Where did the Seed to Fork Blog go?

In Spring of 2022, Seed to Fork changed from a blog to a resource for Meg Cowden and The Modern Garden Guild (The MGG). While some content remains in our free Garden Resource Library, some previous resources, as well as future content, will be part of The MGG.

But I LOVED your blog!

Thank you for loving and reading my blog. The blog was an amazing platform that opened doors the likes of a stint on PBS and my book. Your love and support is deeply felt. I’ve loved the community that has grown up around Seed to Fork, and never want to lose it, or for anyone to feel as if they’ve lost that. It’s just adjusting slightly to the times we’re in, and I hope your support of the blog extends to me, Meg.

I really hope you’ll continue on to the next part of my journey by joining The MGG. If you don’t, know that you’ll still be able to use and enjoy the free resources available online and peep the garden on instagram.

I didn’t save (—insert fav blog post—) because I didn’t know. Can you send it to me now?

The most commonly requested posts are now located in the free Garden Resource Library. Look there for content you miss, or, of course, join The MGG so you can get access to every article I’ve written.

You can also stroll through my instagram highlights and posts, where a treasure trove of free content remains.

Of course, my new book, Plant Grow Harvest Repeat is a massive download of information and I encourage you to pick up a copy for yourself and a friend.

Why Change?

As anyone who follows me knows, I have long struggled with social media platforms. As someone who blogs, photographs, captures video and posts with no compensation, this has been an increasing demand on my time and made me begin to evaluate the sustainability of creating content for free.

While I’m being completely honest, creating for the algorithm has been thieving the joy of creativity for almost 2 years now. My most creative work occurs when I am untethered to the expectations and demands of social media. And this is the direction I must head to continue to be my best self and bring forth the most inspiring and timely knowledge to the gardening world.

I do not believe that we are meant to consume information at the speed at which we currently are as a society, and I most definitely don’t think the jarring, viral pops of soundtracks, voiceovers, and flashy videos that now flood my own social media feed are healthy for our nervous systems. I want to be a place of calm, and because I still prefer static photography over fast-paced videos that keep us hooked up to a dopamine drip, this feels the very best move for my creativity and well-being.   

Well, this sucks. Capitalism!

Welcome to the struggle in my head and heart. My biggest roadblock in launching this effort has been getting over the notion that money has a role in what we do. But it does. Time away from my garden, my family, and the other expectations in my life has value. The only way I can justify the time away is by getting fair compensation for it.

I am frequently approached by “sponsors”, which is the way influencers traditionally compensate themselves. But I don’t want to be an influencer (the word gives me hives). And I don’t want to promote superfluous consumption to my community, so I’ve always said no.

I also have chosen to sink the costs of producing an advertise-free website for the past five years because I personally enjoy content that is direct, fast, and easy to consume. I have been underwriting your consumption by not having a gardening website with pop-up ads you have to play dodgeball with to get to the information nuggets nestled between the last items you googled or left in a virtual shopping cart that’s vying for your eyeballs and impulsive clicks.

Does this have value to you? It has enough to me that I felt strongly to sink those costs, and my content will remain ad-free going forward on all platforms. I am passionate that we can all consume less, both digital and physical consumption.

I hope that The MGG will allow you to digest timely and inspiring gardening information in a manner that then takes you off your screen and into your beautiful gardens. It’s where we all need to be spending more and more time.

With this change, I can afford to spend the time on the content that readers have always wanted.

I trust the community to understand and support me in this next adventure.