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It’s no secret that the CO-VID pandemic prompted a lot of folks to start gardens. Some people were concerned about the food supply – crops were unharvested, rotting in the field. Grocery shelves were empty. Others were trying to find a socially distant past time to keep themselves and the kids busy out of the house.
For our client, the Urban Homestead Beginner, it was a bit of both. We’d been over for a brief consultation with the Urban Homestead Beginner about a year prior to evaluate the current landscaping at their new home, but they weren’t even considering a food garden at that point. They are a busy on-the-go family so they thought it’d be too much work.
But, they suddenly found themselves at home, wondering what to do with themselves, and two small active children. Solution – plant a garden!
“I was completely new to gardening, I literally couldn’t even keep a basil plant alive before reaching out to Living Roots. After my first virtual consultation I felt confident in planting a small herb garden.”
The family’s goals began as a desire to grow food to sustain themselves and to show their children where food comes from. Once the fresh herbs were ready, they were hooked! Mom’s love of gourmet cooking was further inspired by the fresh flavors. Soon, home-grown, delicious meals were coming from their new garden.
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Homemade pizza with arugula
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Caprese salad with homegrown tomatoes and basil
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Homemade pasta with longevity spinach
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They started out with a Virtual Consultation. It was made a lot easier by our previous visit, some photos of the yard, and some Google Earth images. Herbs were followed by sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and leafy greens. A month or so later, we had another Virtual Consultation to discuss fruit trees and some edible landscaping to replace some boring shrubs in their side yard.
“From there I took every class I could to learn more about maintaining and planting a larger edible garden. All of the information was given in a way that was easy to understand and super easy to follow. Plus the Q & A portion always gave me a chance to ask for more information or guidance and Amanda made sure she answered everyone’s questions no matter how long it took.”
Visit our Virtual course Library to check out our course offerings.
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Then came the home-preserved goodies. After participating in a few of Living Root’s food preservation webinars, dehydrating and canning led to homemade holiday gift baskets! They were made from a combination of home grown garden produce, bulk purchases from local farms, and visits to you-pick farms.
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The family enjoyed some taste-testing to find the right blends.
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All packaged up for her homemade gift baskets.
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We’re really proud of the progress that Urban Homestead Beginner has made. It’s been a true transformation from black thumb to confident gardener in just a few months. Was everything an immediate success? No. But overall, most crops were harvestable and the whole family has learned skills leading them to eat healthier and be more self-reliant.
Did we mention that our Urban Homestead Beginner’s home is in a community with a strict HOA? For more information about how you can gain skills to become a better gardener, contact Amanda. We’re ready to help you on the path to self-sufficiency!
All photos in this article were taken by our client, the Urban Homestead Beginner.
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