After a very short stay (for me) in Philly, Amy and I took the bus to NYC to hang out for a few days, since I’d never been. Apparently, it’s a minor crime for SE Michiganders to have never been to New York. I’ve now officially been exonerated.

This photo makes the Statue of Liberty look much bigger than it really is. It was much smaller than I’d anticipated. Still, if there weren’t any skyscrapers yet and this is the first thing I saw on my way into the US, I’d be pretty excited. And it was big enough to get the job done in Ghost Busters 2.

We stayed in Manhattan in the East Village, by way of an excellent site called airbnb. Folks with an extra room are able to rent it out B&B style. We stayed for under $100/night in the East Village in a great apartment, with really cool people (and a very cute Pomeranian). By sheer dumb luck, the apartment was revealed by the prior guests to be a couple blocks from Lula’s! So, within an hour of our arrival, Amy and I found ourselves at an all vegan ice cream shop, with more options than we knew what to do with. Amy got a sundae with strawberry cheesecake ice cream and cake batter-flavored softserve, with fudge, coconut whipped cream, nuts, and a cherry.

I went a slightly more boring route and got a double scoop cone with toffee crunch and cookies and cream. It may seem like a waste, but their ice cream–made from cashews–was so awesome that I wanted to enjoy super old-school style. When’s the last time you had an ice cream cone while walking around the city?

After our…errr…lunch, we headed up to Central Park and then the Met (Metropolitan Museum), which was like a small city. Be prepared to spend some time there. We spent a lot of time in the Egyptian tomb (they rebuilt an entire tomb in the museum) and the period rooms (a very cool window into how folks lived in America from its inception through the early 20th century).

A few blocks from the Met is Candle Cafe, the more affordable (though still not cheap) younger sibling of the famous Candle 79. We got the taco salad and the sesame crusted tofu, both of which were phenomenally awesome.

We also got the world’s best vegan quesadilla, made with their own cashew cheese. It was mind-blowing.

The next day, we stopped in at Ost for some coffee and then hit up the Guggenheim, Neue, and Whitney museums.

We saw more great work than would be reasonable to describe here, but some of the highlights were the Charles Burchfield show and Biennial retrospective at the Whitney, and the Sarah Anne Johnson, Markus Hansen, Walead Beshty, Julie Mehretu, and Stan Douglas at the Guggenheim.

We found ourselves, once again, very close to Candle Cafe, and with so much on the menu we had yet to try, it seemed like a good idea. This time we had the lasagna and the Tuscan Seitan Parmesan Sandwhich, both of which were very good, but not quite up to par with our previous night’s meal. We were very hungry (and perhaps a sheet or two to the wind), so no photos on this one.

We got drenched by a crazy storm on the way home. We brought umbrellas, of course, but it was pouring so hard (and didn’t start until we were already walking back to the apartment) that we still got soaked. The next day my shoes were still wet. Luckily, we were only about a mile from MooShoes. My trusty walking shoes (a hand-me-down pair of Saucony’s I got from my friend Jason in 2003) had more or less bit the dust (I was in less comfy Macbeths on this trip), so I replaced them with a vegan pair. Goodbye soggy feets!

We were starved, so we asked the clerk where to eat, MooShoes being a vegan shoe store and all. It turned out we were around the corner from BabyCakes bakery! Not only is everything vegan, it’s also totally allergen-free, super all-inclusive. Obviously, we couldn’t resist doughnuts.

To keep things healthy, we had some savory biscuits too. The staff was ultra friendly and gave us lots of recommendations on where else to eat in the city.

We continued exploring at a slower pace than the previous days. We were hoping to hit up the V-Spot in Brooklyn for dinner, but they’re closed on Mondays. Instead, we treated ourselves to a fancy (read: really pricey) raw meal at Pure Food and Wine. For an appetizer, we tried the Dr. Cow cheese plate. These have been really hyped up and were good, but not great. The texture was perfect, in terms of replicating the type of cheese you’d have on crackers, but the flavor wasn’t anything unexpected; we’ve had more interesting nut spreads, honestly. For our entrees, we got the porcini ravioli and the spanikopita, both of which were outstanding. We had their cheesecake for dessert, which was also bad-assed. This place somehow seemed a little too fancy for photos. So alas, you’ll have to use your imagination or try it yourself.

We headed back to Philly the next day, luckily, since our checkbook probably couldn’t have handled any more Manhattan dinners. Huzzah!

As you probably know, Amy spent the last three weeks in Philly at an artist residency at the Philadelphia Art Hotel (PAH) (whose most excellent proprietors Krista and Zak are both veg, btw!). You’ve seen the awesome Swedish pancakes they made. We also spent a little time out and about exploring and, of course, eating. After three weeks, Amy had learned the lay of the land and took me on a little tour.

One of our first stops downtown was the Reading Terminal Market–a huge indoor market with assorted shops and restaurants. Being in Philly, our first stop was the pretzel stand (the Pennsylvania Dutch [a bit of a misnomer--they came here as Germans--Deutsch] are known for their pretzels–be sure to ask for these without butter). This gave us just enough fuel to finish wandering and check out the Liberty Bell, which–unbelievably–was free. It’s nice to know there are a few elements of our heritage that have yet to be fully commercialized.

For some reason, I was expecting it to be much bigger.

Before our friend Shelby gave us a tour of the Paula Wilson and Mel Chin (Fundred Dollar Bill) shows at the Fabric Workshop, we headed back to the Terminal Market for a slightly larger meal, this time consisting of a vegan meatball hoagie and Philly cheesesteak sammich from Basic 4 Vegetarian Snack Bar.

The meatball hoagie was pretty good. The cheesesteak sammich was about how it looked: greasy and gross, but tasty. I don’t think we’d normally eat this type of stuff, but since we were in Philly, it seemed like the thing to do. Philly’s not famous for its salads.

Later that night, however, Amy surprised me with the best tapas (and sangria) we’ve ever had at Amada.

While not exclusively veg, they had a really good selection of veg options and the staff was very knowledgeable about what was vegan and/or could be made vegan. We got Ensalada Verde (green chopped salad, with asaparagus, favas, and green beans), Habas a la Catalana (warm fava and lima bean salad), Escalavida (roasted peppers, onions, eggplant, and tomatoes), Garbanzos con Espinacas (a chick pea and spinach curry), and Setas (a variety of AMAZING wild mushrooms). Our meal and service were outstanding.

On our last night in Philly, Amy took me to a local favorite, the Memphis Taproom. They serve a great variety of both local and non-local brews (apparently Pennsylvania, like Michigan, is a big time micro-brewing state). They’re menu featured a bunch of very clearly labeled vegan burgers and sides, all of which looked quite good (word has it that one of the owners is vegan). We went with the Smoked Coconut Club (grilled tofu & coconut bacon [yes, coconut bacon! it was awesome!]) and the Hefeweisen Hummus (with deep fried chick peas). The Club was truly something else. Shaved, smoked coconut as the bacon. Whoever invented that deserves a medal. Awesome. (Amy had this on four separate occasions.) Aside from the great food and beer, the staff were really nice, and Jawbreaker was playing on the stereo when we left.

I didn’t have a chance to check it out, but Amy and crew hit up North Bowl one night. Not only can you drink and bowl, bowl and drink, but you can get vegan buffalo wings! And portobello fries! And tater tots! If you have the time, definitely worth hitting up.

Let freedom ring.

On Sunday my most excellent residency hosts, Krista and Zak (at the Philadelphia Art Hotel) hosted the other resident, Jessica, and I for brunch.  It was super thoughtful of them to make a batch of Swedish pancakes just for me (the only vegan).  I provided applesauce as an egg replacer (1 tbsp as = 1 egg).  Because they are cooked in a griddle, the applesauce didn’t bind quite the way their batch did with the egg, but it did work, and they tasted amazing, as you can see from the photo.  I promise there are pancakes under all of that goodness.

Here’s the recipe Krista followed for about five pancakes:

Vegan Swedish Pancakes

• 2 tbsp applesauce
• 2.5 cups soymilk
• 1 cup flour
• Earth Balance (TM) for cookin’ and slatherin’

Whisk applesauce, soymilk and flour together until a bit runnier than “normal” pancake batter.  Pour a bit into a hot pan freshly dolloped with Earth Balance (TM) and swirl the batter in the bottom of the pan to make a thin, even coat.  Allow to cook until a bit less shiny on top and flip with a spatula.  Once finished, use the spatula to fold the pancake into quarters and pop onto a plate in a warm oven.  Repeat until you have a stack of yummy pancakes.

We served ours with more EB, powdered sugar, blackberry sauce, and fresh strawberries, blueberries and chopped white peaches.

Let us know if you have a go-to Swedish Pancake recipe, or have other ideas on how to veganize this one.  Maybe next time we’ll try ground flax + water.

At long last! It’s finally tomato harvesting time! We got tons of lettuce, are still getting kale, and have been getting green beans and cucumbers for a few weeks now, but there’s something momentous about that first big batch of tomatoes. Something that says, “your garden has arrived.” Everything leads up to tomatoes; they’re the climax. The winter squash and fall kale are the denouement, with canning, perhaps, as an additional baby climax.

My friend Simon (fellow vegan, drummer for Ineffable Robot [new tracks up soon!]) was in over the weekend and we ate largely from the garden. The first night, we had Shells al Pomodoro and Cucumber Salad.

Shells al Pomodoro

• 4ish medium-sized tomatoes, gutted and diced
• 6 cloves of garlic, diced
• 1 small green bell pepper
• 1 fresno chili, seeded and diced (optional)
• 1 large handful of fresh basil, chopped
• cooked shells (or noodle of choice)
• salt & pepper, to taste
• olive oil

In a medium-large pan, saute the garlic in olive oil for a few minutes, until it just starts to brown. Toss in the tomatoes and peppers, cooking until tender. Salt and pepper to taste. A minute or two before serving, stir in the basil. Serve over pasta. Easy! Delicious!

Cucumber Salad

• 2 – 3 cucumbers, cubed
• 1 tomato, gutted and cut into medium-sized pieces
• rooster (Sriracha) sauce (to taste)
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 – 2 tbsp olive oil
• toasted pita or tortilla, chopped (optional)
• salt & pepper, to taste

Toss everything together. That’s it.

Be forewarned: this was not one of my best efforts. We had something similar a few weeks ago at an Indian restaurant and I really liked it, so I thought I’d attempt my own version, what with all of those cucumbers to use up. It was a little spicy, because I went overboard with the rooster sauce. I think I also over-soy-sauced it, so add everything little by little. I’ll have to return to this at some point to perfect it. We have a LOT of cucumbers.

The next day, we biked 20 miles (and 20 miles back) to a neighboring town to try out the Red Pepper, a raw vegan restaurant. After the ride there, we were mighty hungry. We got the Italian Pizza and the Raw Tacos, both of which were quite good. The pizza’s crust was probably its standout feature. The tacos were made with a seasoned walnut “meat”. It was pretty amazing. The “shells” were just lettuce, though, so this was a bit more like a salad than tacos. We got some energy shakes for the ride home, which were also good, though I was a little over-full, and thus kinda sluggish for the ride. 40 miles of super hilly terrain is a lot harder than I thought it would be (we biked 25 flat miles two days later, and it was a cinch, comparatively). We were so pooped when we got home that we couldn’t be bothered to cook, so it was vegan pizza time.

We made homemade brats (the best batch ever!) the next night, but that post, friends, is forthcoming.

The next night we rocked this Tempeh & Kale Stew (we’ve also got tons of kale right now):

This stew is very much like the Spicy Potato & Kale Soup, but with carrots, and minus the spicy and parsley. It was pouring out, so this was something of a summer rarity, but very appropriate.

Slimetime’s since hit the road, but I still have lots of maters to use up, so last night I rocked a chili.

There’s no chili better than one made from your heirloom tomatoes, especially if you’re growing multiple varieties. The freshness and variation in flavor really take the flavor in interesting, often inimitable, directions. This particular batch was made with Black Krim (our favorite–dense, not too sweet, not too acidic, very flavorful), Supersonic Orange (a new one this year–very tangy), and Oaxacan Pink (gigantic, fairly sweet). It made for a somewhat sharp, but slightly sweet chili–a perfect chili for crackers. Outstanding!

As Mark mentioned I am currently at a residency at the Philadelphia Art Hotel, run by two amazing people, artists Krista Peel and Zak Starer. I am all set up in a the top floor of a row-house in the East Kensington neighborhood in a studio room adjacent to a kitchenette where, thankfully, I can once again prepare all of my own food. My fellow resident, Danielle Rante, and I are becoming fast friends, along with our other roomie, her dog Kanga.

Lo and behold, Danielle is vegan and Zak and Krista are vegetarian, so it was easy for us all to agree on a local eatery the other evening–the Memphis Taproom–which is in our neighborhood. They serve local beers on tap and have a great selection of vegan food on the menu, as the lady half of their operation is vegan. Danielle and I each got the yummy Smoked (Tofu) Coconut Club with fries.

As great as that meal was, it’s not really representative of how I’m eating here. I love getting to see how other (foodie) vegans prepare food for themselves, and Danielle is teaching me a lot in the health realm. At our house, we tend to eat a lot of starches- regular noodles and breads and decent quantities of them. I think of starch as one of my small indulgences. However, since Danielle and I have prepared some simple meals together–of mostly fresh produce and whole wheat pasta, for example–I realized how great (and how much better for me) whole wheat pasta, or sprouted grain bread can be.  One of my favorite new snacks I’ve learned from her is simply lightly toasted sprouted grain bread with part of an avocado smooshed on top, drizzled with some honey (we’re honey eaters) with a sprinkle of salt.

The (Mostly) Raw Kale Salad above was my lunch today.  I learned from Danielle to rub the kale with a bit of olive oil and salt and let it sit to soften it a bit while preparing the other veggies. This makes it easier to eat. This salad also has an herbed salad mix stirred in with the kale, chickpeas (the not-raw part), diced green onions, blueberries, shredded purple cabbage, half an avocado- chopped, carrots and some hummus on the side. In addition to the oil and salt, it has a dash of balsamic vinegar and some cranks from a pepper mill. It was perfect!

Once again, Amy has left me for the (always) sunnier climes of Philadelphia for an artist residency at the Philadelphia Art Hotel. I’ve been feeling a little uninspired in the kitchen lately, but for some reason–probably missing her–I felt an overwhelming need to cook it down last night. Strange how sometimes cooking is a burst of creative energy, and others it’s a quiet therapy. Some people use TV to keep them company. I crank up the stereo and cook.

Because (a) any period of extended bachelorhood should start with a giant mess of rice and beans, and (b) the summer makes me crazy for Mexican food, it only made sense to pressure cook a vat of black beans. From there, I made variations on both our Mexican rice and refried beans, coming up with this:

Please forgive the terrible photo! Amy absconded with both the good camera and the great camera (oh, the dictates of art!). So hold on to your seats, the next 3 weeks will be a little bumpy. In the meantime, check in on her blog for great art and great photos.

Pardons aside, what you’re looking at is refried black beans on a toasted tortilla, with avocado and tomatoes, shredded lettuce, and Mexican rice with fresh purple pepper, jalapenos, and tomatoes from our garden.

The refried black beans are made the exact same way as standard refried beans, but subbing black beans for pintos. This version of Mexican rice was made the standard way, but with:

• 2 small purple peppers, seeded and chopped
• 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced
• 1 medium-sized yellow onion, diced
• 2 medium-sized tomatoes, cut into large-ish pieces (not de-boogered)
• 4 cups of veggie stock
• 2 cups of brown rice

Stay tuned for possible variations on the above!

Last night our good friend Blue stopped in for dinner, and brought a giant picnic basket full of fresh zucchini, summer squash, kale, cucumbers, and cherry tomatoes from the local community garden, who he’d been doing some work for (he’s a carpenter/artist). Amy and I had been wracking our brains for something interesting to make and she pointed out that we had a big jar of israeli couscous that we’d yet to try. Putting two and two together…

We used an onion and some garlic as well (of course), and added some black-eyed peas for some protein and to round out the sort of Southern feel the sauteed kale provided. The couscous was really interesting–much more like orzo than standard couscous, like small fluffy noodles. Apparently, it’s also awesome nutritionally.

Garden Israeli Couscous

• 3 small zucchinis, cut into discs or semi-circles
• 2 small summer squashes, cut into discs or semi-circles
• 1 large bunch of kale, de-boned (optional) and chopped coarsely
• 1 medium-sized white or yellow onion, chopped coarsely
• 4 cloves of garlic, diced
• 4 cups (2 cans) of black-eyed peas
• 2 cups israeli couscous
• 3 cups veggie stock (we used our leftover chik’n seitan broth)
• 1 large handful of fresh basil, chopped
• 2 stalks of thyme, de-stemmed
• 1 small handful of fresh oregano
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• olive oil
• salt & pepper, to taste

In a medium-sized saucepan, bring the veggie stock to a boil, then add the couscous. Cover and remove from heat.

In a large skillet, saute the onions and garlic in olive oil over medium heat. After a few minutes, add in the zucchini and squash. When everything is tender, add in the kale and fresh herbs (and probably more oil), stirring well. Add in the black-eyed peas, also stirring well. Stir in the nutritional yeast, then salt and pepper to taste.

Serve over the couscous. Consider Palestinian couscous tomorrow for a two-plate solution.

I don’t know where I first came across this recipe (if you can call it that; it’s so simple), but grapefruit and avocado has been one of my favorite hot weather treats for a while now.  Chop a chilled ripe grapefruit and chilled avocado half (I like it when it’s still slightly firm) and mix them together.  I top them with seasalt and pepper because I put salt and pepper on everything.  I find that duo actually brings out the sweetness in the grapefruit.  Enjoy!

I’m curious what everyone else’s favorite hot weather snack is?  I know there are a bunch of good ones out there, so let’s share the wealth.  If you have a foodie blog, you could link to your vegan recipes in the comments.  Thanks everybody…and stay cool!

As many of you know, about once every two months we get a major fiendin’ for Mexican food. Our local options aren’t great, and among those, the vegan selection is pretty much bean flautas. So. We scratch the Mexican itch by making one of several different feasts, almost all involving guacamole, (homemade) refried beans, and then some variation on tacos, burritos, enchiladas, tostadas, quesadillas, or the infamous taco salad. On a good day, the feast involves Mexican rice. As you’ve learned by studying the Soymilk Flowchart, we’ve been on a crazy okara seitan chik’n kick lately. So we decided to switch things up and make spicy chik’n tacos–with refried beans, guacamole, and Mexican rice!

These things rocked a camel’s ass! Don’t get me wrong–I love a good tempeh taco any day–but these were a really nice change of pace. The beans and rice were probably the best we’ve made as well. This, I think, owes to the more traditional kitchen food chain we employed. Beans are usually made with some sort of fat and or stock and rice is almost always made with chicken stock. We used the leftover stock from our batch of seitan. We cook the seitan in Frontier ™ brand unchicken stock, which (a) gives the seitan a more chicken-y flavor and (b) produces a really nice stock–more robust than the unchicken stock on its own. What started way back with our soymilk is now working its way into the finer flavors of our Mexican feast.

You may already be familiar with our guacamole and refried beans. And you should definitely acquaint yourself with seitan chik’n: ours or Zoa’s okara seitan recipe.

Spicy Chik’n

To make the chik’n, follow one of the recipes above. In a bowl, mix up some taco seasoning. Add about 1/4 cup of water–just enough to make a medium thin paste–like a thin smoothy. Toss the chik’n patties in the mixture–one patty per person (the mixture will cover about 4 patties)–coating well. Store in a sealed container and refrigerate–the longer the better, for deeper marinade penetration (dirty!). When your beans and rice are just about done (or are just finished and on low heat) toss these guys on the grill, cooking until you get delicious grill marks on both sides. They should probably also be cooked thoroughly, but hey, you know what you like. Cut into cubes or strips, as per your preference.

Mexican Rice

We researched a ton of authentic Mexican rice recipes and cobbled this one together out of what seemed to be the common ingredients: rice, onion, garlic, tomato, stock.

• 2 cups long-grain rice (we used brown basmati)
• 4 cups chik’n stock (ideally from seitan)
• 1/2 medium-sized yellow onion, diced
• 4 cloves of garlic, diced
• 1/2 large tomato, de-boogered and chopped coarsely
• salt, to taste
• green onions, cilantro, and/or lime to garnish (optional)

In a medium-sized saucepan, saute the rice in oil over medium heat, until it begins to brown (or turn browner, in the case of brown rice). Add in the onion, garlic, and tomato, then the stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and cover, cooking until the rice is soft and the stock has cooked in. If the rice finishes before the stock has cooked off completely, you can remove the cover and turn the heat up briefly to evaporate the remaining stock.

We served these in home-baked corn tortillas, with sides of refried beans and Mexican rice, and with a green onions, cilantro, lime, and a Corona ™, to garnish.

While you certainly don’t have to be vegan to garden, and don’t have to garden to be vegan, the two are tightly connected. It’s true that the local farmers at the farmers’ market probably know a lot more and do a lot better at growing food than us. And we aren’t (yet) able to grow enough food in our yard to live off of. BUT. Tending a garden is a great way to get closer to your food. It doesn’t matter if you’re just growing a few herbs to freshen up your meals, or feeding your entire neighborhood–the mere act of growing something you can eat, in some small way, opens up and illuminates the entire process of food production.

What’s most informative/instructive, however, isn’t the success–what ends up on your plate; it’s the questions and problems that arise in the process:

• Where will you get the water you need?
• Is your soil suitable? If not, what will you use for soil and where will you get it? Will it be vegan?
• What do you do about pests, both insect and animal?
• Is ___________ really worth growing?
• How much zucchini can you really eat?
• How much will all of this cost? And will you actually save any money?

The most fundamental question is probably your soil, which you have little control over. You’ll probably need at least some additional soil/dirt/compost, even if your soil is great–and maybe quite a bit if it isn’t. In the past, we’ve used Mel’s (Bartholemew) Mix, which is 1/3 vermiculite, 1/3 compost, and 1/3 peat moss. We found this to be a little too loose and have gone much lighter on the vermiculite, a bit lighter on the peat moss and heavier on the compost (the linked site recommends 1/4, 1/4, 1/2, respectively). You can also supplement this with top soil–but you need to check what’s in it. Also, if you’re buying bagged, it’s probably had to travel a great distance to get you–which brings up an interesting question: How local is local?

The same is true of compost, with the additional caveat that most compost is made from animal waste–which brings up an even more interesting question: How vegan is vegan? Most of the vegetables you eat are grown using animal-based compost/fertilizers, so your garden is one of the few places where you can get truly vegan veggies. In any case, if you’re going with store-bought, look for mushroom compost. You’ll also want to find additional sources of compost, to produce a mix. This makes for healthier, less homogeneous soil. A great place to start–with the added benefit of greatly reducing your waste–is creating your own compost. As a vegan, all of your food waste is compostable (though you may want to avoid some seeds, lest your compost pile turn into a garden itself). Ours is a franken-pile made out of a small plastic deal from Lowe’s, chicken wire, and electrical conduit poles. You can (and probably should) leave out the plastic deal and just go straight for the chicken wire and poles–no plastic, much cheaper, and nicer looking.

In some cities, you can also get compost made from municipal yard waste. This is generally free and helps keep city waste down. Additionally, it keeps your compost even more diverse (though you never know exactly what’s in city compost–it’s supposed to be all plant matter).

You can also often get wood chips made from municipal yard waste (from chipped tree branches and fallen/removed trees). Like the compost, this is usually free (we get ours from the same location). Not only does this save you money, but it also lowers your ecological footprint by:

1. ensuring that your wood chips are local (so no long-distance transport)
2. avoiding the use of plastic bags
3. avoiding the use of toxic chemicals in wood treatment

Here are our recently acquired wood chips, used to mulch around the gardens:

You’ll also notice our good friend the rain barrel, chilling leisurely by the garage. We have 5 home-made rain barrels stashed around the house and garage and have only had to use municipal water twice–both times this last weekend, only in two beds, and on the tail-end of both a heat wave and a short drought. That’s 3 1/2 months of free, renewable water! Importantly, it’s water that didn’t require any additional energy (except the calories we expend in watering) to get to our gardens.

You can buy these commercially, but they’re pretty expensive. You can make your own cheaply and somewhat easily–there are lots of tutorials online (and maybe a someday post here, if there’s demand). Watch Craiglist for 55 gallon drums–but be careful about what was in them. We got ours from a power-washing place, so (a) they’d previously contained non-toxic soap, and (b) they were washed very thoroughly. I think they were $20, though I’ve seen them much cheaper, and occasionally more expensive.

Here’s the rain barrel in front of our house. While you should be proud of your rain barrels, it’s possible that you might not want all of them highly visible. We moved a few plants to mask the rain barrel and gas meter, with a fern in a bright red pot for a little visual distraction.

So now that your gardens have healthy soil, plenty of water, and attractive mulch, everything is going great, right? Maybe. We’ve had problems with a variety of critters, both animal and insect. A few years ago, we noticed that something was happily munching on our kale and lettuce. We first assumed it must be a local freegan, but this person would have been given away by their tiny, rodent-like mouth. After nearly a month of half-assed vigils, we eventually caught a glimpse of a ground hog. With our setup, building fences wasn’t ideal, and we certainly weren’t interested in harming or trapping the ravenous little guy. We eventually settled on what might seem a strange choice: coyote urine. This simulates the presence of a natural predator. It is animal-derived, so I have mixed feelings about using it, but most companies are fairly transparent about their collection methods–which almost universally seem to be drains in the floor at legitimate conservation operations (it’s how they help subsidize the cost of maintaining the animals). While this seems like the most humane method to all involved, I’m open to better suggestions.

If you notice that your leaves are being eaten from the inside, you’ve got bug problem. For us, those bugs are mostly slugs. We tried a variety of deterrents–stuff like cayenne, for instance–to no avail. We’ve only found two good solutions, both deadly. One is saucers of beer. Yes. Beer. If I had to choose a way to go, drowning in a drunken haze wouldn’t be worst. The other is iron phosphate (Sluggo ™, by brand). This is a tough choice for many vegans. We’re the type of vegans who capture bugs and bring them outside, so we don’t take the decision to kill slugs lightly. But, if they’re eating all of our greens, then we have to get our greens from the farmer’s market. Do those farmers kill bugs and predators? We buy organic, but that only ensures that no genetically modified crops or inorganic pesticides were used. Everything about your diet can get really complicated, really fast.

You start to understand how a farmer could be convinced that buying genetically modified seeds to produce pest-resistant or pesticide resistant crops is the way to go. If we’re struggling with just a handful of kale and lettuce plants, what’s it like to worry about a whole field?

To further complicate matters, each type of plant has its own special needs and problems. So you have to become an expert on each one. You start to understand why some farmers give in to monocropping. Since you’re probably doing this in your spare time, and as a supplement to your diet, there are limitations to your efforts. You’ll decide that some crops aren’t worth the effort for a small crop (growing one singular broccoli plant was pretty dumb, in retrospect) and that others are a mainstay (there’s nothing better than walking outside and harvesting a salad or canning your own tomatoes). You might also find that you’d prefer to get awesome at growing tomatoes, and that your neighbor likes doing greens–you could start a local cooperative (this would probably work fantastically in an apartment complex with shared garden space, or even in community gardens with a little planning).

While we’re not totally up to the Food Not Lawns standard yet, we have been trying to increase the amount of food that we grow. Here, we’ve converted a flower bed into a tomato and basil garden:

That being said, we like to have flowers in the house, but don’t like getting our flowers flown in on planes from South America. So having an assortment of (mostly) perennials is a free, sustainable way to keep things fresh indoors and out. If friends or neighbors are growing different species/varieties, you can trade to spice things up.

Of course, we’re relative newbies at gardening ourselves, and still have a lot to learn. We recently attended a permaculture workshop which was both exciting and humbling. Got ideas? We’d love to hear them!

And finally, here’s a small gallery of garden photos, for your viewing pleasure (sorry about the repeats!):