Rebecca Martin

Rebecca Martin

Rebecca Martin, Senior Editor

Growing up on a Kansas farm prepared Rebecca well for HEIRLOOM GARDENER: Her parents taught her to grow, can, freeze, and butcher almost every living thing except her two younger brothers. The family had a large vegetable garden and also raised chickens, beef cattle, and wheat. Raw milk came from a dairy down the road. Fruit trees were picked clean for pies and jams. By the end of the summer, preserved foods packed every square inch of the home’s pantry and chest freezer. It all tasted great and instilled in Rebecca a lifelong love of quality, locally grown food.

Rebecca left the farm as a young adult but continued to garden in an urban setting. She spent many years working for nonprofits, particularly history museums, before coming to MOTHER EARTH NEWS, where she’s currently Managing Editor. It was a great day when MOTHER’s parent company, Ogden Publications, bought HEIRLOOM GARDENER, and Rebecca could help edit articles on flowers, shrubs, and trees, in addition to vegetables.

Rebecca loves introducing people to the joys of growing their own food and harvesting crops year-round, particularly at MOTHER EARTH NEWS FAIRS and other events. Her cold frames are in use throughout the winter, and she typically harvests carrots in December, arugula in January, and parsnips in February. Rebecca and her husband enjoy growing labor-saving perennial crops, such as asparagus, strawberries, blackberries, and herbs.

A partly-shaded backyard has driven them into the sunny front yard, and to become more informed on city ordinances that affect property owners’ rights to garden. In their Zone 5b garden, Rebecca is experimenting with pit cold frames — that is, trenches dug into a south-facing hillside and covered with recycled window frames during the coldest months. She believes all gardeners should identify and make the most of micro-climates on their property, and push the envelope when it comes to the growing season, which, in her opinion, should be every month of the year.

Aside from her interest in gardening, Rebecca has an affinity for bicycling. She and her husband often run errands by bicycle and incorporate cycling into their vacations — including Niagara Falls (pictured below). She regularly bikes to the local farmers market and has been known to bring home a cantaloupe on one side of the bike, balanced by a watermelon on the other side.

A few articles by Rebecca:

‘White Sonora’ Wheat

Which Lavender Cultivars Grow Best in the Panhandle?

8 Cold Frame Plans for Year-Round Gardening (for sister title MOTHER EARTH NEWS)

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