May 2023 - 8

perspectives
BY KEVIN ESPIRITU
From Beginner to Epic Gardening
There's nothing magical about growing a
garden - only patience, learning from your
mistakes, and finding new and creative ways
to keep on growing.
When I first started gardening, I didn't
know how to grow anything; I hadn't the
slightest idea of how it all worked. So I
started a garden, picked up a packet of
Marketmore cucumber seeds and decided
to try growing a plant. I wasn't very good
at it, at least at the beginning, so I tried to
become better. Obviously, now, I can grow
quite a bit! And if I can do it, anyone can.
It took me three years to figure out how
Kevin Espiritu is
founder and CEO
of Epic Gardening.
He has spent over
a decade producing
educational
gardening content
across YouTube,
TikTok, Instagram,
Facebook, and the
Epic Gardening
podcast and blog.
He is a member
of GPN's 40
Under 40 Class of
2021 and can be
reached at kevin@
epicgardening.com.
to grow a luffa gourd correctly. The first
year I didn't get any, the second year I got
one, and by the third year I got a whole
bunch. It's just the persistence of trying,
being patient with your own failures and
giving it another go.
And now, seeing how far we've come since
starting our blog, YouTube and all of the other
platforms, the
movement we've been
able to be a part of
and in some ways
create ... it feels like
it's just beginning,
and yet we've come
a long way since our
earliest days when I
was just a guy who
failed at growing a
cucumber in his first
garden. The Epic
Homestead is a great
way to visualize this, filled with plant, avian and
aquatic life that, when I first started, would have
seemed nearly impossible. That sense of growth
and evolution really helps to fuel the drive to keep
going. If we've come this far, why stop now?
Also, it is realizing our impact on people's dayto-day
lives. You wouldn't think that watching a
YouTube or a TikTok video, or reading an article
8 MAY 2023 GPNMAG.COM
on harvesting potatoes would have such a
dramatic impact on their personal lives from that
moment. But we've had feedback from people
who say our videos helped their mom to keep
her spirits up as she battled end-stage cancer
or that they've connected with their sister who's
now sharing seeds from her own garden. People
have this intimate connection to gardening, both
interpersonally and on a deeply personal level.
While it doesn't feel like you're changing lives,
you are changing them for the better, and that's
incredibly empowering and inspiring.
TEACHING THE WORLD TO GROW
The gardening industry is ripe for
Our company is
positioned to help
people garden in a way
that's approachable
and manageable
for them.
transformation that will not only improve
the overall market and customer experience
but also improve a person's experience of
gardening as a whole. We're in a unique
position where not only do we teach the world
to grow - which, incidentally, is our company's
overarching goal - but we also improve how
the world grows
things, and that
newness excites
and inspires me.
Our company is
positioned to help
people garden
in a way that's
approachable
and manageable
for them, and
I'm excited about
the future.
Everyone has
a reason to grow something; they may just
not have found it yet. It could be emotional,
psychological, nutritional ... it could be simply
an interest in science or botany, sheer curiosity,
whatever. Everyone has a hook that will allow
them to grow, and it's certainly not some sort of
magical skill. In the end, remember that growing
things is a transformative process.
http://www.GPNMAG.COM
May 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of May 2023
