Lawn to Meadows

A Climate Victory Garden is grounded in the carbon-sucking principles of regenerative agriculture, which uses practices that mimic nature. Regenerative farmers basically allow plants to work their magic, and keep more carbon in the ground, by practicing minimal tilling, planting a mix of crops, keeping roots in the ground year round, and shoveling on lots of organic material. So what does this mean for the backyard gardener? It boils down to this: make soil-building the priority before you plant your garden, and afterwards. So, want to do something, anything, for the planet? Here are a few tips for starting your own Climate Victory Garden.

You may have heard of people composting their kitchen scraps and thought, gee, I wish I could compost, but I live in an apartment. Or maybe, I’d like to try composting, but my roommate is... skeptical. Well, have no fear, I’m here to tell you that you can compost even if the space you live in is tiny, located in an urban high-rise, or shared with an unenthusiastic roommate.

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

Butterflies and bees tend to get top billing when it comes to identifying pollinators, likely because people tend to be less enthusiastic about wasps, moths, and flies. But these creatures also play a vital role in helping plants reproduce. Learning to identify them, and where they like to get their pollen, is an important part of supporting them.

The “king of butterflies" is rapidly disappearing. In just the last 20 years, the monarch butterfly population has declined by 85 percent in this country—and the numbers are even worse in the West, which has seen a 99 percent drop in numbers.

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.

On a wet, overcast day in late October three years ago, volunteers planted a meadow garden in a retirement community near where I live in western Massachusetts. Using trowels and digging knives, they planted live perennial plugs into moist soil with the color and texture of a fluffy chocolate cake.

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.

Planting a garden is a powerful act. It gives each of us with access to a little dirt the power to feed ourselves healthy food, and do something about climate change.

To protect your garden against pests it helps to know who they are, because not all bugs and insects are bad. Bees pollinate your plants, for instance, and spiders eat up several of the bugs that can spoil a garden. To help you sort it all out, I've put together a quick intro to the pests you don't want hanging around in your garden, and tips on how to keep them away. For specific guidance on how to treat pests with soap, Neem oil, and other organic repellants, read How to manage pests organically.

Organic and sustainable ways to keep pests at bay. It's important to cultivate a diverse, native-to-your-region garden. Doing so will support healthy growth, and the healthier your plants, the less likely they’ll send out the distress signals that invite trouble, because pests tend to feed on the most vulnerable plants.

Pest populations can explode even if you keep your soil healthy and maintain a balanced garden ecosystem. Organic gardeners shy away from using pesticides for some very good reasons. Sprays can kill beneficial bugs and insects, like the bees that pollinate your raspberries or the insects that cycle nutrients through your soil. Pesticides also find their way into the food chain because plants absorb chemicals through roots and leaves. Fortunately you can mitigate the risk of using pesticides by relying on ones certified for organic use, which tend to be derived from plants or bacteria.

When I lived as a market farmer in Washington State, Saturday afternoons were a celebration of sorts. After a busy week of tending and harvesting up to 200 different herbs and vegetables, I’d invite the community to a weekly farmstand. I’d begin preparations early and by 11am the vegetable display was primed with puffed bags of lettuce and tall, carefully stacked pyramids of freshly picked tomatoes. It was a relief to open the farm gates and finally be able to sit and chat with friends and neighbors.

There's a thin line between fertilizing and over-fertilizing your food crops. Too few nutrients and your tomatoes and corn never really take off. Too many and your artichoke and broccoli can suffer. Since I tend to favor deep-rooted perennials, which are low-maintenance and more resistant to weather extremes, my particular challenge is making sure I don't overdo it. So, I use fertilizer strategically, boosting plant growth largely by feeding my soil. I test my soil every other year, so I know the nutrients my soil needs. And I rely on timing, knowing the right mix of fertilizer, and the best sources.

I really hate weeding. There are days it requires all the strength I have to get out there and pull these tough tufts of green from between my rows of carefully tended beans and peas. But there are reasons to like weeds, or at least respect them.

When I first started growing food, the farm I managed in the Pacific Northwest had patches of sandy, dry soil interspersed with waterlogged, hard packed clay. During the scorching hot summers, my thirsty plants shriveled. When the skies dumped rain the water pooled, flooding my crops. Those first couple of years on the farm were my first experience dealing with climate extremes, and my soil was not equipped for the job.

Spreading mulch is one of my favorite farm chores. I love the way mulch smells and feels and looks. That moment my pitchfork pierces the heaping mound of leftover grass and leaves and steam spirals up into the cool morning air. The way the strong, lingering scent of cedar follows me home after a day spent spreading wood chips. The satisfying look of a tidy, weed-free field after I’ve laid down a sea of straw to cover the endless rows of potatoes and garlic. I even appreciate the sogginess of cardboard left out in the rain before it’s used to fight weeds along my garden paths.

Pest populations can explode even if you keep your soil healthy and maintain a balanced garden ecosystem. Pest management is a natural part of growing plants and occasionally gardeners need to rely on external control measures like spraying pesticides. Organic gardeners shy away from using pesticides for some very good reasons. Sprays, particularly if they are not organic, can kill beneficial bugs and insects, like the bees that pollinate your raspberries or the insects that cycle nutrients through your soil. Pesticides also find their way into the food chain because plants absorb chemicals through roots and leaves. Fortunately you can mitigate the risk of using pesticides by relying on ones certified for organic use, which tend to be derived from plants or bacteria.

I really hate weeding. There are days it requires all the strength I have to get out there and pull these tough tufts of green from between my rows of carefully tended beans and peas. But there are reasons to like weeds, or at least respect them.

When I moved to the Pacific Northwest eight years ago to start a market farm, it was my first experience growing food on a large scale. My focus was on planting organic crops and finding enough customers to eat them. It took only a couple of years to add a new farm priority: managing the area’s extreme weather challenges.

When I got out of bed this morning I checked the weather report. It’s the first thing I do every day. When you grow food, the weather assumes a make-or-break urgency that defines your life. It also forever changes the way you relate to a forecast. I never hear “early frost” without worrying it could interrupt my ripening tomatoes, or “heat spike” without fretting over wilting spinach.