Check Out Whitney Wade’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Whitney Wade.

Hi Whitney, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I first started gardening as a kid, growing up in the valley, and then my initial adult career path took me into the entertainment world, where I worked as a Producer in various areas of entertainment. After becoming a mother but still working crazy hours under the stresses of high budget projects, I found myself needing to take a step back, slow down, take better care of myself and my family, and potentially find a way that I could make a difference in the world, which brought me back to gardening — specifically, growing food. So here I am, working with individuals who always thought they had a “black thumb.” families and kids, providing lessons and supplies to get as many people growing as possible!

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
When I first started, I had a particular plan, but the journey that I initially set out on has definitely evolved. It’s not that it’s been a struggle, but I attribute that to my openness to letting it evolve. I’m fortunate to have a supportive family and community who have rolled with and supported me over the last five years, and I’m very happy where I am currently. I’m also thrilled to finally launch the next chapter, a big part of my original vision, by opening my online shop, providing kits and other merchandise, as well as starting an online community, where I provide garden lessons, where we can also support and share with each other our gardening successes and not-so successes, recipes and more.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Plant Grow Eat is all about the cycle of food. I work with households, I teach at a few local elementary schools, and I also give garden lessons online. If a house needs a garden, I can provide a garden. If they have a garden that needs rehabilitating, I can work with that. If they have a working garden and want help with that, I can do that. My homework is all about figuring out what is wanted and needed and making it happen. Some people want me to build and maintain on my own, and others want to work with me and learn. I work with adults and kids, and I love the variety from home to home. I started working at my local school as a parent volunteer, which quickly evolved into developing a program at two elementary schools and providing support at another. The Plant Grow Eat philosophy is particularly effective with kids. We plant the food, take care of it as it grows, and then kids, who tell me that they know they don’t like kale at the beginning of the year, are always the ones who ask for seconds, as we eat straight from the garden and engage parent volunteers to provide prepared dishes with what we’ve grown. It’s a whole magical, food-growing community effort.

And, finally, it’s been a silver-lining opportunity to be forced to slow down during the pandemic and develop more of an online presence on Instagram and also at plantgroweat.com, where I give weekly lessons in my “Weekends in the Garden” series on Saturday mornings, as well as providing kits and other supplies to help people get growing. The thing that I make sure of and pride myself on is continuing to provide support. I don’t send you a kit and that’s the end. I still answer questions from people I started working with years ago, and I want to make sure that, if you think you have a black thumb, I’m here to help prove that you’re wrong! My goal, whether you have a large garden in your yard or a smaller container garden on your balcony, is that you grow food successfully. Sometimes we have to try a couple of times like I even do in my own garden, but let’s keep trying, together!

What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
How my business has evolved is the perfect example of the characteristic that I feel has been the most important to my success — and I also measure my business success on my personal happiness in it! And that characteristic is flexibility. I don’t want to get stuck trying to hammer a square peg into a circle. If an opportunity presents itself, and it feels right, I’m open to trying it. If something isn’t working as I may have planned or wanted, I reassess and adjust. My initial business idea was completely different than where I am after five years of doing this, and it’s a great place to be.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: plantgroweat.com
• Instagram: @plantgroweat
• Facebook: @plantgroweatfood
• Twitter: @plant_grow_eat

Image Credits
Image 1 credit – Tameka Jacobs All others – Whitney Wade