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Vegan-Organic Information Sheet #4 (60p)

Vegan-Organic Growing -The Basics

Growing with concern for people, ani-mals and the environmentOrganic growing involves treating thesoil, the growing environment and theworld environment as a resource to bepreserved for future generations, ratherthan exploited in the short term. Vegan-organics means doing this without anyanimal products at all, which is not dif-ficult when you know how. All soil fertil-ity ultimately depends on plants and min-erals - these do not have to be passed throughan animal in order to work. Fertility canbe maintained by plant-based composts,green manures, mulches, chipped branchwood, crop rotations and any othermethod that is sustainable, ecologicallybenign and not dependent upon animalexploitation.

The guidelines below do not attemptto be fully comprehensive. The extent towhich you adhere to any system really de-pends on you, your conscience and circum-stances. We can only do our best with ouravailable time and money. The Vegan-Organic Network has now publishedcomprehensive Stockfree Organic Stan-dards, which are available to commer-cial growers and can also be used as areference for home growers. Of course,no one person or organisation knows ev-erything about the subject, so constantco-operation and updating of ideas and

information is needed.Whilst conventional cultivation relies

on synthetic chemicals and animal prod-ucts, traditional organic production alsogenerally relies on animal wastes and by-products. Both involve the exploitationof living creatures, and the inefficient useof land, water and energy resources. Ve-gan-organic methods minimise thesedrawbacks. Many people who are notthemselves vegan or vegetarian are com-ing to appreciate that animal-free grow-ing is the most sustainable system: it isthe future of organics.

Vegan-organic information sheets areproduced on various topics by the Ve-gan-Organic Network, and are aimedmainly at those with allotments, kitchengardens, or other small growing areas,although many of the techniques will alsoapply to larger-scale situations. We wel-come feedback on this information sheetand any other related topics.

In adopting these methods you willcertainly not be alone! Various groupsexist to help out and many are listed be-low. Whether or not you grow some ofyour own food, it is still possible to sup-port the Vegan-Organic Network andother organisations that promote animal-free growing, and thereby lend a hand inthe movement towards a cruelty-free and

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Worms thrive in mulches.Drawing by Christine Mackay

environmentally friendly world. Theoption of buying animal/cruelty-free food is open to very few of usat the moment, unless we are for-tunate enough to live near one ofthe small but increasing number ofcommercial vegan-organic producers.

There are one thousand million rea-sons for growing vegan-organically; thisbeing a conservative estimate of thenumber of sentient creatures killedjust in the UK every year to providefood and raw materials for the UKpopulation.

Here is some advice about grow-ing your own crops.

First of all, remember to use appro-priate protective clothing; some materi-als such as limestone, can irritate the eyesand skin, as can some plants such as com-frey (not to mention nettles!)

Preparing the soilMost bacterial activity and soil organismslive in the top few inches of the soil help-ing to create drainage and build up fer-tility. Constantly digging the soil andexposing it to erosion from the elementsdisturbs the natural balance resulting inthe loss of availability of organic matterand the breakdown of soil structure.When cropping you need to constantlyreplenish soil organic matter levels by theaddition of plant-based composts,mulches and by using plants grown toimprove fertility, i.e. green manures.With the exception of green manures,digging is not necessary for incorporat-ing materials as organic matter spread onthe surface will soon be drawn under byworm activity and plant nutrients will

be available at root level and not be bur-ied out of reach.

It is advisable to dig heavy clays asexposure to frost and rain can result in amore workable soil, especially over win-ter. Compaction, caused by standing orrunning the wheelbarrow over the soilwhen it is too wet, can be avoided bymaking permanent beds that are neverstood on. These can be timber lined asraised beds, with soil from the paths be-ing placed on the beds to raise them.Where soil has been compacted it maybe loosened by forking.

When clearing land for the first timeit is important to remove all the peren-nial weeds such as bind weed, couchgrass, ground elder and horsetail whoseroots are deep and wide spreading. Dan-delions, docks and thistles have a longtaproot. You remove them through a pro-cess of digging a trench, at spade depths

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across an area. Work backwards by push-ing the soil continually forward, almostlike a sieving process so that you can in-spect every part of the soil and removeall the weeds. Do not stand on your newsoil tilth! Finally when all the weeds areremoved rake the soil level with the backof the rake to reduce hillocks andmounds. All weeds will re-grow from asmall piece left in the ground so it isimportant that you are thorough.

After digging, the soil will soon becovered by germinating weeds blown inor brought in by birds etc. therefore it isimportant to manage weeds so that theydo not outcompete the crop. Weeding isa constant task for the vegan-organicgrower but it is always easier to hoe smallweeds when they are at the white stringy

stage rather than having to uproot estab-lished weed clumps by hand, which isfar more arduous.

Weeds are not all bad as they containnutrients that have been brought to thesurface level via the roots. Rather thanwaste this valuable resource, annualweeds (if not seeding!) can be compostedand perennials can be chopped andadded to water to make a liquid feed, asoutlined below.

Mulching and no digMulching is the method of applying or-ganic matter to the soil surface, provid-ing a constant supply of material to breakdown, suppressing weed growth, ensur-ing more even soil temperature and mois-ture. Mulch can be applied at any time

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Field-scale mulching at Organic Growers of Durham

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except when the soil is frozen or dry.When using no dig methods, weed-

infested sites can be cleared by firstly cov-ering with a barrier, e.g. cardboard boxes(flattened and wetted), newspapers(avoiding toxic-coloured inks), carpets orcoconut matting (only those made fromnatural materials such as hessian and cot-ton, avoiding synthetic mixtures andfoam backing). A sufficient quantity oforganic material is then spread over thebarrier. Plants can be planted into holescut into the barrier. Any weeds growingout of the planting holes can be removedby hand. After two years of coveringweed-infested land, most perennial weedsshould have died off.

Organic materialObtaining sufficient organic matter isoften the most difficult aspect of vegan-organic gardening. These are some po-tential sources.• Grass cuttings: rich in nutrients, mixwith compost or fork into the top of thesoil, or use as a mulch.• Old hay: ideal for mulching, contain-ing a balance of nutrients. It must be atleast a year or two old so that no seedswill germinate.• Spent hops: an excellent soil condi-tioner, containing some nitrogen, avail-able from many breweries.• Tree leaves: obtainable from yourown trees or from local councils. Be care-ful of street trees, which may contain lit-ter, dog faeces or lead pollution.• Comfrey: leaves can be cut whenready and added to water to make a liq-uid feed (see HDRA leaflet) or appliedwhen wilted; you can grow your own

comfrey for this purpose.• Composted garden waste: somecouncils now have recycling centreswhere garden waste is shredded,composted, bagged and sold as soil con-ditioner.• Compost: all organic material fromyour own kitchen and garden or fromlocal suppliers can be composted (seeHDRA leaflets); using cooked food is notrecommended.• Seaweed: use washed-up seaweed,stack and allow rain to wash out salt, orbuy seaweed meal.• Chipped branch wood (ramial): theshredded growth of young branches andleaves; see Information Sheet No 9 for details.

Green ManuresThere are many plants that can be grownin order to increase the fertility and hu-mus content of the soil. Basically you sow

Vegan-organic box scheme

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the seed and allow the plant to grow, thencut it down before it flowers. Many gar-deners will then incorporate this into thesoil, though it is also possible to eitherlet it break down in situ or to remove itand compost it. A number of green ma-nure crops, in particular peas, beans, clo-vers and winter tares will enrich the soilwith nitrogen as well as providing organicmatter. Green manures have many ben-efits and can be grown as catch crops inland that would otherwise be empty.Species to consider include buckwheat,cereal rye, winter tares, clovers, and al-falfa. Winter tares are good for heavy soiland lupins are good for light, sandy soiltypes. For more information on greenmanures, see Information Sheet No 8.

Liquid FeedsWhen properly carried out, organic sys-tems should not need supplementaryadditions as the soil provides all the nec-essary nutrients. However, gettingenough potash for your luscious fruitingcrops - tomatoes, cucumbers, auberginesand peppers - may prove difficult. It ispossible to buy vegan liquid feeds or youcan make your own much more cheaply.The process is simple: you fill a container,e.g. water butt with a tap, with plantmaterial such as comfrey, nettles orweeds. You then fill the container withwater (and you will be surprised howmuch water will fit in) and leave it for aweek or two. It will then be very smelly,and you dilute it perhaps 3:1 with waterand then pour it on the soil around theplants. Alternatively you can increase thedilution and spray it over the leaves ofplants, preferably in the evening or on

cloudy days. See Information Sheet No1 for fuller details.

Human ManureComposting human manure properly re-quires great care and skill and should onlybe attempted if you really know what youare doing. While many considerhumanure an essential part of a closedsystem, others would only use faeces fromvegans free from chemical intakes, andsome would reject this altogether. Yourown urine is a strong and easily handledfertiliser, dilute it and use it to activatethe compost heap; or add it to a smallstraw bale until the bale is saturated, (per-haps using it as an outdoor strawbaleurinal) then cover the bale and after 6months or so you will have a heap of ex-cellent compost.

There are some materials that wewould not recommend:• Peat: there has been a lot of publicityabout peat bogs being destroyed in or-der to provide peat for composts, mulch-ing, etc.• Calcified seaweed: this material is ob-tained from the temperate ocean equiva-lent of coral reefs, and is being harvestedin an unsustainable way; it is beingphased out of organic practice.• Spent mushroom compost: just incase you were not aware of it, this mate-rial is usually made from animal ma-nures, especially horse manure. It is alsoheavily polluted with all the chemicalsthey use in growing mushrooms.• Coir: this is being used in increasingquantities as a peat replacement. Al-though this is an excellent soil condi-tioner it is imported from countries that

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need the fertility of their own soils im-proving.• Slaked lime: is a by-product of thechemical industry. Dolomite and groundlimestone has to be quarried, so shouldbe used in moderation.

Pests and DiseasesCrops grown in a soil containing highlevels of organic matter and plant nutri-ents with a good soil structure and tex-ture, will be healthy plants, and willtherefore have a greater resistance to‘pests’ and diseases which tend to attackweaker, sappy plants.

There are many organic sprays avail-able for treating pests and diseases inplants. These are not recommended be-cause whilst they are not based on artifi-

cial chemicals, they can still be poison-ous (e.g. copper sulphate) to non-targetinsect species, many of which are verybeneficial in the garden. If you want toconsider the alternatives to spraying, thenit is important that you adopt a holisticapproach, i.e. use all of the followinggrowing suggestions to increase your like-lihood of healthy crops. Think of ‘pests’as ‘competing organisms’ and you willfeel better towards them!

RotationsPests and diseases spread in monoculture.It is important that you adopt at least afour-course rotation. A typical exampleis to split your garden into four plots:

1. Potatoes and curcubits (courgette,

Phacelia is a green manure which atracts pollinators - Hardwicke

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marrow, squash),2. Legumes (peas and beans) and alli-ums (onions and leeks),3. Brassicas (cabbage, cauliflower, broc-coli, brussel sprout, turnip, radish, swede,oriental salad leaves),4. Salads, roots and miscellaneous (lettuce,chicory, beetroot, carrot, parsnip, sweetcorn).Each year the crops are rotated into dif-ferent parts. So in year one potatoes aregrowing and they will be followed thenext year by peas etc. VON can provideinformation about incorporating greenmanure leys into rotations.

Providing a habitat for predatorsProviding permanent predator belts, in-cluding incorporating undisturbed pe-rennial plants, shrubs and trees for in-sects and beetles to overwinter are allgood ideas. Hedges are the best exampleof this. It is also possible to provide an-nual predator belts by leaving unculti-vated strips between beds. Beneficial in-sects, birds and mammals will not inhabityour garden unless they have a waterbody in which to drink and places toshelter. Think about hedgehog shelters,log piles, bark piles (favoured by lady-birds) compost heaps, lacewing hotelsand bird boxes.

Planting attractant species for benefi-cial insectsBy planting aromatic species amongstyour other plants you will find that theincidence of pests and diseases will fall.Camomile, garlic and many of the Medi-terranean herbs are very useful here.Plants such as borage, limanthes(poached egg plant) echium and mem-

bers of the umbellifer family (let severalparsnips run to seed) attract predatoryinsects such as hover flies, parasitic waspsand other insects. Phacelia will attractbees and hoverflies and growing mari-golds on the bed perimeters will help re-duce greenfly. Companion planting andmixed cropping increases the biodiversityof plants and the insects it attracts.

Physical barriers and tempting theslugs!The dreaded slugs (and snails) are boundto get any vegan-organic grower down.It is very important to try to be as tidy aspossible in the immediate growing area.Leaving things lying around, for example,will give slugs a place to shelter. You cantake advantage of this by laying rhubarbleaves on the ground to attract slugs toshelter there; it is then a simple matterof collecting the slugs and moving them,especially after dark with a torch. Bearin mind that slugs and snails have a hom-ing instinct and will return if you do notmove them far enough away! Other

Ponds sustain frogs andother useful predators.

Drawing by Christine Mackay.

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things you can do are to place a circle ofbran around tender plants; copper tapearound plants or guttering around bedsfilled with sharp stone can be effective.For flying pests use physical barriers likenetting, fleeces, pop bottles as clochesand collars around brassicas to preventthe cabbage root fly laying its eggs.

Grow perennial species where possibleThe gardening world, especially when itcomes to growing food, is becomingaware of the advantages of perennialcrops. Thanks to the pioneering work ofamongst others, Ken Fern Plants for aFuture, and Robert Hart’s Forest Garden-ing Techniques.

There are plenty of perennial foodcrops available. These are much easier togrow - once established they will come

back of their own accord year after year.Very little research has been carried outon perennial food crops, but if you wouldlike more information on this then werecommend you contact Plants For AFuture. This organisation is vegan-or-ganic; they have carried out extensive re-search into alternative food crops andother useful species.

How do we know that horticultural prod-ucts are animal-free?It can be very difficult to ensure that pur-chased material such as compost is trulyfree from animal by-products; the word‘organic’ often means that poultry manure,fish emulsion or slaughterhouse by-prod-ucts are included. Question the manufac-turers carefully; consult the Animal-FreeShopper or Vegan-Organic Network. The

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Companion planting (Langerhorst)

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Organic Gardening Catalogue (see below)lists animal-free products.

One common problem is obtainingvegan-organic compost for pottingplants, raising seedlings etc. This can beobtained by post from the Organic Gar-dening Catalogue (see below) but is costlyto obtain this way. A good easily avail-able product is B&Q multipurpose or-ganic compost: this is peat-free, GM-freeand free from animal ingredients (it saysso on the bag! But it’s also been checkedout by the Vegan-Organic Network). Touse this for raising small seeds first sieveout any larger bits of material and trymixing a little sharp sand with the com-post before sowing. See also the suppli-ers listed below.

And what about worm composters?Indoor or outdoor ‘wormeries’ are pro-moted as a means of using up smallamounts of household waste. For vegans

Vegan-Organic Network. For membership enquiries and information about VON contact161 Hamilton Rd, Longsight, Manchester M13 0PQ or e-mail veganorganic@riseup.net.For general advice and enquiries contact 0161 928 3614 or e-mail p.a.white@ukgateway.net.

VON is an international educational charity with a wide supporter network providinginformation and research on vegan-organic methods. Supporters receive the magazine GrowingGreen International. We publish a list of vegan-organic farms, which may need paid orvoluntary help; run courses on vegan-organics; and organise visits to vegan farms. In co-operation with the Soil Association we have produced the Stockfree Organic Standards,which enable farmers to consider stockfree certification using the SA and VON symbol. Wehave a panel of experts, which can advise members on all aspects of vegan-organic growingfrom windowsill to large farms. Information sheets are available to purchase or are freeonline. The website contains links to many international sources of advice and informationas well as to in-depth academic studies. www.veganorganic.net

Elm Farm Research Centre, Hamstead Marshall, Newbury, Berks RG15 0HR. They carryout research into all types of agriculture, including many aspects of animal-free techniquessuch as green manures. www.efrc.com.

Organisations

these are not such a good idea becauseunlike ordinary compost heaps, theworms cannot move to the soil and wormpopulations are often killed by neglect.

And it’s not just fruit and veg...Indoor plants, flowers, shrubs and in factevery growing thing can be cultivatedusing the above methods. Roses shrubsand trees can be mulched and fed usingvegan-organic composts and liquid feeds.

It is possible to make a smell-free liq-uid feed for indoor plants using seaweedmeal. Put three flat tablespoons of sea-weed meal into two litres of water, pref-erably in a glass bottle; leave to marinatefor two to three weeks or more. Everymonth in the growing season feed plantswith one mugful of this brew in two litresof water; shake the bottle well before use.This brew may not be very high in avail-able nitrogen and/or potash, of which potplants do not usually need too much.

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Readily available handbooks, which are not wholly vegan but provide good vegan alterna-tives are: The Organic Bible by Bob Flowerdew (ISBN 1856265951) and The New OrganicGrower by Elliot Coleman (ISBN 093003175X).

Books

HDRA, Ryton Organic Gardens, Coventry CV8 3LG. Tel: 024 7630 3517. www.hdra.org.ukDemonstration gardens and education centre at Ryton, which is presently being expanded.Some of their advice is based on animal products but this can be adapted. Members receivea quarterly magazine, Organic Way.

Movement for Compassionate Living, 105 Cyfyng Rd, Ystalyfera, Swansea SA9 2BT. Tel:0845 4584717. www.mclveganway.org.uk. MCL produces a quarterly magazine, informa-tion and books on cultivation, cooking, etc., emphasising locally grown food and cruelty-free sustainable methods, especially the growing and use of trees.

Vegetarian Economy and Green Agriculture (VEGA), 14 Woodland Rise, Greenford,Middlesex UB6 ORD. Campaigns against cruelty to animals in the food industry, agricul-ture and related areas. www.vegaresearch.org.

Plants for a Future, Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon EX21 5DF. Tel: 01208872963. www.pfaf.org. Researching ecologically sustainable vegan-organic horticulture; anexcellent resource and information centre. The website contains much useful information.

Spiral Seed, 35 Rayleigh Avenue, Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex SS0 7DS. www.spiralseed.co.uk.Have publications, vegan-organic information and ideas including lots on vegan permaculture,very useful as most ‘permaculture’ involves animal exploitation. The website is a mine ofinformation.

Seeds and Supplies

The Organic Gardening Catalogue, Riverdene Business Park, Molsey Rd, Hersham, SurreyKT12 4RG, UK. Tel: 01932 25366. www.organiccatalog.com. Seeds and products such asfertilisers and compost listed as organic and animal-free.

Suffolk Herbs, Monks Farm, Coggeshall Rd, Kelvedon, Essex CO5 9PG. Tel: 01376 572456.www.suffolkherbs.com

Chiltern Seeds, Bortree Stile, Ulverston, Cumbria LA12 7PB. Tel: 01229 581137.www.edirectory.co.uk/chilternseeds. Wide range of seeds including uncommon and unusualvegetable varieties.

Tamar Organics, Unit 5A, Westbridge Trading Estate, Tavistock, Devon PL19 8DE. Tel:01822 834887. www.tamarorganics.co.uk. Excellent organic seed supplier.

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Columns

The Vegan Society has its own vegan gardening column – Grow Vegan – in its quarterlymagazine; this includes garden jargon, grow vegan puzzler with prizes and information forthe vegan gardener.

Movement for Compassionate Living and Vegan-Organic Network produce regular maga-zines with advice for growers.

Websites

Apart from those mentioned elsewhere, try these:www.ecocities.net - Plenty of vegan environmental and alternative technology informationand links.

www.btinternet.com/~bury_rd/ - Vegan News on-line magazine, with excellent regular fea-tures on gardening and related topics such as attracting wildlife to the garden.

Weeds by John Walker is an earth-friendly guide to tackling weeds and making good use ofthem. Published by Cassel (ISBN 1 84403 061 X).

Growing Our Own, a booklet on sale from Movement for Compassionate Living.

Vegan-Organic Information Sheets on sale and download from Vegan-OrganicNetwork.

Publications from Plants for a Future and Land and Liberty (see organizations and groups).

The following books are available from The Vegan Society, Donald Watson House, 7 BattleRd. St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex TN37 7AA. Tel: 01424 427393. www.vegansociety.com:

Abundant Living in the Coming Age of the Tree by Kathleen Jannaway (ISBN 0951732803) –towards a vegan, self-sustaining tree-based culture.

Forest Gardening by Robert A de J Hart (ISBN 1900322021) – turn your garden or allot-ment into a vegan-organic, permaculture-based mini-forest.

Permaculture: A Beginner’s Guide by Graham Burnett – apply the principles of sustainabilityand working with nature to your land, your community and your life.

Plants for a Future by Ken Fern (ISBN 1856230112) – pioneering book that takes garden-ing, conservation and ecology into a new dimension. Information about growing edible andother useful plants.

The Animal Free Shopper (ISBN 0907337252) – The Vegan Society’s guide to all thingsvegan includes a section on garden products.

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The Vegan-Organic NetworkThe Vegan Organic Network is a registered charity (registered charity number1080847), providing education and research in vegan-organic principles and has aninternational network of supporters. VON supporters enjoy a wide variety of con-tacts and can obtain advice on cultivation techniques. The magazine Growing GreenInternational is sent to supporters twice a year. For more information and details ofhow to join, please contact:

VON, 58 High Lane, Chorlton, Manchester M21 9DZEmail: info@veganorganic.net

General enquiries and advice on growing:Phone: 0845 223 5232

Email: advice@veganorganic.netWebsite: www.veganorganic.net

Vegan-Organic information sheetsThis is one of several sheets produced on various topics by the Vegan-Organic Net-work. These are aimed mainly at those with allotments, kitchen gardens or othersmall growing areas, although many of the techniques will also apply to larger-scalesituations. We welcome feedback on this information sheet and any other relatedtopics. The information sheets currently available are: #1 Propagation and Fertilisers;#2 Growing Beans for Drying; #3 Growing on Clay Soils; #4 Vegan-Organic Growing- The Basics; #5 Fungi - FAQ: #6 Gardening for Wildlife; #7 Growers' Guide toBeetles; #8 Green Manures; #9 Chipped Branch-Wood; #10 Composting.

These are available on request. Please send £5.00 per set, or 60p each (£6 and75p respectively if outside the UK). The sheets are also available free on our website.

Issued March 2005. This advice is given as guidance only, with no responsibility forany results, due to the nature of the processes involved!