Cottage Garden Coaching

05/30/2026

The garden doesn't need perfect conditions.

It doesn't need unlimited time or a season without interruptions.

It needs someone who shows up — consistently, attentively, even on the mornings that don't go as planned. Especially on those mornings.

That's what Guided gives you. Not just a coaching program — someone beside you through the real version of gardening. The wind events, the deer, the busy weeks, and the harvest that comes anyway when the foundation is solid.

Guided — personal kitchen garden coaching, in your own backyard.
Grow your food with pride.

Start any Monday through July. A few spots still open.
https://bit.ly/CGCGuided for more info

05/27/2026

The gardens that survive a Nevada County summer aren't the ones that got the most hours.

They're the ones built for a real life — not an ideal one.

Consistent small attention beats occasional intense effort every time.

On the days when you only have twenty minutes:
→ Check the water
→ Walk the beds
→ Do one small thing

That's enough to keep it going.

Full post this week on keeping your garden alive through the busy season.
https://bit.ly/NevadaCountyBusyLife

Guided is open now. https://bit.ly/CGCGardenChat

05/27/2026

Security breach.

It was sunrise. I wandered out to the chicken coop to deliver kitchen scraps, said my good mornings, and opened the run for the day.

My eyes lifted across the meadow-like food forest — and met the soft brown eyes of a deer on the wrong side of the fence.

My heart jumped. I shouted something I won't repeat here. She galloped, unhurried, to the perimeter. The gap in the fence from last week's wind event had been discovered.

Which meant my garden morning was now being spent fortifying the perimeter instead.

This is gardening. The real version. New post this week on keeping your garden going when life — and deer — get in the way.

A Nevada County garden coach shares how to keep a kitchen garden alive and producing through the interruptions, the deer, and the chaos of real life.

05/23/2026

Your plants are in the ground.

Now comes the part most people navigate alone — the watering questions, the troubleshooting, the wondering whether what you're seeing is normal.

That's exactly where Guided is most useful. Four weeks of personal, in-garden coaching. I come to your yard. We work in your garden together — checking the drip system, reading the soil, making sure what you planted has every chance of making it through summer and into harvest.

Guided is personal kitchen garden coaching, in your own backyard.

$1,197. Start any Monday through July. A few spots still open.

If you want someone to show up in your garden and help you actually do this — book a free Garden Chat and let's talk. Link in bio

05/22/2026

The watering mistake most Nevada County gardeners make:

Setting up a drip system or timer — and never checking if it's actually working.

This feels responsible. It looks responsible. But automated systems clog, shift, and drift. An emitter that was watering your tomato root zone in May may be watering bare soil by July.

The fix: push your finger two inches into the soil near your plant roots every few days. Look for consistent moisture at root depth — not just wet surface soil.

Your plants can't tell you they're thirsty. You have to check.

Full post at the link — including why mulching this week could cut your summer watering needs in half.

05/21/2026

Sunday slid into evening with sun-kissed skin and tired muscles.

Scattered clouds, long light, the kind of day that makes it easy to stay in the garden until the last possible moment.

As I made space for more starts I found myself smiling — picturing that first ripe tomato, warmed by the sun, waiting for me to come find it.

Oh what a feeling.

If your plants are in the ground — that feeling belongs to you too. Now the question is how to keep them alive through a Sierra Foothills summer.

New post this week. Link in bio.

Guided is open now. Book a free Garden Chat. Link in bio.

05/20/2026

Let's talk about water.

How to water and mulch a warm-season vegetable garden in the Sierra Foothills — including the one mistake that kills most Nevada County gardens by July.

05/17/2026

After reclaiming the Strawberry bed from the weeds, it's rewarding me with a few berries. Next year will be EPIC!

05/16/2026

Whatever the bees need.

Marigolds for the pollinators. Chives and garlic for the aphid pressure. Lavender for the bees. Beans for the soil. Basil for the tomatoes. Nasturtiums for the cucumbers.

A garden that's been thought about this way starts to take care of itself — and uses less water doing it.

If you want help thinking through yours — link in bio. Free Garden Chat to start. 🌱

05/16/2026

Mother's Day weekend has come and gone — and the season is moving whether we're ready or not.

If you want someone beside you through what comes next — the companion planting decisions, the watering, the troubleshooting, the harvest — Guided is still open for May and June starts.

Four weeks of personal, in-garden coaching. I come to your yard. We work in your garden together, week by week.

It's not too late. A garden started now still has a full summer ahead of it.

Grow your food with pride.

$1,197. Start any Monday. Book a free Garden Chat to talk through whether it's the right fit. https://buff.ly/ggcCAFG