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Martina Fugazzotto

Brooklyn, NY

Recent Activity

A Zen Approach to Garden Weeds

I spent hours at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden last week. I went there specifically looking for the Wisteria, which is my spirit flower, and which I love so much that smelling it makes me feel high and looking at it makes my pupils dilate. Thank God for Wisteria! While I... Continue reading

Posted May 28, 2013 at FarmTina

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But what about the rats? How to keep rats out of your NYC garden

Everyone wants to know about the rats. "You grow food in New York City? But what about the rats? Doesn't your garden attract rodents? Don't they eat your food?" When I first told my new neighbor that I planned on having a garden in the summer, this was his immediate... Continue reading

Posted Apr 27, 2013 at FarmTina

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Gardening Without Water?

Welcome to the first growing season here at Farmtina3, my brand new apartment with a brand new concrete alley "yard". Yes, this is the third apartment where I've been on this gardening adventure. And like I have with every new space, I'm discovering new problems-- no, wait-- new challenges to... Continue reading

Posted Apr 26, 2013 at FarmTina

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Kevin, I was not complaining about drying clothes outside, I was saying how adorable it was! They have rose bushes and a sweet backyard, I love it! But yes, I WAS complaining about the empty lot gardeners. It's very rude gardening-- they don't weed anything and they let their end-of-season food rot in the yard which attracts rats. I wouldn't eat anything that grew in that space, it's pretty gross! Food is literally growing next to spilled gas tanks and corroding car parts. Empty lots are a risk here in BK...

Commented Jan 29, 2013 on Garden Squatting at FarmTina

Amylou, I'd use a new piece each time because moist cheese cloth could start to breed bacteria. Though here's a thought: I wonder if you could boil it to sterilize and then hang dry? It's a risk, but I'd love to hear if you try it!

Commented Jan 29, 2013 on Growing Sprouts in Your Kitchen: The Jar Method at FarmTina

Hi Rachel, I don't think you'll be able to crush the seeds with your fingers, they're pretty strong! Look at the last photo above and you'll see the tiny black seeds in the glass jar. Since you waited a month to separate the seeds, it might just be that many of them have already fallen out of the flower. This is not so bad: The seeds probably fell directly into the soil below the plant and they'll most likely sprout next season. So as long as you don't mind them sprouting up in that spot, you'll be ok!

Commented Oct 7, 2012 on Saving Your Seeds at FarmTina

Edible Plants Illustration & Design for Whole Foods

Continue reading

Posted Sep 22, 2012 at MartinaMartina

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Seed Packet Illustrations for Whole Foods

I'm doing some SUUUPER fun work for Whole Foods! Here's a sneak peak of some seed packets for saving your garden seeds. So much more to come! Continue reading

Posted Sep 22, 2012 at MartinaMartina

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Colin Cowie Weddings Social Media

Since early 2012, I've been managing social media strategy & content for ColinCowieWeddings.com, a brand new high-end wedding planning website created by celebrity event planner Colin Cowie. You can follow my work on Twitter, Facebook & Pinterest, but my favorite platform that I manage is Instagram. We use Instagram to document behind-the-scenes of the wedding industry and wedding planning. I attend every Bridal Fashion Week runway show (YES, there IS a Bridal Fashion Week...) and post live Instagram photos of the new dresses the second they come down the runway. Though Instagram is not directly traffic-driving and not quite monteizable... Continue reading

Posted Sep 22, 2012 at MartinaMartina

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The Woes of Moving an Urban Garden

Here's my yard right now, and well... I'm moving again. In July. I've been doing this urban gardening project for about three years now, and this will be the third place I've lived in those 3 years. This is one of the main challenges that makes NYC gardening so difficult:... Continue reading

Posted Jun 10, 2012 at FarmTina

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Hi Bonnie, very excited for your first year! The hydrangea plant should be ok in the cement pot, but it will grow larger each year so you might want to think about transplanting it to the ground in a few years. If you want to keep it in the pot, you can prune the plant to keep it small-- do it before the hydrangea begins to bloom, in late winter juuuuust before spring approaches. Good luck! Keep me updated!

Commented Apr 12, 2012 on Coloring Hydrangeas at FarmTina

Urban Garden Stories From My Grandmother

My Grandmother Vera is really cool. Gramulator (as I call her) was born in the 1930s and raised in New York City by a very young immigrant single mom, my Great-Grandmother BabiBabi. BabiBabi kept an urban garden on the roof of their tenement building to be able to feed the... Continue reading

Posted Apr 6, 2012 at FarmTina

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Scarleteen.com Redesign

One of the oldest, most unique, and still most badass sex education sites for teenagers is Scarleteen.com, run by the passionate & talented Heather Corinna. Scarleteen is an interactive educational space started in 1998 where teens have always been able to ask tough questions anonymously to adult professionals plus make connections to each other. The social community is paired with honest articles about the emotional, physical and cultural issues every teen deals with. And there's none of the offensive crap you see in teen magazines! It's not written prescriptively by their parents; it's written by their cool aunt who has... Continue reading

Posted Mar 29, 2012 at MartinaMartina

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To be honest Patrick, I didn't set out to be an organic gardener, but it seems that I am by default! I compost so I create my own mulch and fertilizer. I don't use pesticides simply because I haven't had pests (which must be because I'm such a genius gardener, duh!). I plant only heirloom seeds because I love the practice of seed saving, and you can't save seeds from modified/hybrid plants. So I guess the answer is: accidentally, yes!!

Commented Mar 26, 2012 on Project: DIY Outdoor Vertical Planter at FarmTina

Hi Sue, I can't give you a professional medical opinion on this, but I do have a gardener's opinion. If you already have a garden, then bees are already visiting your yard every day. Bees will travel for miles to pollinate plants, so even if their hives are not in your neighborhood, they're still pollinating your garden. So whether your neighbor has a hive or not, you are going to attract bees to your yard. You could try asking your neighbor to point the entrance to the hive in the opposite direction of your house. This way, when the bees leave the hive, they are more likely to fly in a path away from your garden.

Commented Mar 26, 2012 on A Beekeeper in Brooklyn at FarmTina

Illustrations for Whole Foods DarkRye

I created 2 illustrated cocktails for Whole Foods' new online mag DarkRye, which features some interesting food adventurers as well as my FarmTina project. Here's one, and check out DarkRye.com for the other: Continue reading

Posted Mar 21, 2012 at MartinaMartina

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Recommended: Exhibits for Plant Lovers

Gardeners! Get out of the dirt, put on some shoes that are not garden clogs, and go out to these exhibits right now. Maybe even bring a date: 1. The Orchid Show, New York Botanical Garden in NYC through April 22, 2012 I walked through The Orchid Show with my... Continue reading

Posted Mar 21, 2012 at FarmTina

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Heehee! Heeheehee haha! That is me laughing out loud! I just found a mini siamese-twin pepper growing inside of a red bell pepper. Heehee!! The world is so cool! (PS, I ate the red pepper and composted the baby twin for good luck!) Continue reading

Posted Mar 20, 2012 at FarmTina

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5 Things That Are Sprouting In My Garden Right Now

Hey dudes, sorry about my gloomy post yesterday! To get you excited for spring in my new Bushwick back yard, here's a peek at what's already sprouting. 1. My favorite of the flowers I grow, my hydrangeas, are growing nice and green in their plastic containers: 2. I have the... Continue reading

Posted Mar 19, 2012 at FarmTina

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Warm Winter: Bad For The Garden?

I've been pretty bummed out about the weather lately. Here in New York City we've had a strangely warm winter, the second warmest winter ever on record here. This is wonderful when it comes to waiting at the bus stop on cold winter mornings and being able to wear dresses... Continue reading

Posted Mar 18, 2012 at FarmTina

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Hi Jessi, I wouldn't try berries in this for two reasons: First, pallet wood tends to be chemically treated so I would only plant non-edibles in a pallet planter just to be safe. But second, there's not much space for a root system here, especially a perennial one like a blueberry bush that would outgrow a small space in one season. (Strawberries would probably work, but then we're back to the chemical wood issue.) BUT! I'm growing blueberry bushes in buckets I found on the side of the road. I simply drilled holes for drainage and they're growing great. Do you have space for buckets?

Commented Mar 15, 2012 on My New Pallet Garden at FarmTina

FarmTina Video for Whole Foods

I've been writing the blog FarmTina.com since early 2010 about my small city garden that has sort of become a lil' homestead. Whole Foods heard about what I was doing and came to Brooklyn all the way from Texas to see check it out for their Grow video series! Here's my episode, and stay tuned for more fun Whole Foods & FarmTina initiatives: Continue reading

Posted Mar 4, 2012 at MartinaMartina

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Seed Germination: A Paranormal Activity

This is something I can't stop thinking about so I need to share it (hey, what else is a blog for, right?) I had no television and very limited access to pop culture as a kid-- my parents would only allow me to watch video tapes of The Prisoner, the... Continue reading

Posted Feb 19, 2012 at FarmTina

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Project: DIY Outdoor Vertical Planter

When I talk about my FarmTina project, I often hear the response, "I wish I could grow food but I just don't have any space!" To that I say, PHOOEY. Excuses, excuses. Yes, lack of space is one of my biggest challenges in gardening in the city, but that has... Continue reading

Posted Feb 5, 2012 at FarmTina

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Grow! A FarmTina Video Short

About 8 months ago, a film crew came to FarmTina to film for a long weekend. They were working on a documentary series called Grow that was tracking the new generation of farmers around the United States. This included large-scale farmers with 50 years of experience, families raising meat in... Continue reading

Posted Jan 25, 2012 at FarmTina

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