Container gardening

We all love houseplants, but little know of the dirty secret that lies in their pots: peat.

I had to find some way to keep myself sane and building a healthier food system that could help us mitigate and adapt to climate change... seemed like hopeful work.

I’m not alone in my admiration for strawberries. In ancient Rome, the strawberry symbolized Venus, the Goddess of Love, because of its heart shape and color. In medieval times, stone masons carved strawberries on altars and churches because they symbolized perfection and righteousness. Much more recently—last month, in fact—strawberries have become my ticket to sanity, a means of dealing with the stress of the ongoing pandemic.

Allium sativum, or garlic, is my spirit vegetable. It’s my way of expressing massive appreciation for this plant, which I have used as a medicine, an herbal flavoring, a culinary staple, and a standalone treat. Its fans are legion, gathering at events like the Gilroy Garlic Festival in California, the state that grows the vast majority of the country’s garlic (most of which is then dehydrated into powder for processed food), and the North Quabbin Garlic & Arts Festival in central Massachusetts, where heirloom varieties from small farms reign supreme.

If you’re like me and have only a windowsill to work with, no worries. According to Acadia Tucker, there’s plenty you can do with it to get to a point where you’re growing herbs all year long, and even harvesting peppers and tomatoes in February.

The resurgence of Victory Gardens is more than a simple trend—it’s exciting and meaningful. The last time a community of citizen gardeners joined together on such a broad scale, empowered to grow their own food and stand as one to rouse positive change, was during World War II, when nearly 20 million Victory Gardens popped up in backyards and patches of land all over the country.