My interest in urban farming grew when I moved out of the suburbs and into the city. I no longer had access to my backyard garden and needed to find areas where I could grow in the concrete jungle.
1. Tell us about your background and journey.
I was ten years old when my mom introduced me to gardening. We had a small plot of tomatoes in a raised bed, and it was my responsibility to keep them alive.
What started as a simple summertime hobby soon became an obsession, and each year the garden grew more robust. Sugar snap peas, sunflowers, sweet potatoes, and heirloom tomatoes burst forth from the earth like a jungle, and I took fierce pride in the life I was cultivating and sharing with others.
It was only a matter of time before Christmas clothes were replaced by experimental seed packets. Old sports memories were retired in lieu of epic war stories about the chipmunks who laid siege to my produce. And lazy Sundays became adventurous trips to the farmers market and plant shop to see what plants would end up in my living room jungle.
The backyard and urban farming sparked my interest in houseplants, and when I moved to NYC and now LA it was the only way I could reconnect with the natural world while living in a small apartment.
What started as a simple summertime hobby soon became an obsession, and each year the garden grew more robust. Sugar snap peas, sunflowers, sweet potatoes, and heirloom tomatoes burst forth from the earth like a jungle, and I took fierce pride in the life I was cultivating and sharing with others.
It was only a matter of time before Christmas clothes were replaced by experimental seed packets. Old sports memories were retired in lieu of epic war stories about the chipmunks who laid siege to my produce. And lazy Sundays became adventurous trips to the farmers market and plant shop to see what plants would end up in my living room jungle.
The backyard and urban farming sparked my interest in houseplants, and when I moved to NYC and now LA it was the only way I could reconnect with the natural world while living in a small apartment.
2. When and how did you develop an interest in urban farming?
My interest in urban farming grew when I moved out of the suburbs and into the city. I no longer had access to my backyard garden and needed to find areas where I could grow in the concrete jungle.
I started growing herbs and leafy greens inside of my apartment but also began exploring the local community gardens and urban farms in NYC. After touring farms like Oko Farms, Brooklyn Grange, Farm. One and Gotham Greens, I knew it was a space I had to invest more time in.
3. What according to you is the biggest environmental threat today?
I may be biased, but the biggest threat to our environment today is the emphasis on animal agriculture and non-regenerative farming methods. The fact that one-third of our cropland is used to grow food for animals is astounding, and many of these farms are monocultures pumped with chemical pesticides that are degrading the soil.
Regenerative practices have been around for centuries, but agribusiness has done away with them in exchange for maximizing their profits. If this continues, environmental degradation and food insecurity will be at an all-time high.
4. Is technology helping or contributing to fighting Environmental Issues?
Technology can certainly be a force for good but there are still plenty of unseen issues with new technologies that are coming onto the scene. For example, electric cars are great in theory, but depending on where you live, the electricity used to charge them may come from fossil fuels.
This is certainly getting better and cleaner as we transition to more renewable energy sources, but then you have to take into account the environmental and ethical impact of creating the batteries in the first place.
Lithium and other precious metals used to make these batteries are incredibly taxing on the environment and the people in those areas, so we must be vigilant and thorough when evaluating new technologies. Overall, I think technology will have a more positive impact
5. Who do you admire the most and why?
David Fairchild is one of my idols, and he was one of the greatest botanists in US history. He was responsible for traveling the globe and bringing back different plant species that farmers could grow here in the US for example, avocados were one of his greatest finds that he discovered while in Chile.
Without his work, the American farm system would have remained stunted and our knowledge of the botanical diversity abroad would have been nonexistent.
6. How do keep yourself inspired and motivated?
Creating content every day can be taxing, but receiving such wonderful messages from the plant and sustainability community is so rewarding. Seeing them buy a plant for the first time, sow seeds in their garden or shop plastic-free at the farmers market reminds me that I'm having a positive impact on the planet, and that is my ultimate goal
7. Which is your favorite plant and why?
So hard to play favorites but right now I'm loving my Alocasia reginula ‘Black Velvet’
Interviewed By - Khushi Garg
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