Daisy Hill Farm Consulting and Garden Coaching
At Daisy Hill Farm, we believe that tending a garden, growing delicious food, and connecting with nature is empowering. Our gardening consulting service is here to help you make the most of your outdoor space, whether you are a seasoned gardener or just starting out!
We are pleased to offer several options for coaching and consulting.
Why Hire a Garden Consultant?
Have you thought about planting a garden, but aren’t sure where to begin? Do you want to grow food that is incredibly delicious and healthy? Would you like to harvest fresh herbs for cooking meals? Tried growing food or flowers but it didn’t work? Looking for advice on beating pests, choosing varieties of plants to grow, irrigation or fencing? Need help with your where and what to plant? Perhaps you would just like to enjoy your yard a bit more in the summer sun?
We aim to help our clients enjoy their gardens and to meet their gardening goals. Whether your goals are food production, harvesting fresh herbs for cooking, getting your kids to eat vegetables, increasing the bee population, or growing enough to share with a large community, we will help strategize a way to get there.
Why Choose Daisy Hill Consulting?
Kate, founder and owner of Daisy Hill Farm in Acton, is an experienced grower with over 24 years of organic gardening experience. She LOVES to talk-plan-think-dream plants and gardening. After designing and building brand new gardens in her own 3 different homes (with 3 different site issues), she has loads of experience dealing with a myriad of fun challenges including slope, siting, drainage, water solutions, accessibility, shade, fencing, and pests. Over the years, Kate has trialed and grown over 800 different plant varieties. She ran a 20-week CSA for 4 years, and has become a local expert in the organic seedling business. She teaches gardening classes and workshops through Concord-Carlisle and Acton Community Ed as well as through gardening clubs.including organic gardening for beginners, backyard composting, seed starting indoors, four season gardening, organic pest management, and container gardening
Kate holds a BA from Wesleyan University where she majored in Science and Technology Studies (with concentrations in BIology and Sociology), and a M.Ed from Harvard University. Before Kate was a farmer, she was a high school biology for 15 years, working in Boston, Worcester, and Framingham. She taught with compassion and enthusiasm and brings that same energy to her gardening clients today.
Services and Pricing
60 minute On-Site Garden Visit: $150
This service is meant for the gardener who would like ideas and/or questions for their existing garden space.
Services Included:
- 15 minute complimentary phone call
- 60 minute home visit to answer questions, troubleshoot garden challenges and share ideas.
- Travel within 20 minutes of Acton *
Garden Consultation: $350
Services Included:
- 15 minute complimentary phone call
- Pre-visit research using GIS to gather site specific info including a basic sun-study.
- 90 minute home visit to answer questions, troubleshoot garden challenges, and share ideas.
- A written summary of tips and recommendations
- Planting map for 4x8 garden bed
- Travel within 20 minutes of Acton *
Custom Garden Consultation: $750
Services Included:
- 15 minute complimentary phone call
- Pre-visit research using GIS to gather site specific info including a basic sun-study
- 90 minute home visit to answer questions, troubleshoot garden challenges, and share ideas.
- Detailed written report of site-specific recommendations
- Custom planting plan for up to 100 square feet of vegetable gardens.
- 30 minutes of follow up meetings via phone/email/zoom to review plan within 6 months of report
- Travel within 20 minutes of Acton *
Hourly Rate after initial On-Site Visit: $100
Includes:
- Work beyond the scope of sevices included in conslting plants or 60-minute site visit. Including emails, texts, phone calls, longer visits, extra coaching sessions, etc.
- Custom planting Map for your garden
- Travel time beyond Acton and neighboring towns (Maynard, Boxborough, Stowe, Harvard, Littleton, Westford, Carlisle, Concord, and Chelmsford)
Coaching Support We CAN Provide
✓ Selecting plant varieties for our climate and zone
✓ Custom vegetable garden planting map
✓ General organic gardening practices, including watering, weeding, pruning, and fertilizing
✓ Succession planting plan (April-October plantings)
✓ How to planting and grow from seed and/or seedling
✓ Organic pest and disease management
✓ Harvesting techniques
✓ Home composting
✓ Choosing the right garden tool for the job
✓ Other garden-related product recommendations
✓ Fencing recommendations
✓ Preparing bed for planting
✓ Putting "garden to bed" at end of growing season
✓ How to wash and store produce
✓ Identify Common Pests and Diseases
✓ Seed Starting and Seedling Care
Services We CANNOT Provide
We provide coaching and consulting services, but we don't do construction, maintenance, installation, or landscaping. Examples:
X Garden bed building or installation
X Fence construction or maintenance
X Landscaping design/services
X Irrigation installation/maintenance
X Tree work
X Noxious Weed Removal (ie. poison ivy)
We also don't:
X Consult on non-native ornamental plants
X Consult about livestock or chickens
Veggie Garden Consult Interest Form
