Grow Your Own Food | Gardening for Greater Health

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What are you waiting for? Good night. How would you like to grow your own food for dinner? Step outside your door or head to a special place on your counter and grab your spinach or your microgreens, wash them, and enjoy. No matter where you live, my guest today tells us we can do this. I love the idea of pulling it out of the ground and eating it full of nutrients instead of knowing it's been flown or trucked in, sat in the store, and then in my refrigerator, all the while losing nutrients every step of the way. And of course, that's if the nutrient density of the soil it was grown in was good to begin with. We've got reasons to want better nutrition than we can buy from the grocery store. I'm Debra Atkinson. You're listening to Flipping 50, where I address your top struggles and concerns, and I share what to eat, how to move, and how to change your mindset so you can have the energy and vitality that you want, need, and deserve. And no matter what of year it is, if you're craving something fresh and it's 20 below outside and, or it's 117, the idea of growing your own garden may feel a little bit overwhelming, but there are baby steps you can take and my guest has them all down. So join me as she tells us why she started, why it's so important to her, and how you too can get started. Katie Oglesby is an edible garden designer and holistic health coach on a mission to help her clients stop being passive participants in their health journeys and become courageous, informed advocates for their well-being. As a garden coach and real food advocate, she fuses the healing power of gardening with the healing power of food as medicine in her garden designs and holistic approach to a garden-to-table lifestyle. I'm loving it. I think you will too. Katie Oglesby, thank you so much for joining us.

Thank you so much for having me, Debra. I'm excited to chat today.

So I'm dying to know, what is it that made you become a garden coach? Have you always had a green thumb? And what propelled you into this or being so passionate about helping people create their, their own food and healthier sources of it?

That's a great question. I've not always had a green thumb. In fact, I did not grow up with a garden. It's something kind of new that I picked up when I met my husband. So long story short, I had a health journey. I got very sick and unfortunately it became very hard for me to navigate navigate the conventional system and get the results that I wanted other than heavy doses of pharmaceuticals and a very costly regimen. And so one weekend I started binge-watching documentaries on our food. I had been gardening at the time, but not really making all the greatest lifestyle choices. And so as I'm watching these food documentaries and documentaries about what's in our products, I'd had some severe anaphylactic reactions to things. And I thought, if there's one thing that I can control, it's my food and how I nourish myself. And that was one thing that I knew that I could take ownership of in my own healing journey. And so I went back out to my garden after several months of struggles that following spring with the different intention to grow high-quality food, to grow intentionally with the things that I thought were going to help support the things that I was going through. And then from there, it really just transpired, my journey, my health, my personal growth. And then I ended up starting this business and teaching other people how even to grow just a small part of your food and educating people on some of the quality issues and the nutrient density issues in the food that we just buy at our traditional grocery stores.

Talk a little bit about that. Let's talk a little bit about what happens with nutrient density from the moment food is picked or grown, harvested, you know, to riding on the truck, to sitting at the store, to then sitting in your refrigerator. Talk about the breakdown of nutrients.

Yes. So on average, depending on where you live geographically, your food is traveling anywhere from 1,200, 1,500+ miles before it even gets to you. And so, you know, we often experience it like— let's just talk about salad greens for one second. How we get this big thing of spinach and then in a couple of days it's slimy on the inside. It's, it's a big disappointment. Food is costly. And so greens are one of the most perishable things. So we think about how far they're traveling. So they've been cut, some have been processed, some have preservatives on them to get them so they can make it to our kitchen tables. And those are things that arguably are not the greatest for us. We don't know how they've been cared for with regards to any type of pesticide or herbicide application. And we also don't know the soil quality in which they're being grown in. So we really don't know. We know historically we've lost a lot of nutrients in our foods, but we don't really know where our food is coming from sometimes. So when we think about just going to the grocery store, it's been cut. You're right. It's been sitting. It's been packaged. It's been on a truck. It's sitting on the grocery store shelf. Then it comes to our refrigerators and potentially sits a little bit even more. So the higher quality food is when you're going to get it when it's picked the most fresh. So walking out in your backyard and harvesting a fresh salad daily, that's going to be what's optimal for you. And so just, you know, that's just a great example of the greens. And one other thing to think about is, is when we think about, you know, food contamination, we see a lot of recalls when it comes to kale, spinach, romaine. And just think about how in the process where our food is going, how many hands is being touched. And inevitably those things can happen. It's a process for our food to make it from wherever it's being grown to our plates. So that's one of the reasons why I try to encourage you to either grow it yourself or try to, try to support some of your local farmers because you know that you're going to get a higher quality product that's been most recently harvested.

Such good information. So talk to us about how hard or difficult is it to, you know, basically grow your own salad? No matter where you live in the world, because I think this is a factor, right? I mean, whether you're in the Midwest versus you're in the desert, I mean, how difficult is it to learn what is it that I need to do in order to grow my own dinner salad?

Yeah, that's a great question. And so greens are a great entry point. So if you don't have a garden before, green and herbs are the greatest, like, kind of gateway into gardening because they're, they are one of the easiest things to grow and you see the quickest turnover.. You can get spinach and arugula in 30 days. So when you're thinking about that, that's a quick turnaround for somebody who wants to grow and gives us a little gratification, right, that things are coming quick. And so they also require minimal space. So let me just give you an example. I have a 4x4 section because I live in Wisconsin, and so I put a little hoop over it come March because I'm itching for fresh greens. So a 4x4, it would be 16 square feet, of salad greens, so it's just using some seeds, feeds my husband and I a salad a day for 1 month. So when you think about that, it's not a lot of space that you have to have to be able to grow some greens, and it's very economical to buy seeds. And yes, geographically that does play a role, so learning your seasons in your area is one of the important things to do. So greens do prefer a little bit of a cooler climate or shade, so Regardless of where you live, we have 4 seasons. So we have cool, warm, hot, and cold. And most of us experience 3 growing seasons. So here in Wisconsin, I'm growing greens March through November. I'm still eating them right now. So when you think about that, we have a lot of opportunity in the warmer clients— climates, sorry. One of the things you're going to want to learn is there's different varieties that are more heat tolerant. And so just learning what grows best in your area. There's lots of guidance out there, talking to local farmers, market is a great way to see what's growing in your area so you kind of know where to start. And I give a lot of guidance on that also in learning your seasons. But it's extremely economical. We can keep planting every couple weeks, so we have this continual harvest. And really, it just requires, you know, they only need a minimum of 4 to 6 hours of sunlight. So even people that experience, you know, maybe more shady areas or only have a balcony or a pot that they could put on their patio table, it's still very convenient to be able to grow a little bit of your own greens.

Very cool. So the smallest area, so give some suggestions, like what, what are some things that I could grow? Would that be the first thing that you'd say is do spinach or something like that if you had a very small area and you wanted to get kind of the optimal use out of it or the optimal health benefit?

Yes, I would say growing greens, you're going to get the most bang for your buck. So for example, you can go on Amazon, they have plastic planters that are 18 to 24 inches. So it's actually like, looks like a little salad bowl planter. And I do this a lot with clients that are beginning. You can buy this little planter. I always recommend starting with 2. So you can start one and then in a couple of weeks start another one. So you kind of have that continual growth coming. And I would say spinach, arugula, and even a leaf lettuce mix that you could just sprinkle the seeds in. Fill the bowl with some compost or an organic growing mix and just keep it, keep the seeds moist. And you'd be surprised how easy it is to grow grains. It's not intimidating at all, but you can start with something as simple as a little pot on your patio table, on your deck.

Very cool. Wow. Okay. So what about, you talked a little about the growing seasons, off seasons. What else for somebody in a small space? It's an off-season. It's not the ideal growing season. I don't know what that is here in Phoenix, if that's when it's 117 every day for 6 weeks. Yeah. Is that the off-season? Yes. Because man, only things that I saw here were dying.

Yeah, that's a great question. That would be your off-season, like when I'm covered in snow. So that's a great question.

Yeah.

The great transition to, to the garden when we either have extreme heat or extreme cold, in my opinion, is growing microgreens. Microgreens are so nutrient-dense. They're really easy. You can grow them on your countertop in a small area under a grow light. And again, economical sprouts are another thing you can do in water. I just— I'm a microgreen fan and you can just grow a tray of them. There's lots of kits out there. And again, you're getting a lot of bang for your buck from a nutrient density standpoint. You still get to sprinkle the microgreens, you know, really on any dish that you have. And another cool thing about growing microgreens is that we don't think about is you can grow herb microgreens. So for me in this winter, when I would like some fresh basil and I really am not going to get that around here, I can grow basil microgreens or cilantro microgreens, which cilantro is great for us. And so just thinking about what is it that you like to eat, what are flavor profiles that your family eats regularly? And then bringing those in in different formats.

Talk a little bit about the spice aisle and what's in spices when we buy them at the store.

Yeah, so our spice aisle is really contaminated. So if you were to look, I mean, we all love a lot of flavor. Our palates have been, you know, the food industry is really good at putting in additives in our food to make us crave and want more. And so you're going to see a lot of maltodextrin, a lot of high fructose corn syrup. And things in our spices. So one of the best ways is to retrain our palate when we've really kind of become addicted to those is to start integrating fresh herbs into our daily diet. And again, they're very easy to grow. They can be in a pot and do a microgreen form. But that really, I feel like, helps a lot of us transition on readapting a different flavor profile and embracing more of the healthier properties of these, you know, these amazing medicinal plants. A lot of them, these herbs have a lot of medicinal properties for us in getting us away from some of those things that are full of sugar, sodium, and addictive preservatives.

Got it. Okay. So talk a little bit about the grow light that you're talking about. I mean, is that an investment? I mean, is that a, a big expense or how much is that? Where does one find one of those?

Yeah, great question. So you can find them for like $25, and they— there's like a little clip. They have them on Amazon, they have them in a lot of places, and you can clip it to your counter, and they have little— they just kind of bend right over your mat. And so, you know, microgreens, I don't know if they are by you, but here I noticed that they were $6 or $7 for a small container of them. Yeah, at the store. And so when you think about that, that grow light's going to pay off pretty, pretty quick. And, you know, broccoli, some broccoli microgreens are fantastic for you. Sunflower, they don't— you know, the taste isn't something where if you're trying to work more greens into your diet, you've never been a green person, that it's, you know, off-putting. I think it's a great entry point again to start integrating more and more into our diet. And so I don't find the investment to be very high. There's a lot of kits again out there that you can do that make it a little bit easier, but a plastic tray, a little bit of, a little bit of compost and some seeds and a, and a grow light is a pretty economic way to kind of grow your own nutrient-dense food, be able to sprinkle those on your meals every day, throw them in your smoothie. I mean, you just, to me, after doing it, there's really no question about it. It's just a great, great, great investment. And it gives you a little bit of, I think, pride and gratification that you're, you took the time to add that nourishment to your body.

Yeah, I think that's a great idea. And I love those. I love microgreens and putting them, you know, in a sandwich or a wrap or on a salad. So many ways to use them. Um, and I love that we're talking about it kind of at this point in the year where everybody's thinking a little bit more in terms of, you know, healthy, getting a healthy start, what are things to do. But Talk about the connection with, like, other family members that you've had. Have you worked with kids? Because I imagine this is just such a great thing to, to do with kids, you know, and to show them how easy it is. And to also— because when they get their hands in it, usually if they help prepare it or do something somehow with it, they're much more inclined to want to eat it.

That has actually been one of the most gratifying things when starting this business is watching these families transition into that. So 100%, kids are more likely to eat it if they've grown it. And I have watched several families over the last year. Now the kids are making their own garden plans and what vegetables they're going to handpick and when they want to grow themselves in their own garden bed. And so watching them get their hands in their dirt, the families being outside, I mean, that's so important, right, to spend some time in nature. We're moving outside in the garden, our bodies. It has been amazing to watch families that had no inkling of gardening at all in their previous— before starting to grow their own food, or really even big vegetable people, and the children just have embraced it. And to bring it in, to harvest it, to prepare a meal. I even have them there. Saving, you know, they're preserving for later. They're creating gifts from the garden for Christmas, little, you know, spice packets and little bath salts or little tea blends. And it's really been amazing to watch that younger generation really embrace the garden.

Love that. What about the soil? So I know that this is— I'm clearly giving myself away, so I have no green thumb. So I would love to have a garden. I would love to go out and pick things and say, oh, you know, and just chop them up. And I love that idea that is boom, it's fresh from there to there. And so I know how rich nutrient density is, but the whole idea of the soil, how do I know which potting soil to get? How do I know what do I need to do for fertilizer? Can you talk me through that? Like a total newbie, I don't even have to pretend.

Yeah, so that's a great question because most of the times when I see a garden that's failing to thrive, the first place we're going to look to is the soil. So soil is important, and I recommend that if you're going to make an investment, that's the first place we invest in, right? That is our plants' external microbiome, right? They're pulling things from there to grow and support this plant and then the health of the fruit. So one of the biggest things I recommend is we want to make sure that we have some type of organic compost. We don't want synthetic fertilizers in it, and so making sure that it's organic is step number 1. Step number 2 is, depending on where you live, is to do a little bit of research. Is there somebody local that's making a high-quality compost? I mean, I know geographically across the country, you know, Soil Cubed in the Atlanta area is a fantastic soil medium. And Wisconsin, I use Purple Cow Organic. So just do a little bit of research and make a few phone calls. In my opinion, that would be worth your time and your investment before just running possibly to a big box store. A lot of times the alternative would be mushroom compost. Mushroom compost is a great additive to your soil. So looking possibly for that if you have a local source for that. But that's kind of where I would start with to be to you know, we're living in different areas, and so making sure that we're getting something more local to me is ideal. And then again, quality.

So good. Okay, and you have a course. Would you tell us a little bit about the course and what somebody could expect if they were to take it or to send somebody else?

Actually, yeah, so we created a Garden to Table Guidebook. So the book is a great workbook that's going to teach you the seasons where you live, walk you the basics of growing and then again bringing it to the table, some recipes, educating on eating the rainbow, preserving. And then we have some supportive videos, recipes, and tips and tricks that go along. So it's a great entry point into gardening. We call it the Garden to Table Bundle, and it just kind of gets you into understanding, preparing you for the season, or allowing you to dive a little deeper if you already are a gardener. And then if you want to go even deeper after that, we do have a monthly membership that you can join and get more support if that's something you're looking for also.

Was there ever a time when you were not so conscious of health or nutrient density?

Yes, I would say from a child. I was a very sickly child and I was a very determined person. But my lifestyle, it's— if you want me to share a quick story, we were, we were actually growing food and selling at the farmer's market and I was so determined to show up every Saturday morning with all this healthy food, but I have an image right before I got sick in my head. And I was kneeling in the broccoli aisle. It's like 9:00 at night with my headlights on. And as I'm making my way weeding, I'm pushing a pizza box next to me. So, you know, that image is forever imprinted in my brain, right? So, it's not just, you know, there's a lot of factors that go into our lifestyle. And it wasn't a few weeks after that that I had an anaphylactic reaction while getting my hair colored, and my health just tanked from my eyes to my gut to everything. And that is just an image that I remember because I was giving for others, but I really wasn't giving to myself. And I had no idea prior to that, really. I mean, I knew it was important and we were growing organically, but once I was brought to my knees, I had a deeper understanding of just how important it is that we nourish ourselves properly.

Wow. Very, very cool. So what is the question, Katie? What is the last question that I should have asked you that I haven't yet? I know that's a hard question.

That's a very hard question. I was like, well, I could talk gardening for hours. Let me think here. I think one of the things is, is, you know, we hear this black thumb and yeah, you know, I just— there is no such thing as a black thumb. I'm gonna, I'm gonna, I'm a believer of that. And being a gardener is being a forever learner, so there's a lot of joy in that. And it's funny, I'm self-taught. I never read a gardening book up until recently, never watched a YouTube video. And some of the more humbling lessons I never saw as deterrent. It was always a gift, right? It was a gift from the garden. I've learned, I grow with my garden, and I just think it's important to remember that, that we can't have— you know, not everything's going to be perfect, not everything is going to grow perfectly all of the time, but there's always lessons to be learned and there's a gift in that. And so that's one of the things I like to encourage people when they're starting to grow is, you know, sometimes we look around and we see all these picture-perfect gardens and just to, just to remove that and to embrace the learning curve. And, and I promise you, you'll reap the benefits of that.

I love it. I, I love the whole idea of doing this, and I'm seeing more and more people do this regularly. In fact, I think it was this past spring, my niece just kind of got rid of her backyard and, you know, put in several different big box planters for a huge family. They have a ton of kids in and out, but I I think, you know, to her, health has always been really important, but then, you know, getting them more involved and having them see that it just came, you know, right from the box, I think that is just so very cool. So thank you so much for being here. For listeners who want to connect with you and get— you've got a bundle and a course. Where can they get that and follow you?

Yeah, they can go to my website at katieoglesby.com. There'll be a link in the show notes that you can sign up for my free salad and herb guide. Which will kind of give you the quick tips and tricks to get started in that. And then from there, it will lead you into some options if you want to join, join us in other ways and continue to grow with us.

Fantastic. And are you on social media too, Katie?

I am. Instagram is the best place to find me at Katie M. Oglesby.

Fantastic. And she's probably going to tease and taunt us with microgreen pictures. So there you go. You are going to want this. All right, listeners, I'm sure there is a question that I missed. You can tell how little of a green thumb that I have, at least right now. But I would love— I love the idea of growing it even on my counter so that, um, I can just pop them right in salad. And I, I also like the idea that it's right there where I'm seeing it, so I'm reminded to do it too. So, um, I for one will be in. So hope you're in. We're going to figure out a way to make this a part of a Flipping 50 membership flip challenge some month. So I'll, I'll figure that out soon and keep you all posted, members. So if you're listening and you do have a question, you can go to the show notes today, and that's also where you can get the link where you can connect with Katie and get that download at flipping50.com/growyourownfood. And what are you waiting for? Let's start flipping 50 today. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.