can cover big distances and are perfect
for watering large garden beds, but the bigger the blast of
water the harder it is on seeds and new transplants.
-- - ==
In situations where it doesn't make sense to use soaker
hoses, you can open up the end and use it as a regular hose
that just leaks a little. But in some situations, especially
you have more than one hose, you can close up the end
(kink it and tie it shut or use duct tape if you don't have a
store-bought end fitting) and the water will l eak out slowly
down the entire length of the hose. '!'his slow steady
release of water is exactly the conditions that allows water
to seep down into the soil deeply and evenly- where it can
be the 4[]0

you have access to a soaker hose or not, try to
t our plants: The
follow this principle when you wa er y
A great delicate watering can be made out of an old cottage
cheese container- just punch some hole in the bottom. Dip
in into your water bucket or rain-water collector like a
ladle. Pull it out and water will gently pour from the
slower the water release- the lower the volume of water
needed is overall. Slow drips = less water needed. Follov
this principle and don't water during the heat of the day
and you'll save quite a bit of water, make the plants
happier and out down your bills. , r . -.......
.
,_...,.__
holes. Place the water collector nearby and hold the
homemade watering can over the seedlings or transplants
What are a little bit harder to come by and worth a bucket
full of end attachments are hose splitters- joints where one
hose can turn into two or more hoses controlled by little
valves. The reason these are harder to come by is beca
the valves break fairly easily on cheap ones and peopLe
hold on to nice ones because they're so useful.
,.,,_ \. 4 3 ::;;:r" ' Clf
you have a large garden or your making the maximum use
of a small space, weaving one hose between and behind
several beds, you'll appreciate the ability to use a couple
different hose ends. If have the luxury of more than one
hose, being able to split and control water supply from the
same tap or create a T somewhere is great. The is
especially helpful if you have a soaker hose or some sort of
drip irrigation system running through different beds.
'e'
Hoses allow you to wate Lwu
eas t r a lot of gro d ..
Y o over-water if un quickly. It

place for a long ti ose gurgle out in
me, so try to
so that everything t spread the water
ge s what it nee around
the hose for a wider coverage b t ds. Put your thumb over
your plants with to ' u be careful not to bleat
o much press Q
Jwith your hose on full blure. Its usually best not
, .- ast.
t; "' _ H.,-.,
Stretch an old hose out on the ground somewhere
and kind the end ehut so no water can get out- temporarily
tie or duct tape it like this so you can leave it there and
walk: away without it opening up. The turn your hose on
full blast and wait. After a moment follow the length of
the hose and look for where there's tiny (or sometime big)
streams of water coming out the side. Mark: these spots with
a stick: of something and open up the end to let it drain out
when you turn off the water. Wait a few minutes for it
dry before cominS back and wrapping duct tape around the
spots you missed. You may find you have to do this a rev!
times- getting the bigger leaks first followed by the
smaller leaks- but don't worry the the hose still isn't
perfectly water tight. As long as most of the water gets
where it needs to be going, use the hose.
- .
Sometimes the connecting end of an old or cheap hose tears
or gets too bent to use. The hose isn't dead- you can
- . get replacement hose fittings that you can splice in
yourself. They cost a couple dollars at a local hardware
store or you can steal them from home depot. These end
pieces can also be used if you have a long hose that you
rather turn into two shorter hoses or for cutting out a
whole rotten chunk of tubin.;:.
abandon industri 1 1 a ot overgrown thick into the ed
around some f we s
orgotten shrubs which h d
years ago to meet a a clearly been put in
... ome minimum go
buffer zones and hadn't b vernment regulation for
een turned on i
connected t s nee. It wasn't
o anything and it was just left to t
back-berry brambles b t ro under
the bushes yanking it u twe spend a whole night hiding in
ou and carrying it
garden I across town to our
c would have n one night we reclaimed garbage whi h
and put it back t
in our garden [ ---,... "' o
_ . ....,., ' -
Keep your eyes open and look for hoses. You'll see thelll
lying around at construction sites- consider it a tax which
saying that if someone wants to build something new
also have to directly support local food
production. Golf courses or other heavily manicured
landscapes pump a lot of water around to keep grass looking
pristine- figure out bow they do it and see what you can
gtean. Chain stores and restaurants sometimes nose down I I
eree out book. f _
2
: : "- .
Another great source of free hosing is just asking around.
Put the word out that you're looking for jurlk hoses- a lot
of warehouses, industrial sites, car washes, food processing
plants, restaurants and all sorts of places use hoses. Most
periodically get new hoses rather than fix old hoses. Ask
around neighbors and strangers about any hoses that
And if your job sucks, steal from
B
I
Don't do it. Home depot is fair game, but gardens
are good. Gardens are on your team- even if they
don't look anything like what you're trying to do
they're still on your team. It would be the
easiest thing in the world to lift a much needed
hose or shovel from an unguarded garden and try
to justify it by having strong objections to the
way the other person was gardening- but at the
end of the day it's just hurting one garden to
benefit another. Even if your neighbor's an
asshole and sprays pesticides all over his store-
bought ornamental landscaping, your neighbor's
garden is still a garden and its not your enemy.
Be S!llart enough and resourceful enough to find
endless amounts of free gardening equipment
without stealing someone's hose. There's a lot of
good fights in this world- hurting another
person's garden is not one. And if someone isn't
using their hose at all, show them what its for
rather than taking it. If you steel another
.,