Five Questions for Patti Moreno, The Garden Girl
By Michael Nolan
If you have an interest in gardening and have spent any time on the Internet at all in recent years, you’ve heard of “The Garden Girl“.
Her videos have informed and inspired many all over the world, and she is more popular than ever in this day of the downtrodden economy when people are desperately searching for ways to maintain and enrich their own lives without increasing their food budget.
What intrigues me most about Patti Moreno isn’t just that she is one of the most prolific urban gardeners I’ve come across in recent years, but that her roots are in my beloved New York (I spent several years living in the city and still consider it home).
I found genuine inspiration in the knowledge that she grew up in one of the cities most well known for being a concrete jungle and ended up bringing the joy and common sense of gardening into city life.
I was honored when Patti agreed to take some time out of her no-doubt busy schedule to answer a few questions and I wanted to share them with you in the hope that you will find even a fraction of the inspiration that I have.
Michael: It is clear by a cursory glance from your website that you seem to be on a mission of sorts. Would you tell me a little about your background and what sparked the interest in urban sustainable living?
Patti: It was a gradual thing. I grew up in a building with a doorman and in the concrete courtyard we had a couple of bushes. That was it. So it happened slowly over time. The main thing was I had my daughter and gained a lot of weight and looking at myself, I knew I would have to do something. At the same time, I had bought my first house and the “yard” was a complete and total disaster. So rather then get a gym membership to work out, I figured I would work in the yard. At first, I was a mess. My gardens were disasters, and then through trial and error and lots of error I developed a green thumb.
The thing is that I am big on efficiency so slowly I began to streamline what I was doing and how I was doing it developing the methods that are now Urban Sustainable Living.
Michael: With the recent decline of the economy that brings along with it an increase in just about everything, how has urban gardening in the city helped you and your family?
Patti: With the economy tanking, I have seen the interest in gardening just take off. In fact whenever the oil prices hit a new record I get a spike in not only viewership of my videos but signups for my newsletter. My garden directly saves me thousands of dollars in food. During the growing season I get almost all of my veggies from the garden and a significant part of my meat from my chickens and rabbits. This summer I am learning how to fish so I can fill my freezer with fish as well. I am working on aquaculture projects, but they are still being developed.
The best part is that my family and I eat food that just isn’t for sale at the supermarkets. I figure why plant the same stuff as at the store? Chefs adore my gardens as well. It also made me a diehard slow foodist. I eat with the seasons and I am a better cook because my food is always fresh. I save trips to the store and I know my family is eating the best food on the planet.
Because on my lot I produce way more food then I can eat my farm stand produces actual cash revenue. In a year I think my gardens will have paid for themselves and then they will pay my property taxes!
Michael: Many urban gardeners are met with a certain degree of skepticism from their friends, neighbors and family. Have you encountered that? To what degree? And what have you done to facilitate change in the minds and practices of your nay-sayers?
Patti: I think it is very important to get your family support behind you, and it may take time. My mom was born very poor on a farm in Puerto Rico, so the idea of gardening and farming just reminds her of being poor. So it was big deal to get her to support it. Also people think of gardens in terms of mini farms which just doesn’t work in small space gardening so they end up having bad experiences with it. The secret for getting support is to have people taste test your veggies that works every time.
I have even had vegetarians say they won’t eat a ‘rabbit poop carrot’. Which is crazy, because the alternative is a tasteless science project carrot. We have been trained as consumers not as producers, which is the basis of everything I do.
Michael: What would you say is the most common misconception about urban gardening, sustainable living, or your lifestyle in general?
Patti: The most common misconception is that I am working and breaking my back all the time, which is the furthest thing from the truth. Reality is the work is good exercise that pays you back by making you healthy inside and out. The next most common thing is smell. People assume that as an organic gardener with Livestock that I have all sorts of smells, which I don’t, other than flowers.
Michael: What advice would you give to a beginner who wants to start an urban garden?
Patti: Start small and expand gradually, and don’t worry about the plants that don’t make it. Just start again and watch my videos for info and inspiration.
You can read more about Patti Moreno at her website: www.gardengirlTV.com
June 21st, 2008 at 1:14 pm
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June 21st, 2008 at 9:13 pm
Patti is the greatest!
I love her videos as well. Great interview.