Backyard Abundance Garden: Grow Your Own Food, Medicine & More

Throughout the world the nature of the earth is abundance. The Earth grows everything we need – food, medicine and more. Homegrown food is healthiest for our bodies, minds, and spirits. Do you have a backyard abundance garden (BAG)? What is in your bag? Organic, locally grown foods are best for our health. Growing our own food allows us to be more food secure, and self-sufficient.
Given space, air, water, and heat – the earth will provide abundance.

In the British Virgin Islands, we have the growing conditions to grow high quality food, (including calories, proteins, and nutrients), twelve months of the year. Our grandparents and parents understood this. They gathered, grew, shared and preserved fruits; vegetables and provisions – feeding extended family and friends and bartering and selling any extra.

My mother always had a backyard abundance garden. As did my grandmother and I imagine all my great grandmothers before her also had backyard abundance gardens.

My four siblings and I and sometimes our neighbors’ children as well were tasked with “turning” the ground for the gardens. We did this as early in the spring as possible – when the ground had thawed and was not supposed to freeze again.

My brothers and sister and I shoveled the ground, turning it, breaking it up – sorting out weeds and rocks; (saving worms for morning creek fishing).
Mom would set up large stones outlining her garden perimeter and would direct our digging. “Shake all the soil off those weeds back into the garden before you throw them to the woods!” Mom would remind us.
“Do NOT throw rocks!”
She would yell out.
After we finished turning the ground we were not allowed in the garden.
“OUT OF THE GARDEN NOW!”

The garden was my mother’s domain. She was exceptionally good at growing and preserving food.
We lived back then where it is too cold for outdoor gardening nine months of the year. Mom taught us to gather and eat food seasonally. Early spring we would pick wild strawberries. The smallest and yet the most flavorful and sweetest smelling strawberries I have ever tasted. Early summer raspberries looked very different from mid-summer raspberries and late summer blackberries and blueberries; huckleberries; crab apples; elderberries; choke cherries were early autumn. Wild greens were throughout. We could eat while we picked but had to bring the bulk home.

Mom was able to feed us delicious fresh fruits and vegetables for at least two months from gathering and growing. We enjoyed homemade and home canned vegetables; sauces; jams; jellies; butters; pickles; chutneys and more throughout the year.

Supermarkets, the industrialized food complex, and the rat race replaced many backyard abundance gardens for our generation. Yet all of us are waking up to the reality that we sacrificed quality of food, connection to earth and health.

More people are getting back to roots: growing, eating, enjoying, and benefiting from homegrown foods.  We can all grow, eat, and share more high-quality food. Growing food is done in many ways – the most important thing to do is to get started. It may be as easy and affordable as planting the potato that sprouted before you got a chance to cook it instead of tossing it or saving seeds from the next fruit or vegetable you eat and growing them in pre-used containers bound for recycling. If you really have no idea about how to go about saving seeds and planting and growing in general – ask someone you know who does – or ask a teenager to google “do it yourself (diy) gardening” for you.
What produce do you eat? Start by learning to propagate from what you have and what you use.

Any outdoor ground that you have access to, and permission for, can be planted or you can plant in containers or even inside on a windowsill. Start with your favorite herb!

If you really have no place to grow anything – find a local garden or farm – and volunteer.
There are many amazing and wonderful farms and gardens throughout the British Virgin Islands.

I highly recommend visiting the Botanical Garden in Road Town for a beautiful and informative leisurely stroll and Sage Mountain National Park for beginner through advanced hikes in the rainforest with absolutely amazing views of jurassic sized plants; other islands; seas and weather patterns. Both locations are spectacular photo opportunities.

Plant Wise can get you started with established seedlings. Good Moon and Aukie’s Farms sell delicious homegrown produce, and all host farm tours.
Nevertheless, my most favorite garden to visit and learn from is the living cultural gallery/museum – Jenesis Studios. Fine Artist and Local National Treasure, Ruben Vanterpool and his wife, Historical Museum Curator, Olive have an incredibly special garden. It has examples of most every food and medicine crop that grows in the BVI. Each plant has its own sign that identifies it and explains benefits and uses. Vanterpool’s Garden at Jenesis Studio is an excellent example of what is possible to grow in our own backyard abundance gardens. The Vanterpools are incredibly knowledgeable and helpful.

Grow food to eat and share. Make sure to include calories, proteins, and nutrient dense crops.
Organic gardening classes often emphasize planting extra-special heirloom quality produce. Nevertheless, that advice is specifically for farmers growing to sell to the highest purchasers. The simplest way to put together your home abundance garden is to design it for you. Notice I did not say “backyard” this time, because some of us do not have any yard.

Start with the produce that you purchase and eat most often. For example: just squeezed a lemon? Take the seeds, rinse them and put them straight to sprout – they enjoy moist environments and do not need to dry first. Lemon trees do take a while to grow – so start immediately. Use whatever container was bound for the recycling or landfill. Look up your specific fruit or vegetable on YouTube and watch videos on your own and with your beloveds on how other people successfully save, share and sprout seeds. And please do not throw out the lemon rind. Look up all it’s uses – there are so many. If you have no time to save the rind today toss it into your sink and use for extra clean and fresh dishes.
Save all the seeds you can and start swapping seeds with other seed savers.

We buy Promix potting soil from Fort Garden or Clarence Thomas and mix in coconut fiber mulch from Hola Medz V.I. Gathered soil may be used – look up how to use it properly. Note some produce will not sprout or if it grows will not bear fruit. This could be because of the modified plants engineered not to be fertile, a scheme to keep us reliant on buying seeds from the industrialized food complex. For best success use locally grown organic fruit or vegetables.

A lot of food is grown in the BVI so I asked local farmer Rastaman Sensi what his grandmother grew. Rastaman Sensi’s grandmother Eliza Turnbull, lived to 110 years old making her the oldest BVIslander on record. She grew many food and medicinal crops and was her own boss. Sensi tells me the main calorie dense crops his grandmother Eliza Turnbull grew were sweet potatoes; tannia; and bananas. Other BVI elders I asked said they grew “pear” (avocado); peppers; tribble and thyme; cassava; plantains and breadfruit as their main crops.
Further research recommends the following crops be included in your backyard abundance garden. Some uses, benefits; warnings; and tips have been included.

Backyard abundance gardens include calorie dense crops such as:
Sweet potatoes – best harvested under 8” – lay in sun 1/2 day. Put whole in water to sprouts slips. Likes crumbly soil. Edible leaf. Can over plant out
Must cook Cassava/yuca/tapioca properly otherwise poisonous due to cyanide. Fencing. 9-12 months to harvest – Cook at least ½ hour in lots of water. Edible leaf. Cassava do not last long. Leave in ground. Take as needed. Keep moist. Cook and save.
Yams. Fencing. March April planting. Cut up – coat in ash or use bulbous (2nd yr.).
Potatoes. When green is dying back – potatoes are ready to harvest.
Bananas – Only one harvest per plant so cut down after harvest and mulch in. Suckers “pups” with corm – make new plants. Green fried savory or ripe (sweet) dehydrate skin and banana & blend to make flour.
Papaya – Cook green or eat ripe.
Zucchini and Seminole pumpkins.

Abundance gardens include protein dense crops such as:
Pigeon peas – which are arguably the most popular protein crop in the Virgin Islands. They may be saved by leaving on vine or picked and dried. They may be cooked green or rehydrated from dried.
Other protein crops in the Caribbean include southern beans & peas. They are used for ground cover; as a cover crop; and nitrogen fixer. Seeds save on and off vine. Eat fresh and rehydrated.

Nutrient dense perennials and self-seeding annuals are also important in your abundance garden. Some good local examples are as follows:
Merengue. Used as a hedge, for medicine, food, vitamins, sweetener, powder and trade.
Local Chaya/Tree Spinach. Stick in ground. Hearty. Must cook.

Other nutrient dense, medicinal, and energetic food plants to consider growing:

Turmeric, Ginger, Elderberry, Beansprouts, Microgreens, Farmer’s friend, Lemon Myrtle, Cuban oregano, African blue basil, Daikon Radish, Tomatoes, Garlic, Onions, Watercress, Turnips, Okra and what else do you grow and where?

The nature of the earth is abundance. The earth grows everything we need as long as we allow it adequate space, air, water and heat. Today, right now is the time to start or tend your abundance garden. What are you waiting for?