How To Start an Edible Landscaping Service

How To Start an Edible Landscaping Service

Statistics show that the average meal in America travels for about 1500 miles to get to the table from the farm. Granted, farmers are looking for fruits and vegetable varieties that can withstand the long distances, but less emphasis is placed on flavor and nutrition. People, therefore, end up eating food that is less in nutrition and is not so fresh. Besides, moving food for such long distances increases the carbon footprint of the food.

Due to this, a high number of Americans are seeking to reduce carbon footprints on meals and improve their health but eating fresh and highly nutritious food. The best way to enjoy these is to enjoy hearty and nutritious meals by growing your own fruits and vegetables at home.

Seeing that most families have not been growing anything at home, people lack the skills to establish and run a small garden. A professional edible landscaper will have a lot of opportunities helping gardeners grow their own edible gardens. As a landscaper, you can offer advice to gardeners or take care of their garden if they are busy.

Common Services Offered by Edible Landscapers

Edible landscapers concentrate on landscape design, maintenance, and consultations. However, the landscapers do not limit their businesses to vegetable gardens only. They incorporate other plants such as trees, perennials, annuals and shrubs which are mostly ornamentals and balancing the carbon emissions. This allows garden owners to have functional and beautiful gardens.

Edible landscapers aim at creating gardens that are 100 percent sustainable. This means they will employ water and energy conservation techniques. They also stock habitats for birds and other wildlife.
Modern edible landscapers concentrate more on sharing skills with their clients, unlike traditional landscapers. They will organize workshops to teach gardening skills to individuals. The skills taught usually involve organic gardening which means not using the inorganic fertilizers.

Some edible landscapers run nurseries where they grow vegetables and fruits and harvest seeds. They also manage community gardens and manage CSAs. With some, you can also get traditional landscaping services.

Top Three Edible Landscapers Growing Food

All Edibles – This is a San Francisco based landscaping business that concentrates on making the best out of small gardens. The service applies organic techniques and water-wise strategies such as dripping and composting irrigation to offer sustainable gardening.

Veggiescapes – This is an edible landscaping service based in Boulder, CO. They offer custom landscaping designs, maintenance, and garden-sitting for those who are busy. They also offer special packages for hoteliers and homeowners who need to start home orchards. The business also runs a small pick-your-produce on a farm in Longmont.

Bountiful Backyards – This is a Durham located business that offers a wide range of edible landscaping services. They design and install gardens on any size of land. They offer packages such as Jumpstart special, berry patch and permaculture-style herbs spiral. They offer rainwater catchment installations and follow that with workshops and classes on topics such as beekeeping, rain gardens, fungiculture and worm bins among others.