Creating a Wildlife-Friendly Urban Garden in the City
The breaking point came when I realized I hadn’t seen a butterfly in my garden for two years. TWO YEARS. I was standing in what I’d thought was a perfectly…
Recirculating vs. Deep Water Culture: My Findings
When my girlfriend suggested I might have “too many” hydroponic systems in our apartment, I did what any reasonable person would do—I built two more just to run a proper…
My First Year with a Greywater System: The Results
The moment that pushed me over the edge wasn’t particularly dramatic. It was just me, standing in my shower, watching gallons of perfectly good water swirl down the drain while…
5 Hydroponic Crops That Thrived in My Apartment
I’ve killed more plants than I care to admit. Like, if plants had a Most Wanted list, my face would be plastered on post office walls with warnings like “Approach…
Funding Our Community Garden: Creative Approaches
I never thought I’d be sitting at my kitchen table at 2 AM, surrounded by half-dead succulents, trying to figure out what the hell a “projected operational sustainability matrix” was.…
Designing Our Accessible Community Garden for Everyone
I never set out to become an accessibility advocate. Five years ago, I just wanted a place to grow tomatoes that got more than the three pathetic hours of sunlight…
How Drip Irrigation Changed My Tomato Growing Game
The moment that pushed me over the edge wasn’t particularly dramatic. I was just standing in my shower one morning, half awake, watching gallons of perfectly good water circle the…
Creating Shade-Tolerant Vertical Gardens
The moment I realized I had a serious shade problem in my garden came during a particularly depressing plant autopsy. It was my fifth failed tomato attempt on the north…
Measuring Water Savings: My Drip System by the Numbers
I didn’t set out to become the kind of person who gets excited about water bills. Honestly, I never thought I’d be the kind of person who reads water bills…
My First Microgreens Harvest: What I Learned
I’m not exactly known for my patience. Just ask my sister Lisa, who still brings up the Christmas morning when I unwrapped all her presents while she was still asleep…