Garden Helper in Carlsbad, NM

August 8, 2025

I have been working on my garden since January- meticulously planning what I wanted to plant, starting seeds in my living room, carefully tending to them as they grew, tilling the soil, planting the starts I had grown, weeding, mulching, fertilizing, watering, and all the work that goes into growing a garden. My garden is looking awesome, and is producing more than I ever could have imagined! So much growth has been happening, that it started getting a little overwhelming. I started wondering how much I needed to cut back so that my plants would have optimal airflow, and when was the right time to harvest a watermelon. But everything came to a screeching halt when I realized that I was actually a little afraid to reach in and grab a cucumber, without really being able to see what I was putting my hand into, I knew I needed to enlist some help. I know “garden coaches”, who live elsewhere, who teach people how to tend to their gardens, but I needed someone local who knew about gardening. I wanted someone who would come and help me do the work. And then I met Kade!

Kade is my friend Kendra’s son. Before I met him, she had told me what a strong interest he had in gardening, how well his tomatoes were doing, and how creative he is with his plants. When I finally met him, I was amazed at how passionate he is about gardening. His gardening methods are constantly evolving as he watches innovative videos on Youtube or Instagram, and tries out what he learns. Kade is an 18 year old young man who graduated high school early, through Carlsbad’s enrichment program. He currently has a landscaping job, but dreams of opening his own gardening business, so I asked him if I could hire him to come over and help me with my garden. He was a huge help!

We spent several hours on my garden, weeding some persistent Bermuda grass, trimming plants back, harvesting vegetables, and hopefully saving my butternut squash plants from squash bugs! It was great to get his expertise and problem-solving skills. Or when neither of us knew the answer, we would research solutions together. He is a happy, hard-working, collaborative, and enthusiastic dude, who was exactly what my garden (and I) needed. As I stated in my intro, I had started getting a little afraid of the garden. Not only was I afraid of plucking off too many leaves, harvesting something too soon, or making some other gardening mistake, rattlesnakes, scorpions, vinegaroons (harmless, but still freaky looking!), tarantulas, and black widows are a real threat here. While I have seen all of them (luckily not in my garden), I was honestly a little afraid to root around too much in the garden now that all the plants are grown up, because I was afraid of encountering one of these critters. Having Kade with me made me feel a little more safe- And I even told him that!

I was very honored that he told me how inspiring my garden was to him. He has a strong interest in homesteading, and asked me if he could take the extra leaves we were cutting off the plants back home to his chickens, because he is planning on making compost. I gladly gave him all the cuttings, along with some extra veggies for his family.

Hiring Kade was a wonderful decision, and I look forward to hiring him again when I need an extra set of hands. If you would like to hire Kade for help in your garden, text 515-371-2596