The menu

Food

Growing it — in the ground, in bags, on walls and in water — wherever the yard has room and sun.

  • Food

    IBC aquaponics

    Fish and a grow bed on one pump, built from a reused IBC tote. A lot of food per square foot, and its water feeds half the other systems here.

    Roughly $300–650, mostly the pump, media and fish

    Details
  • Food

    Felt wall pockets

    Felt pockets hung on a wall or fence: herbs, strawberries and cut lettuce at the back door, on almost no ground.

    About $4 a pocket, mix included

    Details

Got a yard nobody wants to touch?

Shade, a slope, a wet corner, a layout that makes every contractor wince. The awkward ones are the interesting ones — and the answer is rarely to start over.