CoursE
Overview
Seven comprehensive modules with everything you need to know to master the skills to grow and preserve a year’s supply of nutrient dense food without pesticides, chemicals, or manufactured fertilizers.
Whether you are…
Brand new to gardening and don’t know where to start
Or you have been gardening for years and want to take it to the next level
You’re in the right place.
A SYSTEM THAT WORKS
“I would like to express my gratitude for all you have done and put together with this class. Truly, it’s been life changing and the best investment we’ve made. Thank you for all you do!” Abigail R.
7 years ago, our family set a goal to grow all of our own meat and produce for a year, and to learn the preservation techniques that would allow us to eat our homegrown food all year long. And we wanted to grow it all without pesticides, chemicals, or artificial fertilizers.
We both had (and still have) full time jobs, 11 kids between us, and a small gardening budget. Growing all the food our family needed for a year was no small task. After a whole lot of trial and error, we created a system that we could follow every year that is simple, efficient, affordable, and automatic (so that we can still have the freedom to go on vacation!)
While we love that we save thousands of dollars a year by growing and preserving our own food, the real value isn’t monetary. It’s having the peace of mind that comes with knowing where our food comes from, what it does (and doesn’t) contain, and that we have the skills to keep growing and preserving it regardless of what happens in the future.
As friends and followers watched our journey to eating homegrown all year, we started getting a lot of requests to teach classes on how to do what we were doing.
Fast forward to today, and we have helped hundreds of families learn to grow and preserve their own food as simply and affordably as possible without pesticides, chemicals, or toxins.
Whether you have a small backyard or lots of land, some experience or none at all – our system teaches you how to make the most of your space, time, and budget.
“After this gardening course, I had the largest harvest I could possibly have! I learned so much and was able to apply almost everything to my own garden space. All questions were answered. Would 100% recommend any Gardner to come learn more. Whether you are a beginner or experienced, I think all would find it interesting!” Candy LaMar
MODULE 1
Orientation & Goal Setting
Take a tour of a variety of backyard gardens in different landscapes. Learn our method for planning out a garden/ homestead. Most mistakes are made by people who don’t start with an end goal in mind, so this module is essential!
MODULE 2
Planning & Pitfalls
Learn how to plan a garden for a watering system, weed barrier, crop spacing and succession sowing so that you can make the very most of the space you have. When you are finished, you will have a professional garden plan, a food preservation plan, a seed shopping list, and a seed starting and planting schedule for your zone.
MODULE 3
Seed Starting 101
Learn everything you need to know to successfully start seeds indoors. With our method, you will spend less money on seed starting than buying starts Year 1! Additionally, learn how to sell seed starts, how to grow microgreens, and how to make your own pesticide, pest & chemical-free germination mix.
MODULE 4
Spring Prep
Learn how to source compost (that doesn’t contain human waste), how to start a garden from scratch, how to broadfork for better success, how to set up an automatic watering system, how to use weed barrier and other weed suppression methods, and learn about season extension and trellising methods for different crops.
MODULE 5
Soil Spotlight
Biochar and compost tea are two incredible amendments that can significantly increase the health of your soil and the nutrient quality of your produce. Over time, they will reduce the amount of water and compost your garden needs. In this lesson, learn everything you need to know to make your own biochar retort and compost tea brewer, as well as how to use them in the garden. We also include various ways to begin composting and vermicomposting (aka how to make and care for a worm bin).
MODULE 6
Last Frost to First Frost
Learn how to prepare seed starts for planting, how to transplant for best success, how to amend and prune crops like tomatoes and peppers for maximum production, how to deal with pest naturally, and more. Also included: a bonus module on how save seeds from all the main crops.
MODULE 7
Fruit & Vegetable Spotlights
An everything you need to know lesson on how to grow and preserve our most essential storage crops. Lessons will include all of the tips and tricks we’ve learned for best success on how to plant, harvest and preserve/store each of these crops:
- Carrots
- Green & Dry Beans
- Onions
- Garlic
- Sweet corn & popcorn
- Potatoes
- Tomatoes
- Peppers
- Sweet Potatoes
- Luffa
- and more!
Guide to Food Preservation Course
This course {within a course} covers everything you need to know to preserve fruits, vegetables, medicinal & culinary herbs, and dry flowers so that you can make your harvest last long after the season is over.
Modules:
- Canning: canning safety, how to choose the right canner for you, how to water bath can, how to pressure can.
- How to set up cold storage, and everything we store in cold storage (plus all the longest lasting storage varieties to plant for cold storage success)
- Drying & Dehydrating: When to dry and when to dehydrate, how to dry cut flowers for design, and how to make your own powdered cayenne, paprika, etc.
- Curing: When and how to cure vegetables for long term storage
- Freezing: how to process crops so they taste good and last as long as possible in the freezer.
These methods are the culmination of 6 years of trial and error to find the best ways to make each major crop last as long as possible. We include all of our favorite recipes too!
Q&A Sessions &
Garden Community
There will be question and answer sessions with us {Jake and Amanda}.
Every gardening season throws different curveballs, and we will be with you every step of the way to help you problem solve and succeed.
Also included with this course is access to a private Facebook group for past and present class members to ask questions, share information, and communicate. Because this course is specific to Zones 4-8, the community is filled with gardeners that have similar growing conditions and growing methods.
ALSO
Included
COURSE BOOK
With the purchase of the course, you will receive our course book in the mail. It has 240 full color pages that contain profiles on how to grow 36 major fruit and vegetable crops, 29 of our favorite culinary and medicinal herbs, and 25 of our favorite flowers for cutting and drying. We not only share all the essential information to grow each crop, but we give the tips and tricks we’ve learned over the years to have better success with growing and processing them and our favorite preservation recipes.
For the last 6 years, we have tested hundreds of varieties and taken notes on which ones do best in our zone, climate, weather, and soil conditions. We then pick the varieties that taste the best, yield the most, and store the longest. We include all of this information in our course book so that you get to skip the trial and error (and wasted money and time) and get fast tracked to success.
Additionally, there are garden planning worksheets, sample garden plans for both raised beds and an in-ground garden, all of our favorite recipes and much much more.
Please note: This course book is only available to people who take this course, we do not sell it separately!
COURSE
SCHEDULE
“I took the comprehensive garden course in 2023 and it was incredible! Amanda and Jake truly have a heart for teaching and empowering others. They are well organized and the class being broken into chunks throughout the season was brilliant. You learn enough to go practice what is relevant at that point in the season without becoming overwhelmed and then build on it each class. They were so great at answering all my questions and never made me feel silly for my lack of knowledge or asking “dumb” questions. I learned so much and look forward to putting even more of it into practice next year. I plan to take more classes from them in the future and am so excited about their additional courses offerings!” Mariah Schmidt
A GARDENING Course TAILORED TO
YOU
YOUR ZONE
Weather, pests, soil type, season length, and plant varieties all vary drastically by zone and region. This course is tailored specifically to Zones 4-8.
YOUR EXPERIENCE
If you have never gardened before, you can start with the basics year 1, and then implement some of the more advanced techniques year 2 and 3. Rewatch videos as much as you want for years to come until you have mastered the material.
YOUR PACE
Lunch breaks, after the kids go to bed, or while you’re having your morning coffee.. fit in learning on your schedule. You can complete the course at the pace we recommend or at the pace you prefer- whatever works best for you! Each module is 2-3 hours long.
YOUR GOALS
Whether your goal is to start a hobby garden, you are looking to grow and preserve a year’s supply of food, or you want to scale up and grow produce to sell, we teach you everything you need to know to help you accomplish the goals that work for your time, budget and resources.
YOUR QUESTIONS
We will be with you every step of the season from planning in January to final harvesting & preservation in October. Join us live on our Q&A sessions or watch the recorded version later. You can also reach out to us any time by phone or email – we are available to answer questions all year long.
YOUR COMMUNITY
You will have access to our online gardening community, filled with past and current members that are gardening and preserving in the same zone, weather, and conditions as you are. This is an amazing resource for sharing information, asking questions, and building {gardening} friendships in your area!
REVIEWS
WHAT DOES GARDENING IN ZONES 4-8 MEAN?
Zones are determined by the coldest temperatures a location reaches in the year. Typically, people in similar zones have a similar weather climate, season length (first and last frost dates), and can successfully grow the same plant varieties.
We are located in West Spokane, Washington. We are between Zones 5B-6A, which are the light blue and dark green colors on the map.
As you can see, there is a blue and green belt across the middle of the country that falls into the Zones 5 & 6 category.
Our course content is most specific to zones 4-7.
CUSTOMER STATS
At the end of every course, we ask our members to complete a survey. Here are some of the results:
COST VS VALUE
1
%
Course members that report the value of the course matches the cost of the course.
EXCEEDS VALUE
1
%
Members that report the value far outweighs the cost.
Repeat customers
1
%
Customers that take more than one of our courses.
THIS COURSE IS FOR YOU IF:
- You want to learn how to garden without pesticides, herbicides, chemicals, and artificial fertilizers.
- You would like to source compost that does NOT contain human waste (most nurseries carry compost made from the city’s human waste)
- You are interested in learning how to make your own compost and natural soil amendments in a small backyard setting (i.e. you want to build a self-sustaining system)
- You want to learn how to plan a garden and grow all the food you {& your family} need for the year.
- You want to learn how to preserve & store produce for winter.
- You are looking for a garden course specific to your zone and region for better success
- You would like a course that walks you through the season step by step
- You want the ability to ask questions and get help with problems that arise all season long
- You want to meet other local gardeners who are also trying to grow and preserve their own food.
THIS COURSE IS {NOT} FOR YOU IF:
- You want to know how to do large scale farming with tractors & heavy equipment
- You want conventional growing methods that include the use of pesticides & artificial fertilizers/amendments
- You are in zones higher than 8
- You live in a Southern region or climate different than ours.
COMPREHENSIVE. CONVENIENT.
AND LIFETIME ACCESS.
Once you’re in, you’re in.
Too fast paced? Life comes up? No problem! With lifetime access to the course content, you can keep going back and rewatching videos as much as you need to.
You will also get any new videos, worksheets, and course book additions that we release. Plus, you’re welcome to go through the program with the new class again each year.
“I thought I had a lot of gardening experience, but I learned so much from Amanda and Jake! I learned about many aspects of gardening, including improving my soil, buying seeds, making my own potting mix, starting seeds, making biochar, and preserving produce. From their enthusiasm and their own experiences, I felt encouraged to quadruple my garden space, grow twice as many types of vegetables, and experiment with different varieties. My life has truly been enriched by them.” Annette Mull
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Absolutely! Our course timeline (the releasing of modules) , content, and course book are all designed for zones 4-7 specifically. That being said, if you are in zone 3-8, just about everything will still apply to you as well.
Yes! Just know that some of the pests, weather, humidity, soil conditions, etc. that you face will be different than us. We will help you as much as we are able, but we will be more limited in that capacity.
You will have lifetime access to the course.
Yes. You can go through it with new course members every year if you would like to.
You can download the Kajabi app for easier access to the courses and navigation, but you will be able to do everything you need to do by logging in through an internet browser.
The course book is only available to people who purchase the course, we do not sell separately. We begin mailing course books out on January 1st.
Once the modules are released, you can complete the lessons within that module whenever you would like to (or you can skip them altogether).
Absolutely! You can submit questions for us to answer during the Q&A sessions and then watch the recorded session later if you are unavailable during the live timeframe.
There’s no such thing as a green thumb (which implies that gardening is like singing or painting – a skill you’re born with or without). It’s not! It’s actually a lot more like building a house or baking bread. Anyone can garden with the right tools and information. Course members who follow our steps are able to garden successfully.
Yes! We cover both raised bed and in-ground gardening that can accommodate almost any size yard big or small. A big emphasis of this course is getting the highest yield possible in the smallest amount of space so that you can maximize your rewards and minimize your input. We have tested hundreds of varieties and we share our favorite variety of each crop for both flavor AND yield in our course book.
Yes! We used to have a 1 acre market garden and we teach the techniques we learned to garden at that scale efficiently. We have found that most people think they need a lot more space than they actually do to support their family. For example, we only need a garden that is about 1/8 of an acre to sustain our entire family of 13 people for a year!
We teach what we call “more-ganic” gardening because the qualifications for organic gardening are pretty disappointing. Organic farms can legally use pesticides, herbicides, and compost containing human waste. We teach how to garden without any of those things.
To figure out what zone you are in:
https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/
Each module contains video & audio lessons and it will take between 1 – 3 hours to complete the module. Quite a few of the lessons can be listened to (no visual necessary) if you like to listen while you work.
IF you love
gardening & homesteading, then this is for you!
Our community gets the best of us: We send out free lessons & tutorials, our favorite recipes, gardening guides (like our secret to growing prolific peppers), and every once in a while some fun freebies (a favorite book, some seeds from our collection, etc). Our community also gets 24 hours advance notice on any new classes or products we drop before we share with the public/social media so they can be the first to sign up. And the only discounts we give go to our community members as well.