For Ebony Jamison, known to her 70,000 social media followers as Brownskin Pretty, gardening began as a hobby during the pandemic.
The Chicago photographer and mother of two already has 26 houseplants. Then, after a friend raved about outdoor gardening, Jamison decided to try it in a neighborhood backyard.
"My kids are so excited and invested in gardening with me," says Jamieson. This epidemic has become a practice and a breath of fresh air, as well as a learning experience for everyone.
He started receiving messages from people sharing their gardening experiences and soon had a following on social media and aspiring gardeners.
Gardening tool brands like Little Burros have taken notice and have been hired for advertising campaigns. Something amazing happened to him: people were amazed by his adventures in the park.
Jamison started growing tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers as a child in a 15-by-8-foot bed in her backyard.
He suggests newcomers and city dwellers do the same or try growing tomatoes and cucumbers in pots.
"It's easy to control fertilizers and soil nutrients," he said. "It also helps with the weeding that I have to do, which can be a real headache."
After her first bountiful harvest, she asked family, friends and neighbors to partake of most of her bountiful harvest, even after making homemade pasta sauces and dips with her children.
Jamison's research into what types of plants could grow in raised beds in his backyard led to his first vegetable garden.
That "saved me wasting time trying to grow roots like carrots, beets and potatoes," he says. “I would love to plant, but the soil in my beds and gardens is very shallow. The roots will not have enough room to spread.
When the family moved to the suburbs the following year, Jamieson stuck to his garden model.
Filming it all for her online followers, the TikTok gardener shows the entire process as her kids measure the pieces, Jamieson cuts them by hand and the crew builds a bed in the family's new backyard.
Beginning gardeners can especially learn from Jamison on things like planting time. He says the best time to start planting in Chicago is before Mother's Day. This is to prevent frost, although some plants may not be suitable for those wanting to produce over a period of time.
"Looking at the cycle of crops and vegetables will help you better understand when to plant seeds or seedlings and when to plant them," says Jamieson. "Vegetables like tomatoes take 50 days to grow from seed to plant, while foods like strawberries take 100 days."
There are aspects of gardening that he doesn't like, such as pests and weeds.
Also, according to Jamieson, gardening requires patience. Patience is the key to a successful harvest, he says, whether it's waiting for seeds to germinate or carefully controlling pests and weeds.
"You have to have a lot of patience," he said. "That's my biggest tip. I know a lot of people who get frustrated because they don't see fast growth. Gardening is a very patient game. Like most things in life you have to work, keep watering and be patient.
