Author Ja-ne de Abreu: 5 Things You Need To Know To Create A Successful Vegetable Garden To Grow Your Own Food
An Interview With Martita Mestey
Plan out your edible jungle before you start. It is important to know your soil conditions before you simply stick seeds in the ground.
As we all know, inflation has really increased the price of food. Many people have turned to home gardening to grow their own food. Many have tried this and have been really successful. But others struggle to produce food in their own garden. What do you need to know to create a successful vegetable garden to grow your own food? In this interview series, called “5 Things You Need To Know To Create A Successful Vegetable Garden To Grow Your Own Food” we are talking to experts in vegetable gardening who can share stories and insights from their experiences.
As a part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Ja-ne de Abreu.
Ja-ne de Abreu is the author of award-winning book, Sassy Food. Ja-ne focuses on exploring the energy inside our choices and the resulting responsibilities and freedom by telling stories through various methods. Her other books are Chasing the Surge: Life as a Travel Nurse in a Global Pandemic and The Energy Inside Valsin’s Choices.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”?
I am a writer. In the beginning of the pandemic, I started growing food and was inspired to share what I learned in the hope others would find a similar joy and peace that I did by growing food.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
In the pandemic I was so utterly overwhelmed. Every day seemed like an eternity as well as a blink of an eye. Staying grounded helped me keep my mother calm and happy. It has also helped me achieve big goals and be recognized by my peers.
You are a successful leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
- Dedication — I’ve stuck to achieving my goals no matter any obstacle. When the pandemic began I immediately became a 24/7 for my 93-year-old hanai mother, Moana Tregaskis. No one was allowed inside our home. In a year and a half I cooked, cleaned and entertained Moana and also write two books and published eight. Every single day I did not go to sleep until I took a step in the direction of my goals.
- Integrity — Having integrity is essential for success. People know the caliber of person I am and they can trust my word. They count on me and in finding like-minded people, I have developed a great team who I can count on as well.
- Not taking no for an answer — When one door shuts, another one opens — even if I have to build the door myself. It works.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“The man is he who knows he knows not.” This ancient proverb keeps me humble and striving to know more because there’s the other important saying “knowledge is power”. Both are true. There’s always something else to know. There’s also responsibility with power and to share knowledge and help others.
Are you working on any interesting or exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
I’m working on recording the audiobook for my novel, The Energy Inside Valsin’s Choices as well as directing the audiobooks for Chasing the Surge and Richard Tregaskis’ Stronger Than Fear. With the fast paced world we are living in, people can listen to these inspirational stories while driving, gardening, or simply hanging in a hammock.
Ok super. Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion about creating a successful garden to grow your own food. Can you help articulate a few reasons why people should be interested in making their own vegetable garden? For example, how is it better for our health? For the environment? For our wallet?
Growing a garden, or as I like to say, an edible jungle is important for our health, environment and our wallet. There is something significant that happens when one is taking care of plants. It is more than just peace and joy. It brings you to be present in the moment and when you are present in the moment, all troubles fade away. When you return to “real life” you are calmer and most times have a fresh perspective. It’s great for the environment because we are giving back to Mother Nature and getting in touch with our connection to her. We are doing what our ancestors have done since early civilization. And we save money. No more going to the grocery store for everything. The best part is when I want a salad, I pick it fresh and in 10 minutes have a healthy meal that can’t possibly be fresher!
Where should someone start if they would like to start a garden? Which resources would you recommend? Which plants should they start with?
Sprouts and microgreens are an easy way to start growing food. Sprouts are easily grown with sprout lids and wide mouth glass jars such as Mason jars or empty wide mouth spaghetti sauce jars. Seeds like alfalfa, lentil and pea mix, and radish are easy to grow.
Microgreens can be grown in microgreen trays. I love ones that have a layer for water on the bottom and a cotton wick on the upper layer. It’s easy to grow then.
Seeds like kale, turnip, cilantro, and cabbage usually have excellent results.
From there an easy transition is to grow a few things in pots and expand at your pace from there.
Can you please share your “5 Things You Need To Know To Create A Successful Vegetable Garden To Grow Your Own Food”? If you can, please share a story or example for each.
1) Take a few minutes a day to tweak your garden. This will stop problems from taking hold and it will keep your garden at optimal conditions.
2) Take care to plant your plants where they get the right amount of sun they need and also water them the way they need to be watered.
3) Make sure to plant companion plants to keep pests away naturally. This will help your garden as well as you healthier!
4) Plan out your edible jungle before you start. It is important to know your soil conditions before you simply stick seeds in the ground.
5) Have fun with it. Don’t get upset if your plants are not doing well. Sometimes things just happen like inclement weather. Adjust, start over, and you’ll be successful! Just keep at it!
What are the most common mistakes you have seen people make when they start a garden? What specifically can be done to avoid those errors?
Start and not keep up the work to have a successful garden. With just 5 -10 minutes a day one can check the health of one’s plants and tweak things before something goes drastically wrong. The surprise is the peace and joy felt as a result.
What are some of the best ways to keep the costs of gardening down?
Using the things around you for containers is a good one. Use broken dishes, old pails — get creative! Also propagation is an easy way to keep your garden going without having to spend extra money.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
I would love to see more people growing food in their homes. There are so many easy ways to grow food, one can have an edible jungle all year even if they live in a studio with no windows living at the North Pole.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)
I would love to meet with Gwyneth Paltrow. Her company Goop is an inspiration and in alignment with my values. It would be fabulous to learn more from her.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
JMFdeApress.com
Ja-ne.com
All social media at JMFdeA
Thank you so much for the time you spent on this interview. We wish you only continued success and good health.
