Jen Beeh Prodzinski Of Bee Well Health Coaching: 5 Things You Need To Know To Create A Successful Vegetable Garden To Grow Your Own Food

An Interview With Martita Mestey

Choose the right plant for the right place. Research to discover what plants grow best in your climate and local conditions and plant those. Check to ensure you get adequate sunshine on your planting beds; six hours per day is considered a minimum. If a plant wants ‘full sun’ or ‘part shade’ then those are the conditions that will help the plant grow best.

As we all know, inflation has really increased the price of food. Many people have turned to home gardening to grow their own food. Many have tried this and have been really successful. But others struggle to produce food in their own garden. What do you need to know to create a successful vegetable garden to grow your own food? In this interview series, called “5 Things You Need To Know To Create A Successful Vegetable Garden To Grow Your Own Food” we are talking to experts in vegetable gardening who can share stories and insights from their experiences.

As a part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Jen Beeh Prodzinski, Pillar Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach

Jen (she/her) is a believer in healthy living — moving your body every day, growing your own food and eating locally, meditating and managing stress, getting enough sleep, finding community, and helping others. Her work as a Garden-based Educator has touched the lives of hundreds of graduate students and tens of thousands of school children and adults. She is a ‘streak’ exerciser and bicycles, hikes, runs, swims, or walks at least 30-minutes per day; she recently hit 3,200 days in a row of exercise. As a Pillar and National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach, she’s turned her passion for good health and an active lifestyle into Bee Well Health Coaching, where she works one-on-one with clients to help them get moving and active, make positive food choices, and be healthier and happier with life.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”?

I started “gardening” when I lived in a rental house with two friends, just out of college. I accidentally discovered how peaceful and satisfying it is to pull weeds. When I needed some quietness and time to think, I wandered to the backyard by myself and cleared small patches of weeds until it looked tidy. That was the start of my interest in gardening which led to a passion for plants and growing vegetables.

My first time growing food began when I lived in a house in the city with a small patch of soil. I planted lettuces and was shocked when they grew as tall as me! I didn’t know it at the time, but they had bolted, and the plants were ready to set seeds, and they reached for the sky as part of the process. Squirrels defeated my first effort at growing corn; they mowed down every stalk the day before my planned harvest and I didn’t get one taste. I had some successes as well and enjoyed eating sugar snap peas, juicy tomatoes, and cucumbers straight from the vines. I realized that like anything, gardening is a learning process. I read, took classes at local nurseries, and experimented to see what worked. I love the creativity and joy that growing vegetables, herbs, fruits, and berries can bring.

I became a Master Gardener in 2010 and got a job as a Garden-based Educator at a large outdoor environmental education center. I created a space that was welcoming, appealing to the senses, and full of love. I taught graduate students how to teach a wide variety of lessons with the idea that history, math, writing, art, and of course science, can be taught in the garden classroom. I supported their personal growth as educators and watched them improve and stretch themselves through the course of the school year. I taught them how to harvest, prepare food, and to safely use the wood-fired cob oven. I taught them about the magic of seeds, how all our food is connected to the soil, and the importance of our honey bees, native bees, and other pollinators.

In turn, my graduate students, garden partner, and I taught these lessons to 4th and 5th grade students from the greater Seattle area, through the lens of stewardship and community. We led them on tasting tours and the kids savored delicious tastes and spit out (composted) the bitter and unappealing tastes. We opened their eyes to the stewardship cycle by harvesting food planted by children that visited the garden before them and then planted seeds to grow food for children that were to come in the months ahead. I saw lots of excitement, bravery, peace, discovery, a-ha moments, teamwork, and kindness. Many children expressed that the garden was their favorite place!

Over my eleven years in the lively garden classroom, I created an intentional teaching garden, taught a multitude of lessons, and set up the garden to succeed into the future. Before Covid hit, there were 4,000 plus children that explored the garden each school year. I remember the moment I realized that I’d done all I could do, and my work there was done. It was time for the next adventure and challenge. Over the course of two years, I studied, practiced, and received coaching certificates through the Mayo Clinic and the National Board for Health and Wellness Coaches. I started Bee Well Health Coaching, with a focus on partnering with clients to get them moving and active and I’m learning to be a successful entrepreneur. By my nature, interests, and passion, this is my life and heart work.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

Hmmm, there are so many intriguing people and interesting things that happened along the way! One that stands out is learning to be a beekeeper, which I had no inkling would be a part of my life. Shortly after I started working in the garden, we got a hive of honey bees for the first time. They lived under a tree near the back and my co-worker looked after them. He never taught me about the bees or let me investigate the hive, which was disappointing. Since I was the primary educator, I didn’t teach anyone else about them; the bees were just there. When my co-worker left two years later, I serendipitously met Charles, a big-hearted beekeeper, and we hit it off immediately. He became my mentor at the educational garden, and he had me in a beekeeper suit immediately to start my honey bee education.

We met weekly and my knowledge grew as we saw something different and interesting each time we opened the lid of the hive box. I got an eye for finding the Queen, could estimate the age of a larva based on its size, and watched ‘baby’ bees hatch from the waxy comb. I experienced several swarms where a big cloud of bees gently settled onto a branch or part of the nearby wood fence, and I retrieved them by literally scooping them with my hands into a bucket and then placed them into a fresh hive box to start a colony of their own. Over time, I gained confidence and many of my graduate students became as fascinated as I am about the bees. Several of them are now beekeepers themselves, which makes me so proud! With the children, we planted flowers as food for the bees, observed them in the garden and on frames pulled directly from the hive, and poked fingers into honeycomb to taste sweet honey!

My family name is ‘Beeh’, pronounced ‘bee’, so I’ve been a bee all my life. It’s funny to me that I’ve become a beekeeper! Meeting Charles and learning to care for honey bees has been an enriching part of my life. I love the humming sound, sweet earthy smell, and sensuous feel of opening a hive full of bees, honey, and pollen. I see their care for each other and sense of community, the hard work that they do, and how they communicate. So yes, this was an interesting and exciting part of my time working in the garden classroom and now continues in my personal life.

You are a successful leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?

1. Kindness and empathy: I try to listen to others for understanding, express genuine care, and accept people just as they are. As an empath, I can see the best in others, even when they can’t see it in themselves. In the garden classroom, I tried to greet everyone that came through the squeaky garden gate with a welcoming smile and hello. I found that the young students that strayed from the group or acted out usually just needed compassion and someone to listen to them. I remember a group that was particularly challenging for one of our very capable instructors. He gave the students free explore time and I checked in with them individually. One of the children, who had been disruptive earlier, was looking at a bird feeder and so I sat next to him. We listened to the bird calls and soon he could identify the chicka-dee-dee-dee call of the black-capped chickadee. He noticed several kinds of birds and that they had different shapes and colors and songs. He was captivated by the birds and very calm and interested while observing them, with me by his side listening, following his lead, and gently teaching. I think kindness and empathy helps all of us succeed and makes the world a better place to be.
2. Problem solving: Working in a garden is a series of problems to solve. Why is the broccoli not thriving and what does it need? What’s living in the compost bin and how can I get it/them to leave? Why didn’t the pumpkin seeds germinate? How can I grow more crops in my space? I’m an ‘idea person’ and like to think up a variety of solutions and ponder them until I find the answer I want to try. One solution to a growing more food with a limited amount of space is vertical gardening — growing up instead of out. For example, you can plant pole beans to climb up bamboo stakes instead of bush beans that take more space. Create a trellis for your peas, cucumbers, squash, gourds, vining flowers, and tomatoes to climb up and it will give you more soil to plant in. You can buy a trellis or make supports with sticks and twine. And you can get quite artistic and creative, really have fun with it.
3. Hard work and Determination: I give 100% to whatever I’m doing. I am not afraid to dig in and do the work that’s needed to succeed and get the job done well. My determination shines through when things get tough. This is the foundation of my work ethic.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” by Lao Tzu

For me, it means that the world is full of possibility, and if you want to make things happen for yourself, you need to take the first step. As a child, I had to get on my bicycle so I could learn to ride. It didn’t go well at first, the brakes were tricky and I got a lot of scraped knees and bruises, and I persevered. Through practice and making mistakes, falling down and getting up again, I figured it out. Thousands and thousands of miles later, I’m still learning skills and life lessons on my bicycle and loving every minute of it. I got two advanced degrees, became a Master Gardener, learned how to cook for my child with food allergies, started a third career and recently taught myself how to swim. That first step is a doozy sometimes and it’s critical. I don’t want to sit on the sideline, I want to play! The journey is full of bumps and challenges, and with determination, I can do big things. So can you!

Are you working on any interesting or exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?

Yes! As I said previously, I decided to shift careers and become a Pillar and National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach in January, 2020. I love to learn new things and discovered that health and wellness coaching requires specific personality traits and communication skills to increase motivation, and self-efficacy, and to move clients from ‘I should’ to ‘I am’ taking steps to live a healthier life. Now, I’m learning how to be a successful entrepreneur. It’s a lot of hard work and it’s all worth it when my clients make sustainable changes toward a healthier life.

Meanwhile, I have more time to care for bees and grow food at my home since I’m no longer caring for the large educational garden. Some of my favorite things to grow are heirloom pole beans and this year I created a live bean tunnel. I enjoy growing potatoes because digging them is like a treasure hunt; you never know what you’re going to find. I’m an excellent cook, if I do say so myself, and I enjoy having thyme, rosemary, oregano, and chives growing to easily snip and add flavor to my meals.

Ok super. Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion about creating a successful garden to grow your own food. Can you help articulate a few reasons why people should be interested in making their own vegetable garden? For example, how is it better for our health? For the environment? For our wallet?

Let’s start with health, the environment, and cost and then we’ll expand from there. The freshest vegetables, fruits, and herbs are the healthiest for your body and the absolute tastiest. These are foods that are collected when they’re fully ripe and ready and when the nutritious value is at its peak. Long storage times, transportation, and processing can reduce the level of vitamins and phytonutrients. So yes, when you grow your own food and can harvest it right before eating it, you are getting super nutritious foods that are a boon to good health.

Eating local food is one of the best choices you can make for the environment because there is less fuel and transportation needed to get food to you. Growing your own food is good for the environment when you do it right. Consider the preparation of the soil, irrigation, and amendments that you use.

Take a close look at your soil to help determine what it needs. Is it dry and dusty? Full of clay? Or dark and full of worms? Depending on what you find, you may decide to get your soil tested. Generally, digging in organic matter like fallen leaves, compost, or aged manure can significantly improve your soil. You may choose to add amendments to balance the pH, nitrogen, phosphorous or potassium level of your soil. If you want to be kind to the environment, choose organic amendments made from natural materials, such as kelp, alfalfa, lime, guano, or bone meal. Synthetic amendments are made from chemicals and not good for the environment, your plants, or you and your family.

Be water-wise and water enough but not too much for the specific plants you are growing. This requires you to do some research to understand the needs of your plants. For example, the surface of the soil around your tomatoes can dry out between watering but small seeded plants and young seedlings with tiny roots may need water daily, at least until they get established.

The choices you make will affect the cost as well. Some ways to be more economical are to grow plants from seeds, make your own compost to add nutrients to the soil, re-use materials such as pots, stakes, and bamboo, and connect with other gardeners to swap seeds, exchange cuttings for propagation, and share tools and materials.

In addition, gardening feels good! It’s a time to savor, slow down, and observe. You might get a feeling of peace and calm by tending to other living things. The reaching, kneeling, digging, and hauling might give you some sore muscles from real work — the good kind of sore. If this is your first opportunity to plant a garden, take time to tune into yourself and notice how being in the garden makes you feel. I foresee that the first time you bite into that home-grown strawberry, basil, or kale, it will taste especially sweet. In addition to caring for your health, the environment, and your budget, also plant a garden for the joy and the satisfaction. You did that!

Where should someone start if they would like to start a garden? Which resources would you recommend? Which plants should they start with?

Where to start:

• Identify the space you have available to grow food. You may choose to grow in a mounded raised bed, an enclosed bed, pots, your balcony, alongside other plants in your yard, or in a community garden.
• Check the soil, add compost, and amend as necessary.
• Assess how much sunshine your growing space will get in your selected space.
• Make a realistic list of veggies, herbs, fruits and flowers that your family likes to eat and that you’d like to grow. Then, take some time to learn about what those plants need to thrive. Are they ‘cool season’ or ‘warm season’, how much space do they need, and how long will it take until you can eat it? The seed packets will give provide useful information. Then whittle down your list to a short and reasonable number of plants.
• Get some simple tools — a trowel, bucket, and some pruners are a great place to start.
• Determine if you will plant from seed or purchase seedlings. If you plant from seed, you’ll need to plan extra time for that, of course.
• Do some research online and get organized.

Resources:

The best resources for you are those that are as local as possible. Search the web for “how to grow vegetables in xyz,” and add your city or county. There you can find useful local resources and information. Search for classes in your area, notice what’s for sale at your nearby farmer’s market to see what grows in your area, and talk to your neighbors that grow food. It’s ok to ask lots of questions because gardeners typically love to share their knowledge.

There are Master Gardener programs across the US and part of their mission is to volunteer and answer questions from folks within their community. Master Gardeners are an excellent resource and can answer questions ranging from, ‘what is this plant?’ to ‘what’s eating my turnips?’ and everything in between.

Research seed companies and gardening organizations in your area and see what they have to offer. In the Pacific Northwest, Territorial Seed Company creates a catalog that is also an informative growing guide and it’s free! The “Maritime Northwest Garden Guide” by Seattle Tilth is an excellent resource for newbies and experienced gardeners alike. The information is specific and useful all along the west coast of Washington, Oregon, and northern California where conditions are similar.

Which plants should you start with?

If you want to plant from seedlings or starts, then plant what you like with your local conditions in mind. If you shop from a garden store, the specialists working there will have good knowledge of plants that are easy to grow and maintain. You should also consider what you like to eat. Kale, lettuce, and other leafy greens are usually successful crops to start with from seedlings.

If you want to grow food from seeds, one tip is that in general, the bigger the seed, the easier it is to grow. If you’re not sure, feel the seeds in the seed packet. Peas, beans, squash, sunflowers, and nasturtiums are a great choice. Peas like it cooler and are planted at the beginning of the growing season. Beans like it warm so grow them in the summertime. Choose your variety with ultimate height in mind because they will need something to climb up. I plant my sugar snap peas next to a mesh fence and once those tendrils grab on, the plants climb up all on their own. If you want to grow herbs, try growing chives or garlic chives from seed and basil in a warmer climate. Berries and fruits are usually purchased as a small plant, bush, or tree, so I recommend that you research what fruits and berries grow best in your location and make plans accordingly.

Can you please share your “5 Things You Need To Know To Create A Successful Vegetable Garden To Grow Your Own Food”? If you can, please share a story or example for each.

1. Choose the right plant for the right place. Research to discover what plants grow best in your climate and local conditions and plant those. Check to ensure you get adequate sunshine on your planting beds; six hours per day is considered a minimum. If a plant wants ‘full sun’ or ‘part shade’ then those are the conditions that will help the plant grow best.
2. Plant in healthy soil. Generally, your soil should be dark in color and when you grab a handful, it should hold together and be crumbly at the same time. If you’re unsure, read up on how to create and maintain healthy soil and start composting. There are more organisms in a handful of healthy garden soil than there are people on the Earth! A healthy soil ecosystem is important to grow healthy plants.
3. Care for and tend to your plants regularly. Watering properly and in the right amount is important. I’ve watched a lot of children water the leaves of plants, but that does not actually help the plant. Water the soil near the base of the stem above where the roots are. If your plants are getting leggy and flopping over, you can trellis them to keep leaves off the ground. Check your plants regularly and really notice what’s going on with them. Make sure there’s good airflow around your plants and they don’t grow over each other to block the sunshine; prune back if needed. Notice! I recommend that you take some notes about your garden experiments so you can remember what varieties grew well, what you liked the taste of, and if a particular crop was a dud.
4. Mind the pests! In every garden there will be creatures that will eat or damage your plants, and this can be discouraging — even heart-breaking. Pests might include your pet dog or cat, rabbits, goats, deer, gophers, or aphids and other macroscopic insects, bacteria, or fungi. In the Pacific Northwest, it’s slugs! These small creatures can do some considerable damage. Frequently check your crops for damage and look for evidence of what might have done it, such as the size of the nibbles, foot prints, lingering eggs or insects, or slug slime. Your local garden center or Master Gardeners are also experts at pest management so tap into their wisdom and seek non-toxic solutions to pest management. In the educational garden, the kids competed in slug hunts and plucked dozens and dozens from leaves by hand.
5. Harvest when it’s ready. You’ll want to harvest at the peak of ripeness for best taste and nutrition. Watch your veggies and fruits for size, color, smell, and heaviness. If you’re not sure, do a little research to find out what ‘fully ripe or ready’ looks like for your crop. If collected too early, your veggies or fruits might lack flavor or taste sour. If you missed the peak window, your food might be bitter, tough, set seed, or have rotten spots. Watch out for rogue zucchinis that hide under big leaves and grow to the size of a toddler; they’re not as tasty when they get huge.

What are the most common mistakes you have seen people make when they start a garden? What specifically can be done to avoid those errors?

One very common error is to take on too much when you’re just learning to garden. Keep it small and simple in the beginning and start out with four or five crops at a maximum. Remember that it requires work to grow food; you can’t just put your seeds in the soil and have them turn into food. Add more crops as you become more confident and knowledgeable.

Plant what you and your family like to eat. I remember years ago when someone gave me kohlrabi starts and I didn’t know anything about them or when to harvest. It turns out that my kohlrabi variety should have been harvested when they were the size of a baseball but mine grew to the size of a football! At that point, I just grew them as a sport to see how big they would get; I never did eat them. If you don’t know about kohlrabi, they are worth a google search; they are related to broccoli, cabbage and kale but are selected to have a bulbous and tasty stem and some varieties are vivid purple. It turns out there are a lot of tasty ways to eat them if you harvest them at the right time.

What are some of the best ways to keep the costs of gardening down?

In addition to the ideas that I mentioned previously, I suggest that you don’t get too fancy when you’re first starting out. You can plant a garden in a pot or in the corner of your yard. You don’t need a lot of tools and you may be able to find used pruners, pots, or trowels at a garage sale or online. It’s tempting to look at those beautiful catalogs and think you need to buy a lot of specialty items, but if you are looking to keep costs down, you can stick with the basics. Go to the library and check out books that are as specific to your location as possible. Then if you choose to buy one, you’ll know which one speaks to you. If you decide that you like gardening and you want to stick with it, then you could buy a nice trowel, pruners, knee pad, and gloves, if you choose. Those are the tools that I use the most.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

I believe in helping people. I would love to start a movement where gardeners give away a portion of their harvest to feed others. Make it part of your plan and grow more than you need. Over 10% of the US population is food insecure, which means that they don’t have enough food to live an active and healthy life. The pandemic has only made it worse for families across the country and the world. Hunger is real in every community, including yours.

If you’re planting seeds, it’s easy to plant extra. As a beginner, your harvest may be relatively small, but you can still give a little bit away. More experienced gardeners can donate dozens or hundreds of pounds of produce to support their community with planning and generosity. Look for a local food bank or a food kitchen that accepts fresh donations. Research organizations in your community that help the hungry. Or perhaps there’s a family next door or an elderly neighbor whose day would be brightened, and their stomachs happily filled with some fresh produce.

Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)

I would love to dig in the garden or go for a walk with Michelle Obama. I think she’s an intelligent, kind, and inspirational woman who continues to make a huge difference in the world. I’m amazed and delighted at what she accomplished at the White House! Among other things, she dug up the South Lawn to put in a vegetable garden for the people and brought in school children to grow, taste, and harvest vegetables. The first ever White House honey bee hive was placed near the growing garden. And now, she’s putting in a garden at the Obama Presidential Center named after Eleanor Roosevelt, who planted a Victory Garden at the White House during WWII in 1943.

Michelle Obama started the Let’s Move campaign to educate children and families and to get them active to help combat obesity. This program focuses on getting healthier foods in schools, encouraging kids to move their bodies, and putting children on the path to a healthy future. We both believe that good physical health helps a person live a better and longer life.

I’d like to express gratitude for all her hard work and efforts to help others. For being kind and persevering. For creating opportunities for girls and women. For being a role model. I’d love to learn from Michelle’s wisdom and intelligence and perhaps I can share my experience and a few tips about working with children, honey bees, and growing food. We have a lot in common and I think we’d hit it off well!

How can our readers further follow your work online?

You can learn more about me at: www.beewellhealthcoaching.com and follow me on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/bee.well.healthcoach/

Learn about health coaching for your organization at www.withpillar.com and https://www.instagram.com/withpillar

Thank you so much for the time you spent on this interview. We wish you only continued success and good health.