Four years in, I’m simply grateful. For the tiny seedlings that have given me something to nourish through the quiet season—and for the daily meals they provide of tangy winter greens.

It quickly became a mental health break. On Jan. 6, 2021, as a mob attacked the U.S. Capitol, I went down to my basement to take deep breaths of oxygen and remember that roots buried deep in frozen ground would once again bear new shoots in the spring.

At first, it was just a way to get through the long months of a Minnesota winter, when the ground is bare and frozen and nothing green grows for half the year.

Four years ago, I started a hydroponic garden in my basement.