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By Chrysa Smith
Farm-to-Table—getting food from the farm to you, as quickly, closely and freshly as possible not only elevates taste—it elevates health. And even better is if that farm happens to sit in your own backyard. What fresher, better-tasting abundance can compete? Experienced gardeners have long known the joy and benefits that come from harvesting their own produce but that takes research and experimentation. You need to know what you can grow and where. Water, sun, and planting requirements. How to protect from pests and solve problems when they present themselves.
Enter Backyard Eats. They’re in the business of eliminating all the guesswork and physical demands that come with managing a healthy, high-yield garden. They’ll plan a garden for you, set it up for its maximum condition and output, tend it and more. According to Mike Bennett, president, operations manager, and lover of all things environmentally friendly and organic, “Our purpose is to be a key driver in this greater movement.” Mike couldn’t reiterate enough how much they wanted to share the magic of home-grown food. And here’s how it all began.
Founder Chris Mattingly was working as a civil engineer designing landfills. When he got laid off, he turned his attention to his garden, and according to Mike, Chris was all about people doing this—working in a garden, growing their own food. The idea grew, Backyard Eats was born and Mike jumped on board the week before the pandemic hit. “We grew a ton during the pandemic, though it’s unclear whether our young company was growing due to the increased interest in gardening, or if we would have been growing anyway.
Salad was a personal health journey for Chris (now living in Maryland and a co-partner with Mike), after Mike says he was accustomed to a diet of burgers and fries. So, he jumped on the healthy, local food movement, and has not looked back since. But on an even broader scope, all celebrations involve eating. Regardless of season, what we put into our collective bodies matters. Personal health and a connection to clean food is not just important for an individual or family, but the community and community health—and it all starts with a seed.
Much like working with a landscape designer, Mike begins with a client meeting. “We go out to a property, meet with the owners and ask why—what they want; their needs and desires.” They ask how many people live there, what kind of critters they have in their garden, the water situation. The amount of sun, shade and where it is all located. The slope of the property, accessibility, and versatility. We ask, “Do you want to see the garden from your window—a tomato growing from your sight line?” he says. “There’s sometimes an idea that gardening is ugly and unruly, and we’re trying to change that.” They do a digital 3D rendering, walk them through it on zoom. Then, any tweaks are made and when finalized, the installation is scheduled.
Sounds fairly straight forward, but there is more—much more. “Most of our customers have a deep-seated feeling about wanting to grow food.” Mike says. What is not always known is what. Our clients are always surprised to learn just how much you can do. People know the common crops like tomatoes, but there are 77 items on our order form.” And that includes items not commonly found in your grocer’s produce section.
“Annuals generally get raised beds,” Mike tells me.” They are not necessarily native, so their conditions need to be controlled.” The soil, the nutrients all require more attention. Perennials that are native can deal better with soil conditions, so can be planted directly in the ground, although still need care in planting. But it is all done with integration in mind. Long gone are the vegetable gardens randomly placed somewhere in the yard. They are made to be intentionally tied into the landscaping, perhaps just outside the kitchen window, with some functional herbs sprinkled in. And they are meant to be long-lasting with versatile crops that can be rotated in and out seasonally. “The common word is succession,” Mike says. Early on, it might be veggies like lettuce, asparagus, and spinach in spring, which gives way to tomatoes, squash, and other summer vegetables, which in turn gives way again to cooler crops. “We do rotate things from year-to-year. Plans are kept on file, and adjustments can be made as desired.”
Trellises are often used for vertical planting, for vines and trailers, cages for tomatoes, peppers, and zucchini. And depending upon the size of the garden, paths are formed for ease in tending. Wire fencing for pest control. “We want to drive engagement with nature,” Mike says. “Do it all in a tasteful way, so people want to make it a focal point.” But they are not only about in-ground veggies and functional herbs, but edible berries and fruit trees. And while size matters, for variety and yield, a residential garden can range from 16 x 16 plots, down to 2x 4 plots in more urban areas. “Most everyone has some option for eating fresh. It’s surprising just how much you can pack into a small garden,” Mike adds.
But planning and planting isn’t all they do—although it can be. The beauty of this business, besides their planning and planting, is that you can pick and choose what you’d like them to do from there on out. Mike says that 95 percent of their installations involve drip irrigation. So watering isn’t an issue. But they teach and maintain. So, if you want to maintain your garden yourself, no problem. They’ll teach you about pruning and harvesting. But Backyard Eats will do that too. During their regular visits, they will take care of pest and disease control, and during visits is often when plans are tweaked.
There are about 10 people on staff, and Mike feels it’s important to keep it all internal. Not only does it make people more comfortable to consistently deal with the same contact people and those roaming about in their yards, but it also provides full-time agricultural work to otherwise seasonal workers. They’re truly all about community.
“We are a two-part business”, Mike says. It’s both installation and maintenance, and their job takes them through the seasons. “Our season starts in mid-February with planning and getting materials, plant stock lined up. It ends around Thanksgiving when the last garden remains are pulled out. But the installations happen year-round. In-between, they’re focused on their marketing. While much business comes from word-of-mouth, people will see their trucks or find them through social media. Mike says, “It’s about being part of a community—being there, taking an interest in it. It’s not that easy coming into a new community.” It’s a matter of gaining trust. The company is located in Flourtown, Montgomery County. And Mike says, “Having grown up in Chestnut Hill, there was a tight-knit community which was very much focused on homegrown food. It was a great little place to start.” Yet they managed to plant some 150 gardens last season, with 500 planted in total, all through the Greater Philadelphia area. “Once we get into an area,” Mike adds, “People start talking about us.”
Chatter grew in Westchester, after the company did an installation for a client’s farmhouse. Mike says they were engaged in some major renovations which included the gardens. There was a native meadow and the couple, with an interest in healthy food and cooking, wanted a place to grow their own produce. Backyard Eats got to work with the design, planning, planting, and tending. It stands 14 x 16 and includes the usual suspects such as cherry tomatoes, baby greens, carrots, and zucchini, but also hot peppers, Hakurei turnips (also called Tokyo turnips, which do not need to be cooked) and Delicata squash (sweet with an edible skin). Having little past success with gardens, Mike says, “They were fairly involved and ambitious but needed someone to do the heavy lifting. The fun garden things like pruning, harvesting and trellis training they learned over time with the help of weekly visits. They’d have the company come for any heavy lifting or more difficult gardening tasks like organic pest and disease control. Through the use of QR code plant labels came understanding how to harvest, store and cook from their garden increasing interaction and home cooking from their space.
Mike always gets a good feeling from not only doing some work for people but also from empowering them to learn and grow.
They advise investing in infrastructure. Raised beds mean fewer weeds, and stronger plants make them more resilient. The right soil, fencing, gates, pathways, trellising are key ingredients. Mike says people sometimes wonder why their crops are not performing well, and think it’s plant quality or spacing, when it can be resolved with the right conditions.
Luckily for them, the competition is little. “There are landscapers who will build gardens, but not offer the services we do.” And being a gardener and nursery person are quite different. In the beginning Backyard Eats grew all their plants from seed. After the growth of the business, it became clear that they needed to work with hand-picked nurseries, which have served them well.
Community takes on a whole other aspect when Backyard Eats works with community gardens, such as in schools and neighborhoods.” It’s extremely rewarding to work with groups. Kids are often involved, and we have a cool position in which to transfer ideas and information.” Many children don’t connect eating with planting/gardening, so there’s a great teachable moment, transferring the idea of not only eating to live, but to grow it to eat and live well. “We’re often dealing with a couple of moms who volunteer to get it going,” Mike says, “We help with the plan, show them renderings and then light the fire.” Since grants are often involved, the process can be longer and more involved than residential projects. Crowdsourcing is an option too, allowing schools to be funded for such projects. And in these installations other things need to be considered, such as the age of children who will be tending it and disability accessibility. In the end, the education is passed along to kids lucky enough to learn that food doesn’t start out in a grocery store.
Mike describes one community garden as extremely rewarding. The Ambler Community Garden was born thanks to a community garden group in Ambler Borough. According to Mike, “The borough obtained a grant from the county, to build a garden in Knights Park (a busy, multi-use park complete with bocce and basketball courts, skateboard, and picnic areas), “But, they didn’t have the direction, knowledge or manpower to make it happen.” So, Backyard Eats rolled up their sleeves and began designing a garden that would both teach and feed. They organized workdays with the help of some dedicated volunteers, did the installation of a 40 x 60 garden, and provided families in the area with such abundance, they were able to donate many storable edibles. Tomatoes, beans, carrots, and hardy greens, interesting fruits, such as raspberries, blackberries and elderberries and more—about 600 combined pounds of it were donated to organizations providing food to those in need; both Weaver’s Way Community Fridge (a one-time co-op), and Mattie N. Dixon Community Cupboard (where neighbors provide for other neighbors).
Mike says that it’s great to be a key driver in a greater movement that effects health. “Being an influencer in a trend that’s already happening is what keeps us going.”
Backyard Eats is located at 810 Bethlehem Pike Suite A, Flourtown, PA 19031. For more information, call 215-613-4883; mike@backyard-eats.com or visit www.backyard-eats.com.
Chrysa Smith is a regular contributor and proponent of clean eating.