13 gifts for backyard farmers and gardeners
Now, near the end of an exhausting and terrifying year, we could all use a little plant therapy. So why not give the gift of growing good food to the people you love? Raising your own tomatoes, garlic, and peppers can be restorative, and delicious. And if that isn’t enough, starting an organic regenerative garden can capture greenhouse gases, and park carbon underground. Happy Holidays! Here’s to a greener new year full of home-grown veggies. (Also see our gift guide for container gardeners.)
$26.99
Heirloom Vegetable Pack
Thirty five heirloom organic vegetables—more than 10,000 seeds—for 30 bucks. Now that’s an impressive value pack. This collection will give your favorite gardening enthusiast everything they need to get started growing. The seeds last three to five years, or 10+ in the freezer. Among my favorites: Little Finger carrots, Bloomsdale spinach, Cherry Belle radish, and Bibb lettuce. (These work for container growing as well.)
$209
Broadfork
This is an essential tool for backyard gardeners who want to cultivate a community of soil organisms to sequester carbon. A broad fork deeply aerates the soil without turning it over, so that the soil structure and organisms are preserved. It’s also fun to use. I jump on the bar, using my body weight to sink in the teeth, and swing back and forth. This tool, sold at Johnny’s Select Seeds, was designed by organic gardener (and fellow Maine resident), Elliot Coleman.
$23.43
EZ Digger
This traditional Korean hand plow dates back over 5,000 years and is the epitome of versatility. Use it to weed, transplant, cover seed, loosen, level, mound, dig soil ...did I mention weeding? This tool is sheer magic—a must-have for a gardener’s tool bag.
$14.85
Arm Sleeves
In addition to gloves, protective arm sleeves are essential gardening attire. They’re advertised as offering UV protection, but I pull them on before weeding out itchy grasses or prickly thistle. They also protect me from annoying mosquito bites. For relief from summer heat, I douse them with cool water before heading outside. My new favorite design: full-length tattoo sleeves.
$49
Harvest Basket
I used to go to my garden to pick a few ripened tomatoes, only to become overwhelmed by my harvest. You can only fit so many tomatoes in your shirt. Now I grab a harvest basket on my way out the door. While I’m a fan of cheap and quirky baskets found at local thrift stores, a personalized hand-made one makes a thoughtful gift.
$35.31
Compost Crock
You might already have a compost heap in your backyard churning out black gold, but what about a way to store kitchen scraps indoors before you add them to your heap? I used to keep a nasty bucket underneath my sink, while ignoring the bags of frozen scraps crowding my freezer space. But I’ve ditched the ick! Thanks to its charcoal-filtered lid, this beautiful ceramic crock can sit out on my kitchen counter—no more smell or flies.
$41.54
Right Angle Trowel
This isn’t a normal trowel. It has a handle bent at a right angle. (105 degrees, to be exact.) Why? For ergonomic, easy-on-the-wrist transplanting. Simply drive the blade into the soil and pull it towards you to create the perfect home for a small seedling.
$52.09
Felco 5 Pruners
Whether you’re harvesting fruit, pruning small tree limbs, or cutting pieces of twine, these Swiss-made pruners get the job done with ease. Felco pruners come in a range of sizes, but I like the F5 version because it’s ideal for women with smaller hands. (Would you believe that most tools are made for men?)
$39.95
Bucket Tote
For your new collection of tools, you’ll need this handy tote to keep them organized. The large center compartment is ideal for tossing in plant material destined for the compost bin, while the side pockets can hold anything from a cellphone to large loppers. Carry it on your shoulder as a tote, or slip it around a five gallon bucket for a sturdier vessel. Note: This item is perfect for holding other gardening gifts.
$452.59
Hobby Greenhouse
Yes, this is a splurge item, but it’s well worth it for the serious grower. A backyard greenhouse allows you to grow more vegetables for longer, while protecting your plants from some pests. Who doesn’t want that? You can install multiple shelves and lighting units to grow seedlings and small tropical plants, or stick a whole raised bed in there to grow crops through the winter. This is particularly useful for gardeners like me who deal with a shorter growing season and unpredictable frost dates. If you’re on the fence about this big purchase, a table-top greenhouse or portable tent greenhouse made from plastic are great choices, too!
BOOKS BY ACADIA TUCKER
Growing Good Food
This is a handbook for growing a Victory Garden when the enemy is global warming. By building carbon-rich soil, we can capture greenhouse gases and mitigate climate change. This is also a plain-spoken guide to growing your own organic vegetables, fruits, and herbs. It includes advice on how to prep soil, compost, mulch, plant food, and boost resilience, plus guides to growing fruit trees, herbs, peppers, tomatoes, green beans, cabbage, carrots, cucumbers, garlic, lettuce, peas, potatoes, radishes, spinach, and more.
$19.95
Tiny Victory Gardens: Growing food without a yard
This book makes it possible for anyone with access to a patch of sun to grow and harvest food—year-round if you’d like. It includes step-by-step guidance on finding the right containers (there are wrong ones), prepping your soil, growing plants indoors and outdoors, and raising small-scale farms. It profiles 21 crops that are easy to grow in containers, including tomatoes, lemon trees, and avocados, and offers recipes for cultivating mini-farms in pots, with names like Tiny Herb Garden, Griller’s Choice, and Beans, Bees, and Butterflies.
$19.95
Growing Perennial Foods
Here’s an easy-to-understand field guide to growing perennial foods in your own backyard. Sturdy and deep-rooted, perennials are low-maintenance and can weather climate extremes more easily than annuals. The book includes instructions on soil prep, planting, and composting. But most of it is dedicated to profiles of 34 popular herbs, fruits, and vegetables, with instructions on how to plant, grow, and harvest each one, plus recipes. This book is for anyone who has never grown food before, and wants to start.
$19.95