I find myself torn on the debate over Elizabeth Street Garden in Lower Manhattan. You have a clear argument on both sides. We need more green space in cities. As I’ve written about, green space does everything from cooling the air and…
I run a community compost operation at a local community garden, so I’ve gotten asked every question you can imagine about what does and doesn’t go in the compost. From questions of meat and dairy, to various bags and forks…
This article originally appeared in my newsletter. Subscribe here. The origin story of Maria Sola Green Space, the community garden a few blocks from me, varies each time someone tells it. Oral history lives in flux. Some of us say…
If you’re processing your own compost, you’ve probably heard that you need the right brown to green ratio. The rule of thumb is usually a 2:1, 3:1, or even 4:1 ratio of browns to greens. That’s a big range, and…
Every year, Americans send over 30 million tons of food waste to landfills. There, it decomposes without oxygen and releases methane, a greenhouse gas about 20 times more potent than CO2. According to the EPA landfilled food waste in the…
Hello! You’re looking at a collection of “basket willow” trees — a shrub known for its ability to bend and weave without breaking. This design was spearheaded by Aresh “Earth” Javadi. With Aresh’s help, neighbors and volunteers at Maria Sola Greenspace planted and…
This month, my urban gardening adventures extended beyond the confines of community gardens and out into the streets. I did so without local government permission and on my own accord. This was, as many call it, “guerrilla gardening.” Or as…