Plastic Solutions: Grow It Instead
I have been wondering recently, in my aim to rid my life of plastic, about how I can get the fresh foods that usually come in plastic in a way that avoids it? This summer my problem has been my love of strawberries, which I have vowed to grow/source in a plastic-free way next year because going without is heartbreaking!
I made a list a few weeks ago of the fresh fruits and vegetables that you can only buy in plastic packaging. The foods that quickly came to mind are:
Can you think of any more?
For me, the obvious solution to this problem is to grow these foods myself. With the small amount of space I have for food production, I think it is best practice to use whatever space I have to grow these crops to avoid plastic and then buy the foods that come packaging free from local farmers markets, and I would like to encourage you to do the same.
Berries can be a tricky one to grow as most of them require a lot of space and because these patches in the garden become dedicated to the one perennial crop, rather than serve as part of a rotation of different annual crops throughout the seasons. If space permits, homegrown berries are a must! There is nothing quite like the sweet warm taste of a homegrown berry that has been sitting ready for picking in the sun all morning.
Alternatively, all these berries that come sold in plastic can be picked from a berry farm yourself in the summer and brought home in your reusable buckets and containers. Your berries can then be eaten fresh as well as stored frozen, bottled or as jams to prolong the enjoyment of your harvest. Marvelous! I currently don't have enough space for all the berries I would like, although I think I will definitely put some strawberries in this Autumn. For me, this means next summer mum and I will have to hit the berry farms and get harvesting - and whats not to love about spending the day at a berry farm?!
All my leafy greens always come from my garden. Silverbeet and beetroot leaves are my favourite, and are the easiest for me to grow. When it's the right time of the year I have a serious over-abundance of kale from just a few plants (before the cabbage moth and aphids get to it!) None of us really like lettuce that much so I have decided not to grow it for a while. If you love lettuce though, it is a very easy plant to grow and you get a bumper crop from just a few small plants!
Really, all leafy greens are so easy to grow. They often self-seed meaning they will keep coming up without you having to put any effort in to buying and sowing new plants. Homegrown leafy greens are always there for fresh picking as you need, which is so much better than having to buy a whole bunch of them wrapped in plastic only for them to go off in your fridge when you don't use them all! (The same goes for herbs!!)
Farmers markets sell bunches of greens which are usually just tied up with rubber bands. This is a plastic-free option with the only unnecessary thing coming home with you being the rubber band. I've even seen some bunches of greens tied with string which I love but obviously haven't had the need to buy.
Tomatoes are also super easy to grow. They are a summer crop, so they encourage seasonal eating. Just two or three tomato plants will happily grow in pots and keep your family very happy, but if you grow more you can turn your surplus into sauces, chutneys and bottled tomatoes for the winter!
Finally, mum has a fantastic herb garden just outside our kitchen door. Website and books always suggest herb gardens for beginner gardeners which until now I had always found a rather boring suggestion. Now I see that herbs are another super easy crop to grow and are a perfect alternative to being forced to buy them from supermarkets where you always have to buy way too much. Easy access to our herbs means we don't get too lazy to add them to our meals. You cannot beat the fresh smells and flavours of herbs harvested literally from your doorstep!
I've come to realise that all it takes is a little thinking to start following more environmentally friendly habits. Once I have more land for food production I will definitely have a big berry patch and some fig trees but until then, this is what I'm going to work with. I think this is a perfect time to say "don't do nothing because you can't do everything, do something, anything!" and if just one of these suggestions work for you, then fantastic!
Would anyone like growing guides for these plants or my tips and tricks for successful harvests? I decided not to share too much information so this post was easy to digest but I realise it also might leave too much up to the imagination? Let me know!
Love, Liza
I made a list a few weeks ago of the fresh fruits and vegetables that you can only buy in plastic packaging. The foods that quickly came to mind are:
- Strawberries
- Raspberries
- Blueberries
- ANY berries!
- Cherry tomatoes
- Leafy greens - spinach, kale, salad mix, etc
- Herbs
- Figs
Can you think of any more?
For me, the obvious solution to this problem is to grow these foods myself. With the small amount of space I have for food production, I think it is best practice to use whatever space I have to grow these crops to avoid plastic and then buy the foods that come packaging free from local farmers markets, and I would like to encourage you to do the same.
Berries can be a tricky one to grow as most of them require a lot of space and because these patches in the garden become dedicated to the one perennial crop, rather than serve as part of a rotation of different annual crops throughout the seasons. If space permits, homegrown berries are a must! There is nothing quite like the sweet warm taste of a homegrown berry that has been sitting ready for picking in the sun all morning.
Alternatively, all these berries that come sold in plastic can be picked from a berry farm yourself in the summer and brought home in your reusable buckets and containers. Your berries can then be eaten fresh as well as stored frozen, bottled or as jams to prolong the enjoyment of your harvest. Marvelous! I currently don't have enough space for all the berries I would like, although I think I will definitely put some strawberries in this Autumn. For me, this means next summer mum and I will have to hit the berry farms and get harvesting - and whats not to love about spending the day at a berry farm?!
All my leafy greens always come from my garden. Silverbeet and beetroot leaves are my favourite, and are the easiest for me to grow. When it's the right time of the year I have a serious over-abundance of kale from just a few plants (before the cabbage moth and aphids get to it!) None of us really like lettuce that much so I have decided not to grow it for a while. If you love lettuce though, it is a very easy plant to grow and you get a bumper crop from just a few small plants!
Really, all leafy greens are so easy to grow. They often self-seed meaning they will keep coming up without you having to put any effort in to buying and sowing new plants. Homegrown leafy greens are always there for fresh picking as you need, which is so much better than having to buy a whole bunch of them wrapped in plastic only for them to go off in your fridge when you don't use them all! (The same goes for herbs!!)
Farmers markets sell bunches of greens which are usually just tied up with rubber bands. This is a plastic-free option with the only unnecessary thing coming home with you being the rubber band. I've even seen some bunches of greens tied with string which I love but obviously haven't had the need to buy.
Colourful silverbeet covered in dew drops from today's rain!
Tomatoes are also super easy to grow. They are a summer crop, so they encourage seasonal eating. Just two or three tomato plants will happily grow in pots and keep your family very happy, but if you grow more you can turn your surplus into sauces, chutneys and bottled tomatoes for the winter!
The last of my 2018 tomatoes, to be made into MORE sauce!
Finally, mum has a fantastic herb garden just outside our kitchen door. Website and books always suggest herb gardens for beginner gardeners which until now I had always found a rather boring suggestion. Now I see that herbs are another super easy crop to grow and are a perfect alternative to being forced to buy them from supermarkets where you always have to buy way too much. Easy access to our herbs means we don't get too lazy to add them to our meals. You cannot beat the fresh smells and flavours of herbs harvested literally from your doorstep!
Happy herbs growing amongst each other in poor soil
I've come to realise that all it takes is a little thinking to start following more environmentally friendly habits. Once I have more land for food production I will definitely have a big berry patch and some fig trees but until then, this is what I'm going to work with. I think this is a perfect time to say "don't do nothing because you can't do everything, do something, anything!" and if just one of these suggestions work for you, then fantastic!
Would anyone like growing guides for these plants or my tips and tricks for successful harvests? I decided not to share too much information so this post was easy to digest but I realise it also might leave too much up to the imagination? Let me know!
Love, Liza
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