Gardening For Your Food – How About UP Diliman Showing The Lazy Way!?

I am a UP alumnus, UPLB ’65, son of a farmer and I know of a lazy way to grow your own food. I’m thinking of the public campus of UP Diliman for cultivating gardens such as those above to show passers-by how easy it is to grow a garden – as long as you have a place (superimposed image, Ruth Stout’s book Gardening Without Work from Amazon[1]).

2 books for the price of none!

Now, here’s Book 2 with many and much little works to do:

Above image, Facebook sharing: Lindsay Sheehan’s little red book of ideas[2], published, 26 January 2020, Natural Living Ideas). Here are the titles of her little free notes:

41 Cheats To Garden For (Almost) Free

  1. Assess Soil Texture For Free
  2. Assess Soil PH For Free
  3. Humus
  4. Grass Clippings
  5. Leaf Mold
  6. Seed Saving
  7. Seed Swaps
  8. Seed Library
  9. Plant Cuttings
10. Division
11. Regrow Your Food
12. Perennial Plants
13. Foliage Plants From Scraps
14. Smother The Site
15. Borrow It
16. Freebies
17. Get A Good Deal
18. Seed Starter Pots
19. Potting Soil
20. Containers
21. Reclaimed Wood
22. Scavenged Branches
23. Plant Supports
24. Irrigation
25. Coffee Grounds
26. Tea Leaves
27. Banana Peels
28. Epsom Salts
29. Eggshells
30. Wood Ash
31. Vinegar
32. Aquarium Water
33. Fertilizer Teas
34. Garlic
35. Hot Peppers
36. Insecticidal Soap
37. Epsom Salts
38. Baking Soda
39. Cinnamon
40. Beneficial Insects
41. Companion Planting

Well, Ms Lindsay’s cheating little red book is not well-edited – like, all 41 entries should have a verb just like the first 2 entries have – and they should be given stepwise, sequentially. Never mind!

Now here’s Book 1:

Above, when my wife Ampy saw the Facebook sharing by Jovita Datuin, she said, “You’re assuming we have space for a garden.” And I said, “We don’t even have a square foot of soil to plant a seed. Flower pots – you will put pots in our small rooms?”

In 1963, Ruth Stout came out with her book Gardening Without Work with the subtitle. Gardening Without Work: For the Aging, the Busy & the Indolent (New York, published by the Devin-Adair Company). I read Ms Ruth’s book sometime in 1965, but I have never had any chance to apply her ideas. Today, with Ms Jovita’s challenge:

Hereby, I am challenging UP Diliman to allow me to garden along Commonwealth Avenue 1 ha for the public to see. I will put up there so many 1 m x 10 m gardens that interested people can take care of – alongside 10 such gardens of mine.

I will do little preparatory “work” as a gardener. First, I will have the whole area rotavated, and then it’s ready for gardening – anyone can claim 20 sq m on which to plant and take care of a favorite flower, fruit, or vegetable. I will then watch your garden for you.

So there! In UP Diliman will grow the laziest gardens of them all!@517

 

[1]https://www.amazon.com/Gardening-Without-Work-Aging-Indolent-ebook/dp/B01D06KKDW
[2]https://www.naturallivingideas.com/garden-for-free/?fbclid=IwAR3aXgSBAJjLKh_MmJiWu2JnvaFZNFGES1HIGpeqMxOvIPiV_2uK5t92hsw


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