My Indoor Tropical Garden in a Northern Climate
The exact moment I decided to grow tropical plants in my Illinois apartment came during the bleakest February day imaginable. I was staring out at a landscape so colorless it…
Building a Laundry Drum Greywater System
Here’s how it started: I was doing laundry one Sunday afternoon, watching thirty-something gallons of perfectly usable water disappear down the drain while simultaneously looking out my window at my…
Hydroponic Swiss Chard: My Colorful Year-Round Crop
I have a confession to make—my relationship with Swiss chard started as a total accident. Four years ago, I ordered what I thought were “rainbow beet” seeds for my newly…
Vertical Garden Crop Rotation: Maintaining Soil Health
I killed my first vertical garden in exactly 9 months and 13 days. Not that I was counting or anything. One day I had this gorgeous living wall of strawberries,…
The Real Costs of My Home Aquaponics System
Let’s talk money. Not the fun kind that buys you vacation tickets or nice dinners, but the kind that slowly leaks out of your bank account when you decide that…
My Rooftop Rainwater Collection Setup
The day my water bill hit $94.37 was the day I decided something had to change. I’d been nursing a growing collection of thirsty vegetables and houseplants through a particularly…
Creating a Greywater System Documentation Package
I never meant to become the kind of person who creates “documentation packages.” That phrase alone sounds like something from my corporate past—the world of three-ring binders and soul-crushing meetings…
My Balcony Kitchen Garden: Growing What We Eat
When Mel moved in with me in 2019, she brought exactly three cooking-related items: a cast iron skillet that had belonged to her grandmother, a dangerously sharp chef’s knife, and…
My Rainwater Harvesting System Maintenance Routine
I learned about rainwater harvesting maintenance the hard way. It was summer 2018, and I’d been feeling pretty smug about my setup—three 55-gallon barrels daisy-chained together, collecting runoff from my…
Vertical Garden Watering Solutions: My DIY Approach
I used to think watering a vertical garden would be easy. I mean, water flows downward, right? Gravity does the work for you! Just dump some water at the top,…