We had the good fortune of connecting with Faith Ford and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Faith, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I want to share the joy and beauty of the garden. For most of my life, I struggled with what I was supposed to do career-wise. When I realized I could start a business, helping people create beautiful kitchen gardens and help them feel confident growing their food. It felt right and aligned with my values and what I feel would contribute to a better future.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We create custom, raised-bed kitchen gardens alongside guiding our clients through regenerative organic gardening methods; as much as we love a beautiful garden, our primary focus is soil biology. Currently, and particularly in the past, much focus has been put on soil chemistry and N-P-K ratios.

We are finding out that biology creates healthy soil, and when soil biology is balanced for the crop you want to grow, the earth’s natural system can take care of itself. Chemicals in our food and soil undermine the innate biological system that keeps our plants happy.

We’re excited to announce we’re currently working on becoming a Soil Foodweb, Inc. certified laboratory by the end of the year – meaning will be able to identify and take a head count of the soil organisms in your soil to help bring the natural system back into balance.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
When greeting a friend at LAX airport for a visit, I like to start with a few quick wins by bringing a milkshake and snack from In n’ Out, then depending on the time of day, head to the beach to watch the sunset before making the trek across town to the Eastside, and back to the house to relax and share a bottle of wine from Lou Wine Shop.

I like to wake up rested, take an easy hike, and visit the Griffith Observatory, where I won’t leave until I’ve seen the giant arcing sparks of the Tesla Coil, then grab a local lunch at Little Doms, Sqirlla LA, Yuca’s, or Best Fish Taco in Ensenada depending on the mood, then walking around Los Feliz shops: the Bell Jar and Skylight Books. My favorite place to grab dinner and wine in Los Feliz is Loupiotte Kitchen (their breakfast is just as delightful). After dinner, I like to walk a couple of blocks to the Atrium for a drink at the Bar. Los Feliz also has a new restaurant and Bar called Mirate, which I haven’t visited yet.

I love a day at the Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens in San Marino. Or a coffee at Spoke Bicycle Cafe, a walk on the L.A. River, lunch at Waxpaper in Frogtown, and dinner at Speranza in Silver Lake.

L.A. is vast; staying in one area for the day is an excellent way to explore.

In 2018, I read an article that the United States had more museums than McDonald’s and Starbucks combined. That led me to explore Los Angeles museums; it turns out that we have over 300 museums here in L.A., and I was able to visit almost 70 in one year; you can view my museum tour on Instagram at @lafieldtrip – maybe you can pick up where I left off. One of my favorites is a museum of Jurassic Technology on Venice Blvd and the Underground Museum on Washington Blvd, which is temporally closed.

Los Angeles is full of delicious cocktails and food; my favorite tip, no matter where you go, is to learn a little history about Los Angeles, about your favorite famous old Bar, or a creepy house, and share those stories.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Nicole Johnsey Burke is my mentor. Nicole started a Kitchen Garden Consulting company in Houston, Texas. She started another company called Gardenary, where she mentors others to create their own Kitchen Garden Consulting businesses. Nicole has a new book in April that can be pre-ordered called Leaves, Roots & Fruit: A Step-by-Step Guide to Planting an Organic Kitchen Garden.

Website: www.floracotta.com

Instagram: floracotta

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/faithford/

Twitter: floracotta

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/floracotta

Other: https://www.instagram.com/lafieldtrip/

Image Credits
Daniel Moody

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