What is a garden coach and Why you want one
Years ago I figured out how broken and disconnected our food system is. It happened shortly after I had decided to start a family. My premature son was allergic to dairy while I was nursing so I had to do a lot of research to make sure he got the nutrients he needed to thrive. By diving down this path, I started to uncover so much about how connected all of the recalls that were happening at the time were. Salmonella, listeria, cross contamination, metal fragments, and forever chemicals. It all seemed like something out of a movie happening everywhere, at any given moment. Yet, no one really was talking about it or worried about it. And no one really wanted to talk to me about it either. So, instead, to protect my family from those dangerous bacteria recalls and not have to worry about where my food was coming from, I decided to turn to gardening. It’s something I learned from my mother, who had an extensive herb garden. So I had the basics. And over the last 7 ½ years I have cultivated my skill. I have learned the science behind organic gardening, how to intensively plant so that the mini ecosystem actually takes care of itself, and I no longer had to worry about my food being dangerous to consume.
Which brings me to now. The pandemic hit most places here in the states, hard. People turned naturally to gardening, and I became excited for all of the new gardeners in my neighborhood. The questions they had, the excitement for their seed deliveries. It was like everyone was experiencing the same joy I have had with building my veggie sanctuary. But all of their inquiries left me exhausted and with little time for my own garden. And as 2020 continued, so did the questions and the need for hand holding through the process. My neighbors didn’t see the abundance that I had, they didn’t see their vegetables producing as much in their garden that they really wanted, and their garden beds that they had bought offline started to decay after the first year. To be fair, they didn’t know what they didn’t know. Gardening is a skill set that is learned over time. And your garden is an extension of your home. I didn’t want my neighbors to be discouraged. I wanted them to have a person they trusted whose time they valued. So, I decided to launch my own garden coaching business. Homegrown and Harvested. And here we are!
So what is a garden coach you may be asking. Well, it is someone who not only has a passion for gardening, but also feels motivated to help others regardless of skill level. So for someone who is a beginner, a coach can really help know where to start, reduce the stress of choosing the right materials, the right soil mixture for success, and knowing companion planting to make for less maintenance. A coach is also someone who has gone through the process to become certified in some way to pass on that knowledge to others. For example, I have my MA in landscape archaeology, am a Gardenary certified garden coach, and am finishing my MA in Gardening. Am I master gardener? No, but I grow gardeners, not plants (well, I do grow plants, lots of them but you know what I mean). Maybe one day!
What is it that I do as a garden coach? Well, I have set up my own small business to help people in my community to design, install, plan out, plant, educate and help people grow their own edible garden spaces. Just like going to a yoga instructor or a soccer coach to begin a skill set that you don’t have, it makes sense to source out a professional that can teach you. And that’s what I do. I provide custom one-on-one guidance for my clients, tips, tricks, and advice that is all personalized to a particular person or families’ needs while empowering those people to have a landscape and lifestyle that is both productive with food and beneficial for their physical and mental health.
Starting seeds and planning out the garden
And let’s be clear, I’m not a landscaper. There's a pretty big difference between garden coaches and landscapers. A garden coach is for those people who want to do their own gardening and tend their own vegetables. It is for someone who may need help getting started or for someone who is continuing to develop their skill set. However, a landscaper is someone who is hired by the homeone to do all the work for them and isn’t typically specialized in food production. Yes, there are landscapers that can build you garden beds. But they won’t teach you how to take care of the plants, prune them correctly, address pest issues organically, etc. A landscaper has a really useful role in helping to transform your plot of land, but we are different. And we like to collaborate!
And why hire me when there is so much to find online? Well, I think YouTube and social media and online in general is a great place to start your research. However, you can go down a rabbit hole and over complicate things really quickly. Every location and garden is a micro environment. What works for someone in California may not work for someone in Florida or Virginia. We have such different climates and weather conditions that are influence by our population. Living inside the 495 beltway I can plant things roughly 3 weeks earlier than my clients who are outside the beltway. But you wouldn’t know that looking online. So having a garden coach that knows your local area, has been growing in your area and is able to create a collaborative process with you with personalized advice and hands on training, is a much better source that online to be successful. You can’t find that video. You need the engagement.
One of our Homegrown & Harvested raised bed gardens
What should you look for in a garden coach? It is a relationship that develops so take the time during your consultation to make sure that all of your questions are being answered. Look for someone with experience in your area and with the foods you want to grow. And don’t be concerned if your coach suggests starting small or going a slightly different route, but be sure to ask questions. Any coaching session is for your education so a well prepared coach is great, but you also will want to get the benefits of every session. A good garden coach should have some past testimonials from clients and of course, certifications are great if they have them. Experience, passion, and connection, I have found to be of utmost importance when trusting someone with your home. And your garden is an extension of your living space.
Garden coaches are pretty amazing, I know I may be biased since I am one. But I really feel like we have the ability to change the world one garden at a time. Just think of the money you can save by taking the time to learn this skill set from a garden coach. The decrease in your carbon footprint. The less food waste. Decreased exposure to pesticides and potential bacteria. The amazing mental health benefits. These are all things I’ll be touching on in this blog but also through my Garden tips email connection. So if you aren’t signed up, please subscribe so that you can find out how to make your garden then best it can be this season! Or if you now have a better understanding of what a garden coach does, set up a consultation! I’d love to help normalize gardening for you and have you be successful in your gardening goals.
