Meet Crystal Portwood of Lawrenceville

Today we’d like to introduce you to Crystal Portwood.

Hi Crystal, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
My gardening journey started when I got my first houseplant. While I was renting I never thought I could garden until I owned a home. It wasn’t until becoming a homeowner and digging deep that I learned that is not true. But the truth is my gardening journey hits deeper than that.

In 2020 we all realized so much. It wasn’t until I had my son in November 2021 and had every parent’s worst fear happen. Due to medical reasons I could only offer baby formula for him. In early 2022 a huge baby formula shortage happened. I remember my husband and I going to 8 different stores in 1 day to look for a can. Every time I would see empty shelves I would just break down crying in the store. Until we could only find 1 small can that would maybe last 2-3 days.

When my son turned 6 months old and could start eating purées more we were so happy to be able to supplement and worry less about formula. My sister at the time had a huge garden where she grew 100 lbs of sweet potatoes. I’ll never forget she brought some over and we cooked and made purées with them. They were 100% organic and homegrown. For the first time in months I felt relieved to not worry about if my son would be able to eat today.

I then started thinking about my family’s future with sustainable food sources. I realized I can’t rely on the possibility of empty shelves at the grocery store. Not to mention all the pesticides used on food. From this point on I decided to start little by little adding stuff to my garden. I started posting on social media so I could share my story and show others beginner gardening tips no matter where they live.

Everyone deserves to garden, whether they’re in an apartment, renting a home, live in a cold climate etc. That’s why I started my gardening consulting business because even in cold states or apartments the possibilities are still endless.

I then teach affordable gardening practices. No more “spend $100 to get 1 tomato.” I like to teach on my page that having an affordable garden can still be beautiful and you don’t need to spend $10,000 to make it “Pinterest worthy.”

I have a Masters degree in International Business and have studied abroad in 3 countries. With my educational background and my love for gardening I have finally found my passion with helping others build their dream garden. Whether you want to grow fruit, flowers, herbs, or even vegetables I am here to help.

Gardening does not only provide us with foods but who isn’t happy when they see beautiful flowers. Gardening is therapy and it is just something about digging in the soil with my hands that makes all my problems go away. Gardening has helped me so much with mental health journey.

If you want to get started with a garden and don’t know how. I got you!

You can connect with me on TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube @SustainableSeedling

LETS GROW!

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
As a content creator it has been nothing but a bumpy road. Social media creators are often so looked down upon but behind the scenes there is so much work. When I see memories pop up of some of my first videos I ever made, I cringe because of how awkward they were and terrible. As much as I want to delete them, I decide to keep them because it shows how hard I’ve worked and how much I have grown over the years as a creator.

Everyone starts at the beginning but those who make it never give up. I still have huge goals as a creator and can’t wait to see how my hard work will pay off.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a Gardening Consultant specializing in fruit, vegetable gardening, herbs, flowers, and even starting a medicinal herb garden such as chamomile, valerian, feverfew etc.

If you were to ask any of my followers they know me as the seed starter. I have grown 80% of my garden from seed and that has definitely saved me thousands of dollars.

I am different than other gardening influencers and consultants because I want everyone to be able to garden. Not just those who have acres of lands, or tons of money to spend.

I love being able to help those with a small budget, don’t have a lot of space, renting, live in a cold climate etc. That is why I offer virtual consultations as well so I can help anyone across the United States.

When people don’t want to pay for a gardening consultation. I tell them for example: $100 spent on a garden consultation with me vs $100 at the garden nursery buying plants that won’t survive because they don’t even grow in their area. I do my research so I can provide you with a list of plants that will grow for you and save you money in the long run.

What’s next?
Looking into the future I would love to be a gardening consultant and content creator full time. I am currently part time but I am working hard to be full time this year.

My goals for my garden are to be 100% sustainable with food excluding meat. It is a costly startup because fencing in a backyard because of deer would be very expensive. But I am happy right now with my garden and showing others how to start.

Pricing:

• $100/ hour Gardening Consultation
• $9.99 Beginner Gardening ebook

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.crystalportwood.com/social-media/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sustainableseedling
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/16ETmbXuXq/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/crystalportwood
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@sustainableseedling
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@sustainableseedling