Larissa Leath transformed her front yard into a huge garden in 2020.
SAN ANTONIO — Settled in the suburbs, situated between many manicured lawns, sits an oasis cultivated by San Antonio “Soil Sister.”
Digging and planting just steps from her front door, Larissa Leath’s garden on the northeast side of San Antonio took root in 2020.
“I’m San Antonio’s Soil Sister. I’m a regular person who can do this. You can too,” she said. “I would love to help anyone who wants to do this…it can change your world, it can change the world.”
Growing what seems like, well, everything, the Soil Sister’s front yard is all planted with a purpose.
“You want a companion garden—herbs, flowers and then you think of your vegetables. You want to find what plants do well together. Herbs really grow well with any plant,” she said.
She proceeds to reel off her suggestions that would make anyone think she was working on her garden for far longer than five years.
Herbs grow great alongside any plant. Oregano? Plant it alongside tomatoes and peppers. As for basil, it helps ward off bugs you don’t want near your tomatoes.
But how did she get started? It began with gathering resources in the community.
She advises making the call before you dig and ensuring you don’t have an HOA. Other than that, it’s as simple as just getting started.
Ripping up her yard, Leath laid a little mulch to get it all going.
“There’s something called a ‘chip drop’ to help build up the soil and retain moisture.”
Over time, with seeds, propagation and love, her garden grew.
“I didn’t do this in a year or two; it’s taken a couple of years to get to this scale,” Leath said. “But really focusing on your soil health and focusing on watering. I have rain barrels because I want to be respectful to the aquifer… so I collect rain water. It helps with our water bill, too.”
Leath is sharing her passion via social media on her Instagram page @sanantoniosoilsister. She wants to create a community that gathers around growth, something she knows about all too well.
“I am a happier person,” she says about the effects of her gardening. “It’s just been so great for my mental health. It’s a huge stress-reliever. And I feel fulfilled, I really do. There’s something really beautiful about growing your own food, taking it inside and creating a meal.”
While working a full-time job in health care, she realized she needed a break—a release that would take her out of the day-to-day.
“It’s a stressful job. It’s hard, it’s really hard. Working with patients can be rewarding and it’s very sad at times, too. We see the really good and the really ugly. You take it home with you.”
If there weren’t enough reasons to keep the front yard garden going, Leath has just a few more.
“Self-sufficiency,” she says. “I think it’s important for people to know how to grow their own food. There’s a lot of food insecurity going around, and I share as much as I can.”
“My neighbors love me, by the way,” she adds, with a laugh.
It’s also important to Leath that she stays organic and pesticide-free in her gardening. Instead, she relies on bugs and other plants, considered the “companion garden” style of planting to keep pests at bay.
Her dream took years and learning some lessons along the way. But it didn’t take a genius to get the plants she has growing.
It just took time and care.
That’s something she hopes to leave with others who pass by or see her story and want to join in the growth.
“I want to see more yards like this. I want to see more community gardens. I want to see more co-ops where I might have all the tomatoes but my neighbor has the cucumbers and we’re trading,” she said. “Especially when times are tough, you’ll know someone you can reach out to who has something you might need.”
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