The dos and don’ts of being a vegan gardener

F you care about what you eat, you probably care about how food is grown too. So if you’re a gardener who likes to grow your own and have decided to go vegan, it’s useful to know how to approach this at every stage of the process. Vegan and gardening expert Matthew Appleby’s new book explains it all – from the types of produce you might go for to the techniques you’ll need to use.

Here, he offers some of the key dos and don’ts.

DON’T... Use animal manure

As well as avoiding animal manure, vegans don’t use blood, fish and bone products. “You can make your own fertiliser to replace blood, fish and bone products – the by-products of the slaughterhouse, which can also attract vermin to your plot,” says Appleby.

“I make comfrey ‘tea’ by stewing the herb in a bucket of water, which I strain off to give plants a tonic. Comfrey contains high levels of potassium, nitrogen and phosphorus, which are the essential nutrients for plant growth. Seaweed is good too.”

DO... Make your own compost

“Making compost to replace animal manures is a cornerstone of vegan gardening. Animal manure can contain harmful bacteria such as E coli and they are the by-products of the animal farming system, which vegans do not want to support,” Appleby adds.

“Compost made from green and brown organic material and [vegetable] food waste make up your growing media. Commercial mixes from companies such as Fertile Fibre are now available too.”

To make vegan compost, use grass cuttings, leaves, garden clippings and vegan food bin waste.

DO... Make your own fertiliser from comfrey

“Comfrey is good at sucking up nutrients from the soil and contains calcium, phosphorus, potassium, vitamin A, C and other trace materials. Grow comfrey by, with permission, digging up a bit of someone’s crop. When divided, it grows again easily and produces leaf rapidly. You can buy root cuttings to plant from May to September.”

Make a comfrey liquid feed by filling a container with leaves and topping up with water. Leave to steep for a week and pour the liquid onto crops. Then add the used comfrey to the compost pile, where its nutrients will enrich the whole heap and encourage decomposition.

DO... Grow green manure

Grow a green manure by sowing nitrogen-rich seeds, such as red or white clover, over winter on bare soil. This fixes nitrogen from the air and brings up minerals from the ground, as well as stopping bare soil eroding. Plant as a cover crop, and as an under-sown crop. Rake it in two weeks before planting potatoes.

In the spring, sow trefoils, crimson or sweet clover, mustard, buckwheat or phacelia. Vetch, lucerne, mustard, buckwheat, phacelia and red and white clover are also good for autumn planting.

DO... Grow your own protein and iron-rich veg

Include artichokes or broccoli in your planting scheme to make sure your vegan diet is not lacking in any essential minerals and vitamins.

DON’T... Kill wildlife and insects, including slugs

Make room in your garden for all living creatures, which will help provide the balance of nature in their own way.

Super Organic Gardener: Everything You Need to Know About a Vegan Garden by Matthew Appleby, Pen & Sword, £16.99

Adopting the correct techniques for growing your own veg and fruit is essential for a bountiful crop