The author's windowsill garden, awaiting spring
I’ve always been emotional about plants, ever since the pumpkin patch I toiled on for three months as a kid was ravaged by a posse of deer. Green visions resurfaced ten years later when I moved to Brooklyn and dreamt of a brightly lit windowsill garden. But in Bushwick, the closest I got was an English Thyme plant from Whole Foods. Until, that is, I unearthed Brokelyn’s four-part guide to windowsill gardening. As I heeded the advice on seeds and soil and putting it all together, my fledgling garden was finally realized. My failure as a gardener brought me to Brokelyn, which also led me to Rose Red & Lavender, where I bought organic soil, pots, wildflower seeds and a Thai basil plant. The deer haven’t returned but my budget gardening knowledge is sticking around.
Photo by Jo Ann Santangelo
From clothing to skill-sets, our broke minds have always seen swapping as a way to get something we really need for… our less-than-marketable possessions. If homemade food’s involved, though, a swap can include some pretty sweet stuff all around. Brooklyn urban farmer Meg Paska and baking/canning enthusiast Kate Payne started trading their homemade edibles, and so was born BK Swappers and its bi-monthly gatherings of cooks, bakers and jam-canners, all stoked to snack-up and stock the pantries. And the next swap’s this Sunday, Aug. 1. Read the rest of this entry »
