Last spring, as the pandemic closed down much of society and caused disruptions to the food supply chain, people across the United States turned back to the land. They grew their own produce and, as an added bonus, experienced much-needed stress relief. Nursery vegetable starts and gardening essentials were soon sold out, seed company sales increased by a thousand percent, newspapers and media outlets talked about “a comeback for victory gardens.”
Sonoma Magazine’s digital editor, Sofia Englund, also found added peace and calm by indulging her new passion for vegetable gardening in her backyard. She got to talk to local experts Tony Passantino, education program manager at the Sonoma Ecology Center, and Astrid and Matthew Hoffman, founders of The Living Seed Company.
In a television segment produced by Northern California Public Media PBS station KRCB in 2020, Tony, Astrid and Matthew help Sofia troubleshoot some problems she is experiencing in her fledgling garden and Tony talks about the history of the victory garden and its modern-day version. Watch the video here:
