Why OrganicBackYards.com, Why Now — A Note From The Editor

How a lifelong gardener and digital strategist set out to build a practical, trustworthy resource for growing food, living sustainably, and learning by doing.

If you had told me years ago that I would someday launch a gardening website of my own, I probably would have said, “I’d love to… if only there were more hours in the day,” but also, “I’m not an expert, why should people listen to me?” Between a full-time career, coaching my kids’ sports teams, and the general chaos of modern life, this idea lived in the “someday” pile for a long time. Now, as my kids are getting older and my hands are finding their way back into the soil more often, “someday” has finally become today.

Gardening has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. One of my earliest memories involves accidentally touching my eyes after touching hot peppers in my dad’s backyard garden — a painful but effective introduction to the power of plants. In college, I escalated things by growing tomatoes outside my dorm room window. But the first time gardening truly became mine was in 2010, when my wife and I bought our home in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. The property came with a single raised bed bordered by decaying railroad ties and a rusty chunk of old chicken wire. By the end of that first season, that modest box had expanded into roughly a quarter of the backyard.

Not long after, I had the unusual privilege of working professionally in the organic gardening world. I managed the websites and social media for Organic Gardening magazine and later Rodale’s Organic Life, and I led the company’s employee garden club — teaching complete beginners how to grow their own food. Those years connected me with some incredibly knowledgeable people and exposed me to a wide range of techniques, philosophies, and experiments. It also reinforced a truth I’ve seen again and again: gardening success rarely comes from a single trick or secret. It comes from paying attention, learning from mistakes, and trying again next season.

And there have been plenty of mistakes.

I’ve had years when my garden helped feed my family through late summer and fall — baskets of tomatoes, peppers, greens, and more. I’ve also had seasons when a snapped tomato plant or a pest outbreak pushed me to the brink of ripping everything out in frustration. If you’ve ever felt that swing between triumph and defeat, you’re not alone. Gardening humbles everyone eventually.

Over time I’ve tried just about every format you can imagine: in-ground beds, raised beds, container gardens, rooftop setups, indoor seed starting, composting systems, and small-scale “micro-farm” layouts. My approach leans organic, but my goal isn’t purity — it’s practicality. If you’re growing food, learning, and moving toward a more self-reliant lifestyle, you’re already on the right path.

Parallel to all of this, I’ve spent my entire professional life building and managing websites. I launched my first site in 1999 as a ninth grader and never really stopped. My career has centered on digital strategy and marketing, and I earned an MBA in 2024 to deepen that knowledge. Over the years I’ve built dozens of sites, including large projects such as OrganicGardening.com, RodalesOrganicLife.com, and a recent redesign of the DeSales University website that earned a Silver Award in a national advertising competition.

Simply put: my two biggest strengths are gardening and building websites. OrganicBackYards.com is where those two worlds finally meet.

Why This Site Exists

The goal of OrganicBackYards.com is not to demand perfection. It’s to help ordinary people move a little closer to self-sustainability — whether that means growing a few herbs on an apartment balcony, feeding your family from a suburban yard, cooking more from scratch, or just understanding where your food comes from.

This site is for beginners who don’t know where to start, busy parents with limited time, budget-minded DIYers, and anyone willing to learn. You’ll find grow guides, recipes, practical tutorials, backyard projects, lifestyle tips, and ideas you can involve your kids in. Everything is grounded in real-world conditions — imperfect soil, limited space, unpredictable weather, and busy schedules.

We won’t push chemical-heavy solutions, but we also won’t judge anyone who isn’t 100% organic. Progress matters more than purity. We also won’t publish recipes we haven’t tested ourselves, and we won’t wander into political messaging. There are plenty of places for that — this isn’t one of them.

A One-Person Operation (For Now)

At the moment, OrganicBackYards.com is run by exactly one human: me.

Every article is researched, written, reviewed, and edited personally before publication. I track new information, evolving best practices, and reader feedback so content can be updated when needed. My hope is to grow this into a nationally recognized knowledge hub — one that shows up at garden shows, farmers’ markets, and community events, and eventually becomes a trusted voice for product testing and recommendations.

A Note On AI Transparency

Because this is a solo operation, I want to be transparent about something important: I use artificial intelligence as a tool.

AI helps me organize research, compare information across sources, check for gaps, refine explanations, and sometimes generate supporting visuals. It does not replace real-world experience, hands-on testing, or editorial judgment. Every piece of content is reviewed, verified, and shaped by a human who has actually done the work in the dirt.

Think of AI as an assistant — not the author.

My goal is to combine the efficiency of modern tools with the authenticity of lived experience. If something hasn’t been tested, researched, or carefully evaluated, it doesn’t get published.

Why Now

Honestly, this site could have existed years ago. I wanted to launch it during the pandemic, when interest in gardening exploded, but life didn’t allow it. Now, with my kids older and my own gardening efforts ramping back up, the timing finally feels right to share what I’ve learned — including what worked, what didn’t, and what I wish I had known earlier.

Gardening knowledge shouldn’t disappear when one season ends. It should compound.

An Invitation

I garden in eastern Pennsylvania (Zone 7a/6b), but the principles you’ll find here apply far beyond one backyard. My approach is to observe first, absorb as much information as possible, and make thoughtful decisions rather than chasing quick fixes. If you’re the kind of person who prefers practical guidance over hype, you’re in the right place.

OrganicBackYards.com is still young, but the vision is big: a trusted, practical, welcoming resource that helps people grow more, waste less, cook better, and reconnect with the simple satisfaction of doing things themselves.

Thanks for being here at the beginning.

— David Oblas, Editor