Fugitive Gardens

Even if you live in a big, dirty city, you can grow your own lush herb and vegetable garden year-round. Claire walks you through the basics of fire escape gardening, like choosing containers, soil, landlords, pests, and making sure your fire escape can still be safely used in case of a fire. She offers a planting calendar tuned to New York City's climate and then offers detailed advice for growing tomatoes, herbs, peas, cucumbers, strawberries, and more. Finally she offers several blueprints and profiles of real-life NYC fire escape gardens. Evocative line drawings by Sheila Lin will help you envision your escape from mass-produced food networks!