I can't respond to all of the comments everyone. Words cannot express what reading through all these mean to me. I launched a personal channel which will have nothing to do with gardening, if that interests you subscribe here: www.youtube.com/@kevinmespiritu
So what do you think of the intial trailer for GTA VI. Are you going to be playing it when it comes out? I heard in several places talk about your gaming past & contrasting it with garening, and asking if your giving yourself some more time. Could that time involve some gaming? Could gaming & gardening co-exist? And if so, given the current 'crop' of games, what takes your fancy??
One word Kevin - INSPIRATIONAL - I know that EPIC is an obvious and appropriate way for most of us ordinary people to describe you, your Channel, and achievements in one word but inspired is how I felt watching this video. Mate, you do a great job hiding the underlying anxiety of running a successful business, but it's good to know you are listening to yourself and "evolving" before some of that pressure shows through. As a consequence, I expect we'll have many years to come of genuinely happy and delightful Kevin bringing us Epic Gardening tips from your own backyard. All the best mate 💪👍🙂
Kevin!! THANK YOU!!! I have loved your channel and enjoyed and learned so much. I have always wanted to learn gardening but never knew where to start. These days you’re my go to (along with Mark from self sufficient me in Australia where I’m also from). Having your own business looks ‘so glamorous’ from a distance. People don’t realise that you don’t get to go home at the end of the day and not think anymore about what you didn’t finish, or did wrong or whatever. You’ve managed to take a step back and gain perspective. That’s not an easy feat when you’re drowning in responsibility. So WELL DONE, and ALL THE BEST. I’m certainly going to keep on watching and looking forward to the ‘new’ channel. ❤
Kevin, thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for all you do! Six years ago i was just a guy with a couple of tomato plants in home depot buckets. When my son started eating real food and demonstrated a love for cherry tomatoes a spark was lit. I soon after discovered your channel. I now have half a dozen raised beds, a lettuce wall, potato patch, six fig trees, 2 cherry trees and i just started propagating rose bushes. I have two compost bins, collect rain water and my garden is 100 % organic. All of this is because of Epic Gardening. Thank you, to the whole team... keep up the great work!
My first boss at my first serious job told me, “Never be afraid to surround yourself with great talent. Nothing makes you better than encouraging others to succeed in their giftedness.” You have lifted up so many, many people via your gardening channel. Now are about to step up the lifting up. Fabulous!
Don't edit or delete this video. You are so appreciated, Kevin Espiritu. You have taught and entertained us for a decade. For that, a simple thanks seems inadequate. Do whatever you need to be whole. We admire your team and look forward to continuing on with this channel in whichever iteration it takes.
I lost both my parents in 2021 to cancer, my dads came out of nowhere and he died within 6 months, my moms love was gardening and I have been watching you for 2 years and you have taught me so much I made her house amazing with flowers and vegetables. She would be so proud and I owe it to you. Thank You for all of the lessons
Both in the same year? That’s rough.. I’m sorry for your loss. Every memory you have with them is a blessing, and I think it’s awesome you honour their memory with a garden. This is exactly what I want when my time comes.
I really hope UA-cam takes a healthy turn back to vlog style. I get the business side of UA-cam, and everyone wants to be big and professional. But most of us that enjoy long form content just want to hang out. Currently my kids are at school, I’m folding laundry alone and the quiet kills me. I hope to see more personal vlog style videos that make you happy to create. Back to the roots of what originally made UA-cam successful. Best of luck!
I agree. People should be realizing what Corporate mentality has done to the world. Its the age of simplifying and becoming more self sufficient. Taking our food system back under our control is the most Important, food and medicine
It’s not that this type of content isn’t made anymore…it’s more so the fact UA-cam doesn’t wanna advertise it to you half the time. UA-cam themselves recommend videos to you that will make them more money also…it’s all a business now like you say. Makes it harder for people doing more “regular” content to shine.
I will say, congratulations you are growing up. I'm glad you have figured out what is good for you. Good job and continued success to you. The garden is my Happy Place and I appreciate all you've done to get the information out to our fellow gardeners.
Before I started gardening and watching your channel, I was in the throes of a deep period of postpartum depression. It was nearing four years when I started transforming my backyard. It was a pie of weeds and with your help, I transformed it into backyard oasis. I also transformed myself. Turns out, soil microbes can help combat depression. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your dedication to this community.
Now that's something I need to hear more about. I've suffered from depression and PTSD much of my life. It seems to be worse after I had my gallbladder removed and a number of infections leading to multiple rounds of antibiotics. I feel like I'm not right inside or out. This year I'm hoping to discover ways to get my health back and ditch the depression. I know my internal biome's been reconfigured. Perhaps gardening can help me restore some of that. Thank you for sharing! ✌️😎🍀
@@erinmcdonald7781 Been where you are. Healing is doable, but it will take time. In many ways the medical profession can often create other problems with their one size fits all solutions. Listen to your body.
This is so inspiring. Without even realizing it you are encouraging people to follow their joy. I’m a therapist and I have a profound respect for people who prioritize authentic joy. It’s the number one thing we can do for our mental health and our physical health. Respect my friend!
I have literally never commented on a UA-cam video, ever. However, I just want you to know how thankful I am for this channel. I started with one raised bed in my backyard, and it rapidly turned into 9 raised beds, tomato string trellis', and multiple containers. I became addicted instantly. Your channel has been insightful, fun, and encouraging in every regard. Thank you for your hard work. I am deeply sorry to hear about your dad, I am sure he would be amazed by your hard work and perseverance. Enjoy the fruits of your labor, my friend. This channel has helped me enjoy gardening during very blue years. "Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin,"
I had no idea the your company has grown so much. Personally I enjoyed most those simple 1 on 1 videos where you give practical advice on how to! You have a talent explaining and talking things in a simple and clear way. Also you are very charismatic! Good luck in the next stage of Epic Gardening!
I totally approve. You can't do your best work when your heart is somewhere else. It takes courage to leave your routine. You've taught this 65-year-old Master Gardener a lot.
Kevin- thank you for sharing your piece about your dad. I found your channel recently because my dad passed suddenly and unexpectedly too and I needed guidance on maintaining his garden. He left behind his own “epic garden” of over 60 tomato plants, watermelons, basil, and marigolds. I never did get to learn his special tips and tricks and I’m thank you and your channel for helping me to understand this beautiful world of gardening that my dad lived in and nurtured. Thank you for helping me. 💝🍅
I just want to thank you for all of the care you've put into this channel and your willingness to share it with the world. Something that I love about this profession is that it really starts with earnest love and care if it's ever going to grow to something that has the type of success your channel has experienced. You do this thing for years and years without making as much as minimum wage. That dedication is palpable. That said, things are always changing and evolving especially as more responsibilities get tied into the product. I've watched a ton of gardening channels and I feel like the experience I've had with my children has grown right along with your channel more than really any other. I love seeing what you are putting out next, but I think bringing in new creators and expanding the surface of what you are trying to due is brilliant idea. I am excited for you and this next phase. Thanks again and we'll be keyed into this next stage right along with you!
Don’t ever feel the need to explain yourself to people,live to make yourself happy. Good luck in your future endeavors. It’s admirable to live to help others but you can’t help anyone if you don’t put yourself first.
Thank you so much for being so vulnerable with us, Kevin. Work and life balance is so incredibly important for your physical and mental health. All the best to you in everything you do.
I thought he was calling it quits. Instead, hes just beginning the next chapter. Cant wait to meet the new crew! Excited for the homesteading aspect coming up 😊🎉
Retired 2 years ago, and could finally put all my efforts into gardening full time. Started following you about a year ago, and you have been such an amazing and inspiring young man. Keep it up, looking forward to the new future Epic videos!
I am an RN working in a public school system-School Nurses have a saying: “If you don’t take care of yourself, you can’t take care of others.” Do what you need to do, my friend to find your joy! And, thank you for all the help you have given us fellow gardeners!❤
As a native San Diegan I'm so proud of how Epic Gardening and Kevin has grown over the years. Not just locally but worldwide. It's truly inspiring. Congrats and thank you to the entire team for everything you do!
You helped me learn hydroponics & in ground gardening. You have changed many lives & helped many people. Thank you for all you have done, and I wish you a very best.
When one person creates content, produces, directs, films,edits, etc., it is just way too much. So many of the YT channels I watch are slowing it down for their health. Congrats on making yourself happy! Thanks for creating quality, informative, entertaining vids for us!
I personally can't keep up with all the videos that are being put out. I want to support them, but I'm spending way too much time watching. I don't think they need to put out videos every day or week. Slow the pace.
So inspired by you Kevin and so proud of you for taking this step. Thank you for sharing such a vulnerable story and I can’t wait to see all the new faces here ✨💫
Thank you for sharing the very personal and raw challenges of being a business owner. Your being vulnerable about this helps the many of us other small business owners validate the challenges we meet behind the scenes. Good for you for taking care of yourself, listening to what your body was telling you and acknowledging the pressure and how that affects mentally and personally. Your evolution is beautiful to watch and all of your content is so valuable. You're doing such a service to us all. So proud of you and thankful for you and your mission. Cheers to continuing growth and evolving!
I've been hooked on growing plants since my first cucumber🥒 plant too. My first cucumber ever is the background on my phone. Growing (anything really) is my TRUE PASSION in life. It's something I can NEVER get sick of, never read too much about, etc. I wish I'd understood how fulfilling it could be before college and a teaching career. I truly understand how you feel and am incredibly happy that you are able to live a life that fulfills you and getting back to simply growing whatever you want instead of the "business" side.
Kevin, you are one of what i call my digital mentors. My life has been improved so much through your teaching and dedication. I align so closely with Jaque as I am a geologist who got to 30 and panicked realized I didnt want to do environmental work anymore. I found gardening and everything changed. Between starting my farm, orchard, building ponds, starting a tree nursery, i have to thank you for so much guidance. And you and I both got our chickens the same MONTH so our journey as chicken people has been fun to watch. I also struggle HARD with eating disorder issues and recently had an infection that took my health away for a year. God damn do I feel your pain about the non stop grind. I would do environmental work from 5:30 am to 8 at night, get home and garden until after dark. It destroyed me trying to be Atlas and hold it all up. I love you man and want you to be healthy. Youre such a bro and you make the world an awesome place. Im so glad I bought ALL my seed from you and Botanical Interests. I couldnt be more proud of being a part of this community and I cant wait to continue this journey with you guys. With love from west Michigan, Leahy
I'm so proud of you! This is the most raw, sincere, and real Kevin I have ever seen. You have created an empire. The level of growth you and your brand have had over the past 3 years has been mind boggling. I'm excited to see what the future holds. Enjoy life and make time for you. Sending all of you prayers, good JuJu, love and light, etc.
As a small business owner. Every bit of this I have felt. The stress on time, the physical and mental toll of building a business. I have been really trying to find time and reflect on what I really want. To restructure my future plans. It was nice listening to this. To know we all are dealing with challenges and we arent alone.
My father and I started a 1/4 acre in 2018. Your channel has made a huge impact on what do. We have expanded to the home I bought with pear trees, apple trees and grapes. I can't wait to see you evolve!
Dude, I appreciate this a lot. Most people don’t give an inside scoop like this. Just in the 5ish months that I’ve watched you I’ve seen growth, and growth is stressful! So you take care of yourself. Take time off as you need. You, Jacques, the whole team work hard to give us content for free that we enjoy and I hope you feel it is as appreciated as it is.
I'm so so proud of you in what you are doing for yourself personally. Our best physical & mental health is the most important goal in our lives. The honesty and vulnerability you show on this video is a great testament for others. I (& dad) are so in awe of your efforts to grow personally to be as content in life as possible, and still share so much with others.
I’m so glad to hear that you’re letting other people grow in the business so you can recenter. I think we’re like plants in that way-we need rest and a prune every once in a while. So this is just the winter for you to focus on root growth so you’re healthy and eager for your work to come. You and the community you’ve built are a huge blessing to so many of us. Thank you.
We will miss seeing your face of course, and I was so impressed with your business brain and the story of Epic. So sorry you all lost your Dad so young. How hard and heart breaking that must have been for you and your family. It is a good thing to evaluate our possible time we have left here and make the most of it. And that “most of it” looks different for all of us. I wish I did that sooner in my life. I am sure your family and friends are amazed with how a challenge with your brother turned into a gardening empire. It’s been nothing but impressive watching you get to this point. Looking forward to see where you go from here, even if it is just sharing vids of you traveling to meet these gardeners all over the world. 🎉❤🎉
I have been following you for years. Thank your for the heartfelt and authentic look at your epic journey. You are going back to your roots. I hope you take time to just "be" in your garden. I believe that's what hooks us all. Gardens are massively transformational. Thank you again for bringing your vision to life for thousands, millions. You are healing minds, bodies, and the planet! Love the channel and its evolution.
In 2022 I got extremely sick, blood pressure, kidney issues, fatty liver and went septic. I spent 2 weeks in the hospital and when I got discharged I decided that would not be my life. I changed my diet, my eating habits and most importantly my stress triggers. I've lost almost 50 lbs now and on my health journey I came across your channel. Ive never been one with a green thumb I usually killed all my house plants. But I took the plunge with your inspiration. Bought a little greenhouse to start and my this year my 1st year I've germinated almost everything I've planted! I've got cucumbers, summer squash, peas, stringbeans, carrots sunflowers, radish, broccoli, cauliflower, swiss chard, lettuce, and herbs!! Now I'm binge watching you daily to ensure I'm tranplanting and keeping them alive. Thank you for your advice, and words of encouragement. 🥰🥰
Congratulations to the entire Epic family. I am watching and learning from the beautiful island of Antigua. Can I just say that I am extremely proud of you and what you have built. I am here for all the evolutions of Epic.
Sorry to hear about your father. I had a similar situation with my Dad and like to think I understand your pain. I look forward to seeing the evolution of the channel. Do what you gotta do to make yourself happy.
Thank you. It's an unfortunate part of life that things like this happen. But I know he wouldn't want me to be sad about him being gone, so I keep moving forward and keep his memory dear to my heart.
Thank you so much Kevin! I really value your transparency and this will help others learn as well. You are very inspirational. I found Epic Gardening yesterday when I wanted to learn more about micro greens. When I realized that the store I work at, Bachman's in Minnesota (where I just started working at in December), carries Botanical Interests and then today I learned YOU acquired the seed company...that is so amazing and I will whole hearted support the Epic Gardening Ecosystem. Congratulations on all your success and I look forward to learning more from all the wonderful people on the channel.
I just want to say I have really loved watching Epic Gardening over the years and watching it grow. I don’t want to see it go away but please please take care of you and your health!
Can’t wait! I actually saw your job postings and almost even applied! I’m a gardening enthusiast and also an industrial psychologist specializing in burnout and emotional labor - you’re doing the right thing by delegating. I love that you’re basically starting a network of everything I love! Congratulations on your success
I haven’t heard of industrial psychology before and I’m really intrigued by your specialization. I’m working on a PhD and took a class in ecological psychology (ecopsychology) last semester and it’s caused me to think of things much more holistically. I keep seeing connections everywhere now, and I’ve been noticing an interesting trend lately of content creators and authors starting to emphasize a more mature and balanced life. I’ve also read about the “quiet quitting” trend and indications that millennials and Gen Z are less willing to run themselves into the ground for the ladder-climbing career. Have you done or seen any research on this? It’s giving me a lot of hope for our future as a human race…if we can manage to keep our leaders from destroying the planet with war, ecological catastrophe, and disease that is.
@@kaiyakershaw1028 Hi - thanks for your response, apologies in advance for the lengthy response. Industrial-organizational psychology is not a well known career, but it should be. It actually began during the industrial revolution with work-motion studies in factories. Arlie Hochschild from Berkley first brought emotional labor to light in the 60s studying flight attendants - I highly recommend her book, The Managed Heart. In the US, most IO psychs work for the government devising training programs and psych evals, crunching psychometrics, etc. At it's core, it's basically the study of work psychology and a statistical analysis degree wrapped together - very difficult and scientific, which is why we hear little about it. I am one of VERY few who chose to specialize in studying the emotional labor, specifically of human service workers - doctors, healthcare, lawyers, medics, etc. My career is in healthcare and after witnessing so many coworkers succumb to mental and physical health problems, I decided to find out why. Turns out: 1) leadership and management matter more than can ever be scientifically accounted for. 2) Those personalities interested in caring for (and leading) others does not typically align with corporate values ($ over patients), and, in layman's terms, over time this literally eats away at one's soul 3) Anytime we are forced to hide our true feelings (work related or not) we create a dissonance gap that gets filled with coping mechanisms that can become lethal. Hence why human service workers are so ill as a collective, which does not bode well for organizational wellness. Believe it or not, doctors spend 12 years learning how to care for others but never once are taught how to mitigate the atrocities they will witness 40-60 hours/week. In fact, learning how to keep ones self well is not a part of ANY healthcare degree. Very few institutions employ IO Psychs - they are mostly contracted. Orgs don't want to spend $ upfront and wait for a ROI in the form of retention, less sick call out, etc. The crazy thing is so many hospital systems are self- insured, offering employees health insurance through themselves and they still can't see the $ connection with investing in IO Psych for a healthier, happier org. I think it should be mandatory every human service org have IO psych on staff to weed out anything that could potentially be contributing to employee unwellness in these orgs - because let's face it, it's a social norm that isn't going anywhere anytime soon, to fake a smile in any service role. We will always have to walk out of the trauma room where someone just died and continue on with our day as if nothing happened. I think if IO Psychs were part of mainstream, we could have saved many workers' lives to suicide during covid. It truly is fascinating but unfortunately IO Psych hasn't caught on in the civilian world - hopefully one day! As for your gen Z question - my theory is 1) they saw their parents working too hard and it not amounting to much besides them being latchkey kids (subconsciously painful, likely w lingering resentment) 2) As a generation, they are really the first that has been overstimulated much of their lives and subconsciously, as a self preservation mechanism, they know their lives depend on making time for enjoyment/downtime. Our bodies are the smartest machines on earth - it will do anything to survive. In this case, it has resulted in a great and necessary cultural shift to be able to thrive in today's world. Correct, links do exist everywhere. Psych and economics go hand in hand - therefore EVERYTHING is affected by both. Everyone should at least minor in psych - the world would be a different place ;)
My heart goes out to you as you really share deeply personal and emotional stuff with us, Kevin. It isn't easy to share at that level in many aspects, much less in front of a camera. Sending you lots of green and bountiful blessings in this new stage on your pathway through life's garden. 🌿
I don’t know if you will read this but having felt the weight of the “What ifs” I want someone to tell you, we like gardening, but we LOVE you. It is important that you enjoy your existence, we’ll find gardening resources, it is most important that you are being fed (literally, mentally, emotionally) by your gardening. Do what makes you joy-full and brings you growth. ❤
Great 'evolution' Kevin. Keep showing how any curious, persistent human can learn to do this stuff for themselves. I retired from medicine 10 years ago and have taught myself animal husbandry, permaculture, dairying, butchering, horticulture and more. I dont have a country/farming background at all and I'm proud of what i can now do myself. Keep inspiring people and firing their curiosity.
Kevin, thank you for helping me turn my very ordinary thumb into a green(er) thumb. Epic Gardening is my number one source of information relating to gardening. I've seen many channels relating to gardening, but none give as accurate, honest and knowledgeable advice as Epic Gardening. Thank you for sharing about your situation. You are awesome, man. I am still amazed at all the accomplishments you've made in such a short time. Most people would spend their entire life striving to do the same as you and not even accomplish half of what you've already done. Your health and wellbeing is way more important than appeasing the masses. I'm excited for this next step in your Epic journey. I'm super thankful that I get to see part of it on UA-cam.
Stardew Valley!! As a south african we dont have many similar zones, but yours is very close to us. I miss watching your older videos, they were something special for us down here when we had no other channels. Also, Thank you for showing us this part of your life. You may not realize it, but doing that makes us care all the more about you and epic gardening. We like knowing our superhero gardener is vulnerable and human too. Goodluck on your new journey!
Kevin your channel brought me from black thumb to greeener thumb and I am still learning from you today. This message of self care, boundaries and rethinking priorities in your life is just as valuable as what we do in the garden. In fact gardening in many ways (I believe) opens us up to that teaching. So just wanted to say thank you, from teaching me about grow bags very early on and all the valuable things you and the team have taught me since then. Here's to all the beautiful things that lie ahead!
This is my first time commenting on any channel. I want to say THANK YOU. Your message resonated on so many levels. To be open to evolving, learning and growing is at the core of our experience here on earth. Your idea to expand the channel to be about creation vs consumption was spot on, at least for me. I look forward to learning and listening to all of the amazing topics and speakers you will be sharing. Namaste💓💯! 🔥
Thank you for making this channel. It has inspired me to start my own garden. I am an Uber driver and drive in San Diego California and I knew that one day I would find your garden, I found it today. Wishing you good health
This has a ton of value for not only gardeners but other content creators like myself. I truly appreciate this look into your growth and understand why you'd personally want to come back to basics for yourself and add on team members to support the overall mission. Thank you so much for providing this perspective, it helps confirm some things I was thinking about for myself.
It is amazing how cultivating and growing something from seed or early transplant can transform who a person is, on a psychological, philosophical, and literal sense. You presented an impactful video, thank you!
You've built a team that really matches your vibe on this channel, which makes this change really work. The blueberry video the other day was great and the rosemary video hit it out of the park. It seems like everyone you bring in is a good mix of relaxed and fun, which is a really good sign for the future of Epic Gardening and means I'll keep coming back to learn. Thanks for the content so far and in the future.
Hey Kev, as a guy in the thick of it, my hat's off to you man. To grow the insanity to a point of needing a team is something I've consciously avoided simply because I know I couldn't make it work. You've not only made it work but you have also pioneered essentially a new space and niche for all of us to enjoy. I'm pumped that you get to play with all of the outside stuff, while staying passionate about the original content that started it all. Not many can do such a thing, so its fun to sit on the sidelines and watch it all unfold. Is it planting season yet??
I could tell your company has been growing by leaps and bounds quickly. I came across your channel early on in my gardening path, when I rented a plot in my city’s community garden program, which has organic community gardens all over the City. I had never gardened before and it’s been a delight to learn to grow in a 60 sq ft plot lots of food for myself and friends and food to donate to our garden’s food bank donation program. I also volunteer on our garden’s “giving garden,” a plot dedicated to growing food specifically for the food bank. As a busy downtown office worker bee, urban gardening has become such a rewarding activity, and your guidance is part of that. Thank you for your generosity, your vision for Epic Gardening now, and taking the time and space you need for you. You inspire and bring a lot of enthusiasm that reaches so many. With much appreciation! 😊💚
I found your channel last year when I decided to try to grow not kill my plants and to find a way to relax and take care of me. While I am just starting my gardening/urban homesteading journey, thank you for being relatable. I get up everyday with more purpose. Thank you.
I hear you. My mom passed away when I was a senior in high school. I’m now a few years away from the age she was and I’m focused on my health more. You keep doing you, friend. I’ve loved watching this channel grow and change, but if it’s not filling the cup, only emptying it, you need to make a change. Thanks for the authenticity and vulnerability. Take care of you. We’ll be here. 🤗
Epic Gardening is a success and now it's obvious why. Thank you for starting and expanding and growing and sharing. I've learned and applied what I've learned with a sense of humor and humility watching this channel. It's a good thing for you to stay in touch with what got you here. It will benefit all of us who value this information.
Hard work and dedication! Look you started all this from a kid in the basement to a love for the land! I've learned so much from you, thank you. I will definitely be a part of what comes next! I'm so excited for you. Congratulations
Please don’t ever feel that you have to explain. I love you. You have opened my eyes to gardening. I am 67 and a newbie. God have given you a wonderful gift and you have shared that gift with all of us. I wish you were my next door neighbor. Best wishes to you always.
Thank God Kevin, so glad you realized and are doing this. I love your "classics". Thats where you shine the most. 💚 Take good care of yourself, most important for You and Your Family.🙏
Your channel is what inspired me to create a property that produces more than I ever imagined. From chickens to garlic, to a now thriving avocado tree I am hooked! I have learned so much from you and am grateful for your contribution to reviving backyard homesteading! ❤
You’re so cool and inspiring. I can’t wait to see where you take things, and I wish you the best of luck. Finding rest is a talent in itself. My word for 2024 is “stillness” and in a similar vein, the goal is to work more on finding my own joy. Part of that is getting into our new garden after the frost passes! I love that we’ll be seeing more of Chris! She grows in my zone and is also a huge inspiration for us, and we found her through your channel as well. You are a blessing in ways you probably don’t realize. Thank you for your mission, and for how you choose to execute it. We’re better for your vision. My home will be, anyway. 🌱
You've made Epic Gardening, well... epic! I've gardened longer than you've been alive with varying degrees of success and failure. I have become a fairly good gardener but I still learn new things all the time. In the UA-cam world, I found your channel, among others. I've seen many channels morph, change, grow, and fail. I've been grateful to be able to be along on your journey. I'm so happy that you are turning your channel's path into what is right for you, and I look forward to learning new ideas from the talent you've surrounded yourself with.
I started a vet clinic in late 2019. Its grown to 3 locations in two states. 30+ employees. The pressure you're talking about, i feel it to my bones. That exhaustion. The looking around and saying what the hell happened?
I love how far Epic Gardening has come and I welcome any change that allows this community to keep going strong! Thanks Kevin for giving us so much of yourself, I know I speak for a lot of us when I say you've helped us grow a greener thumb.
I love that you emphasized cultivation over consumerism! That's what life should be all about, even outside the garden. I'm excited to see the ecosystem grow and learn from all these awesome cultivators. Good on you for taking a step that would encourage your own cultivation ❤️
I won’t be saying anything soooo many other people have already said, but I just want to chime in with the rest and reiterate: 1. How amazing and special this channel is - to me and to so many others 2. How admirable it is that you recognize and acknowledge your limits and then choose to move forward and evolve accordingly. Seriously, mad respect for that accomplishment alone, not to mention all the rest! 3. How COMPLETELY FREAKING DOWN I am for all the changes/evolutions you’ve got lined up for the Epic Gardening Ecosystem. It sounds like it’s gonna be awesome, and I’m excited to see the world of Epic expand! Thank you and congrats. We’re all ROOTING for you, Dragon Daddy! 😊
I’m really proud of you Kevin. Thank you for sharing your journey and being vulnerable and honest. I wish you, your family and your team all the best. Looking forward to watching you grow. ❤
Having your own business means that you are working 24/7. Unless you have had a business it is different to understand just how much that impacts you and the pressure of all those that work around you. I love your insta, podcasts and youtube. You have great people and though it is a hard change to make, use those people around you to give them the freedom to show their strengths and help you. Thank you for the candid words but allow your staff to flourish and help you. You will always be needed to resolve challenges but what you have achieved already is inspirational and fantastic. Well done.
8 years of watching your videos. Thank you for giving so much of your time to strangers. I've learned a lot thanks to you. Cheers to you and the team as you enter this new chapter!
This was really wholesome. I found your channel during the pandemic trying to learn more about growing a vegetable garden despite only have an apartment balcony and a small corner in my kitchen to grow things hydroponically. It inspired me to grow more and share what I'm doing as well so that everyone can grow their own food! And no, you haven't quit, you just became the guild leader of this MMORPG called gardening haha like any good multiplayer game, you can't beat the final raid boss without teamwork and that's exactly what you have achieved :)
EPIC! As always! Been a fan for a few years now. Great video, I laughed & I cried! But most importantly I want to say Thank you for everything. I’ve learned so much. You inspired me to start my own garden and to teach my children about gardening and sustainability. Never stop EVOLVING & never stop LEARNING. Your Dad is looking down from Heaven and I know he’s so proud of the man you’ve become. You’ve helped and inspired so many! ☮️ 🪴 🌱 👩🌾 💪🏼 🙏
Thank you for sharing your incredible story. I love how the flowers are nodding agreement over your shoulder the entire time. lol. You really helped me get started in 2020 and I've built a few birdies beds I bought from you also. Love them by the way. They are a Godsend in the desert where the sun is cruel to wood. Going on the third year and they still look brand new... Happy New Year!
Thank you, for everything. Ive been following this channel since the "post-apocolyptic growing" video. Ive been hooked ever since. I transformed to one raised bed to two, to 4, and now i have a 290 sq ft greenhouse. All of my knowledge and gardening know-how has come from you and Self-Sufficient Me. Thank you for all of the inspiration and making gardening such a welcoming hobby. Im excited to see where the channel goes and am happy to be along for the ride.
Kevin! I'm so proud of you! I've been watching you since around 2016/17. Watching your growth and evolution has been such a joy and inspiration. Wishing you a beautiful slice of peace as you get back to yourself ❤
I'm so glad that you have been able to listen to that instinct telling you what you need, and that you've been able to plan and transition the company before you totally burned out. Your mental health is crucial to your well being! It's amazing what you have built over the past decade. I just love that you are still the grounded, down to earth, relatable guy that started out. We are all just out here experimenting with the land, trying to make a life of joy. Follow where your soul guides you!
Kevin, thank you for sharing such a vulnerable message. I applaud you! I’m glad to hear that you are continuing on this journey and bringing a bigger team along to support you. I do have one question. Why would you want to delete this from your video? I think this is an incredibly powerful testimony-listening to your body, taking care of yourself, and learning how to evolve. It is a message that many people need to hear. I would encourage you to keep it in the video! Wishing you the very best!
I just wanna say I am so honored to be able to come to this channel and see you and your business grow and evolve. I initially came across your channel when the pandemic hit and wanted to look more into gardening without all the frills and bells and whistles that seem to come with a lot of how to videos. Your channel became a refuge for me when I needed a break from being trapped in my apartment and needing a reason to be out in my backyard. I am so proud of you and your accomplishments, and thankful for you changing my life.
Ah Kevin. It takes so much maturity to know when the biggest roadblock to your brain baby's growth is your own bandwidth! It's so cool that you're prioritising both your own joy as well as the future of epic gardening through this one, well, epic move. Good on you, brother. May you find greater balance, and may epic gardening scale new heights with an expanded, more varied team!
I wish you all the best! One of the reasons I haven't put myself out there with what I do is exactly what you have experienced. I want to enjoy what I do, not be on social media, marketing, solving customer problems, etc. However, you have given me much information through the years and I thank you for that. You introduced me to Birdies beds and I purchased some from you. Thank you for the entertainment, the knowledge, and the dedication to your work. In some ways I'm sorry to see that you've been so successful because it does change things, but I am happy for you that what you love and enjoy has become a successful business for you. It's been EPIC! Blessings to you.
Change is inevitable Kevin and we understand you needing to evolve. Glad you aren’t going away. You’ve brought so many people to the love of gardening. ❤ We appreciate all you’ve taught us. Good luck in your future endeavors.
That is a huge change, indeed-from a guy addicted to video games to a gardening expert with a business empire! I’m stressed out just thinking about it! You’ve done excellent work, my friend, that has helped countless people! Now it’s time to take care of you, designate to your awesome team, and enjoy what you’ve built. All the best to you! You’re truly inspiring!
I have always wondered how you all do it. It is a lot of work to homestead but even more work to create content and the back side of what we all see. I sincerely appreciate you and your team and the change you are making is awesome. You can't let working your hobby ruin your hobby (well more of a lifestyle now). God has His timing for everything and He is slowing you down so you can enjoy what He has given all of us. You and your team are loved! Take a break, my friend. It is well deserved. Stay happy in the garden.
You're making a great move. This is the best way to grow - you're absolutely right, nobody can do it all. Hope you feel more joy in what you're doing. Looking forward to seeing all the new people and new stuff. Been enjoying your channel for a few years already and not going anywhere now. Good luck!
![Lp. Сердце Вселенной #60 РОЖДЕНИЕ ЛОЛОЛОШКИ [Финал] • Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YoR0pAV9FVQ/mqdefault.jpg)
I can't respond to all of the comments everyone. Words cannot express what reading through all these mean to me. I launched a personal channel which will have nothing to do with gardening, if that interests you subscribe here: www.youtube.com/@kevinmespiritu
This sounds good. I'll check it out. Congrats to you on the future of Epic Gardening. ❤🍅🍓🍉🍋🌶
So what do you think of the intial trailer for GTA VI. Are you going to be playing it when it comes out? I heard in several places talk about your gaming past & contrasting it with garening, and asking if your giving yourself some more time. Could that time involve some gaming? Could gaming & gardening co-exist? And if so, given the current 'crop' of games, what takes your fancy??
❤️❤️❤️
Good for you. It’s okay to change the direction of your journey. Thank you for sharing. You might be helping someone else by discussing your truth.
Your Health first, Kevin!!! Thank *you (all)!!
One word Kevin - INSPIRATIONAL - I know that EPIC is an obvious and appropriate way for most of us ordinary people to describe you, your Channel, and achievements in one word but inspired is how I felt watching this video. Mate, you do a great job hiding the underlying anxiety of running a successful business, but it's good to know you are listening to yourself and "evolving" before some of that pressure shows through. As a consequence, I expect we'll have many years to come of genuinely happy and delightful Kevin bringing us Epic Gardening tips from your own backyard. All the best mate 💪👍🙂
You are a huge inspiration to me Mark. Means a lot to get this message from you, more than you know. More to come, but you already know that mate ;)
Thankyou for all the info from both of you !!!
Kevin!! THANK YOU!!! I have loved your channel and enjoyed and learned so much. I have always wanted to learn gardening but never knew where to start. These days you’re my go to (along with Mark from self sufficient me in Australia where I’m also from). Having your own business looks ‘so glamorous’ from a distance. People don’t realise that you don’t get to go home at the end of the day and not think anymore about what you didn’t finish, or did wrong or whatever. You’ve managed to take a step back and gain perspective. That’s not an easy feat when you’re drowning in responsibility. So WELL DONE, and ALL THE BEST. I’m certainly going to keep on watching and looking forward to the ‘new’ channel. ❤
Mark hope to see you more on this channel!
Thank you both of you. Mark and Kevin you two are always my favourite gardening channels to watch with. Giving you guys a big THUMB UP ! 👍
“I’m not quitting, I’m evolving.”
We love you Kevin, I will always appreciate you for showing me the value of being self sufficient.
Kevin, thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for all you do! Six years ago i was just a guy with a couple of tomato plants in home depot buckets. When my son started eating real food and demonstrated a love for cherry tomatoes a spark was lit. I soon after discovered your channel. I now have half a dozen raised beds, a lettuce wall, potato patch, six fig trees, 2 cherry trees and i just started propagating rose bushes. I have two compost bins, collect rain water and my garden is 100 % organic. All of this is because of Epic Gardening. Thank you, to the whole team... keep up the great work!
Awesome comment!
I’m not crying … you’re crying!!!! ❤❤❤❤❤ 😭
Love this
My first boss at my first serious job told me, “Never be afraid to surround yourself with great talent. Nothing makes you better than encouraging others to succeed in their giftedness.” You have lifted up so many, many people via your gardening channel. Now are about to step up the lifting up. Fabulous!
That's how Henry Ford built his business 😂
Sounds like the exact opposite of Affirmative Action and DEI. 🤔
Don't edit or delete this video. You are so appreciated, Kevin Espiritu. You have taught and entertained us for a decade. For that, a simple thanks seems inadequate. Do whatever you need to be whole. We admire your team and look forward to continuing on with this channel in whichever iteration it takes.
agreed. your transparency is so valuable to so many that can relate… don’t delete this. so proud of you!!
I lost both my parents in 2021 to cancer, my dads came out of nowhere and he died within 6 months, my moms love was gardening and I have been watching you for 2 years and you have taught me so much I made her house amazing with flowers and vegetables. She would be so proud and I owe it to you. Thank You for all of the lessons
So sorry to hear this
RiP to both of them.
Nice way to honour your mum ❤
My momma died from cancer in October. Less than months from diagnosis. I feel your pain!
Both in the same year? That’s rough.. I’m sorry for your loss. Every memory you have with them is a blessing, and I think it’s awesome you honour their memory with a garden. This is exactly what I want when my time comes.
I really hope UA-cam takes a healthy turn back to vlog style. I get the business side of UA-cam, and everyone wants to be big and professional. But most of us that enjoy long form content just want to hang out. Currently my kids are at school, I’m folding laundry alone and the quiet kills me. I hope to see more personal vlog style videos that make you happy to create. Back to the roots of what originally made UA-cam successful. Best of luck!
I agree. People should be realizing what
Corporate mentality has done to the world.
Its the age of simplifying and becoming more self sufficient. Taking our food system back under our control is the most
Important, food and medicine
I totally agree. It’s why I enjoy podcasts. I don’t have cable tv so UA-cam is how I watch content.
Audiobooks help btw.
It’s not that this type of content isn’t made anymore…it’s more so the fact UA-cam doesn’t wanna advertise it to you half the time. UA-cam themselves recommend videos to you that will make them more money also…it’s all a business now like you say. Makes it harder for people doing more “regular” content to shine.
I will say, congratulations you are growing up. I'm glad you have figured out what is good for you. Good job and continued success to you. The garden is my Happy
Place and I appreciate all you've done to get the information out to our fellow gardeners.
Before I started gardening and watching your channel, I was in the throes of a deep period of postpartum depression. It was nearing four years when I started transforming my backyard. It was a pie of weeds and with your help, I transformed it into backyard oasis. I also transformed myself. Turns out, soil microbes can help combat depression. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your dedication to this community.
Now that's something I need to hear more about. I've suffered from depression and PTSD much of my life. It seems to be worse after I had my gallbladder removed and a number of infections leading to multiple rounds of antibiotics. I feel like I'm not right inside or out.
This year I'm hoping to discover ways to get my health back and ditch the depression. I know my internal biome's been reconfigured. Perhaps gardening can help me restore some of that.
Thank you for sharing! ✌️😎🍀
@@erinmcdonald7781 Been where you are. Healing is doable, but it will take time. In many ways the medical profession can often create other problems with their one size fits all solutions. Listen to your body.
This is so inspiring. Without even realizing it you are encouraging people to follow their joy. I’m a therapist and I have a profound respect for people who prioritize authentic joy. It’s the number one thing we can do for our mental health and our physical health.
Respect my friend!
I have literally never commented on a UA-cam video, ever. However, I just want you to know how thankful I am for this channel. I started with one raised bed in my backyard, and it rapidly turned into 9 raised beds, tomato string trellis', and multiple containers. I became addicted instantly. Your channel has been insightful, fun, and encouraging in every regard. Thank you for your hard work. I am deeply sorry to hear about your dad, I am sure he would be amazed by your hard work and perseverance. Enjoy the fruits of your labor, my friend. This channel has helped me enjoy gardening during very blue years. "Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin,"
I had no idea the your company has grown so much. Personally I enjoyed most those simple 1 on 1 videos where you give practical advice on how to! You have a talent explaining and talking things in a simple and clear way. Also you are very charismatic!
Good luck in the next stage of Epic Gardening!
More of those coming :)
I’ll miss your “field trips” to small gardeners. My favorite and influential one was to “nature’s always right” when still in CA
Yes to all of this.
I totally approve. You can't do your best work when your heart is somewhere else. It takes courage to leave your routine. You've taught this 65-year-old Master Gardener a lot.
Honored to hear that
Kevin- thank you for sharing your piece about your dad. I found your channel recently because my dad passed suddenly and unexpectedly too and I needed guidance on maintaining his garden. He left behind his own “epic garden” of over 60 tomato plants, watermelons, basil, and marigolds. I never did get to learn his special tips and tricks and I’m thank you and your channel for helping me to understand this beautiful world of gardening that my dad lived in and nurtured.
Thank you for helping me. 💝🍅
I just want to thank you for all of the care you've put into this channel and your willingness to share it with the world. Something that I love about this profession is that it really starts with earnest love and care if it's ever going to grow to something that has the type of success your channel has experienced. You do this thing for years and years without making as much as minimum wage. That dedication is palpable. That said, things are always changing and evolving especially as more responsibilities get tied into the product. I've watched a ton of gardening channels and I feel like the experience I've had with my children has grown right along with your channel more than really any other. I love seeing what you are putting out next, but I think bringing in new creators and expanding the surface of what you are trying to due is brilliant idea. I am excited for you and this next phase. Thanks again and we'll be keyed into this next stage right along with you!
Don’t ever feel the need to explain yourself to people,live to make yourself happy. Good luck in your future endeavors. It’s admirable to live to help others but you can’t help anyone if you don’t put yourself first.
The principle of Grace is the hardest to master. ⚔️
Well said - Kevin
@@epicgardeningThanks for your good videos man! Greetings from the Netherlands!
blessing you to have that balance in your work and home life thanks for the update ❤️
Nuts to that, don't start something than quit, when you're rich enough. Why I don't subscribe to too many channels.
Thank you so much for being so vulnerable with us, Kevin. Work and life balance is so incredibly important for your physical and mental health. All the best to you in everything you do.
I thought he was calling it quits. Instead, hes just beginning the next chapter. Cant wait to meet the new crew! Excited for the homesteading aspect coming up 😊🎉
Whew, right??
Retired 2 years ago, and could finally put all my efforts into gardening full time. Started following you about a year ago, and you have been such an amazing and inspiring young man. Keep it up, looking forward to the new future Epic videos!
I am an RN working in a public school system-School Nurses have a saying: “If you don’t take care of yourself, you can’t take care of others.” Do what you need to do, my friend to find your joy! And, thank you for all the help you have given us fellow gardeners!❤
That saying is all nurses world wide 😊
As a native San Diegan I'm so proud of how Epic Gardening and Kevin has grown over the years. Not just locally but worldwide. It's truly inspiring. Congrats and thank you to the entire team for everything you do!
Thank you, Robin! Here's to the next 10 years! 🌱
You helped me learn hydroponics & in ground gardening. You have changed many lives & helped many people. Thank you for all you have done, and I wish you a very best.
When one person creates content, produces, directs, films,edits, etc., it is just way too much.
So many of the YT channels I watch are slowing it down for their health.
Congrats on making yourself happy!
Thanks for creating quality, informative, entertaining vids for us!
I personally can't keep up with all the videos that are being put out. I want to support them, but I'm spending way too much time watching. I don't think they need to put out videos every day or week. Slow the pace.
So inspired by you Kevin and so proud of you for taking this step. Thank you for sharing such a vulnerable story and I can’t wait to see all the new faces here ✨💫
Thank you for sharing the very personal and raw challenges of being a business owner. Your being vulnerable about this helps the many of us other small business owners validate the challenges we meet behind the scenes. Good for you for taking care of yourself, listening to what your body was telling you and acknowledging the pressure and how that affects mentally and personally. Your evolution is beautiful to watch and all of your content is so valuable. You're doing such a service to us all. So proud of you and thankful for you and your mission. Cheers to continuing growth and evolving!
I've been hooked on growing plants since my first cucumber🥒 plant too. My first cucumber ever is the background on my phone. Growing (anything really) is my TRUE PASSION in life. It's something I can NEVER get sick of, never read too much about, etc. I wish I'd understood how fulfilling it could be before college and a teaching career.
I truly understand how you feel and am incredibly happy that you are able to live a life that fulfills you and getting back to simply growing whatever you want instead of the "business" side.
Kevin, you are one of what i call my digital mentors. My life has been improved so much through your teaching and dedication. I align so closely with Jaque as I am a geologist who got to 30 and panicked realized I didnt want to do environmental work anymore. I found gardening and everything changed. Between starting my farm, orchard, building ponds, starting a tree nursery, i have to thank you for so much guidance. And you and I both got our chickens the same MONTH so our journey as chicken people has been fun to watch. I also struggle HARD with eating disorder issues and recently had an infection that took my health away for a year. God damn do I feel your pain about the non stop grind. I would do environmental work from 5:30 am to 8 at night, get home and garden until after dark. It destroyed me trying to be Atlas and hold it all up.
I love you man and want you to be healthy. Youre such a bro and you make the world an awesome place. Im so glad I bought ALL my seed from you and Botanical Interests. I couldnt be more proud of being a part of this community and I cant wait to continue this journey with you guys.
With love from west Michigan,
Leahy
You inadvertently became a boss. There is a lot of pressure involved in that. Wishing you all the best.
I'm so proud of you! This is the most raw, sincere, and real Kevin I have ever seen. You have created an empire. The level of growth you and your brand have had over the past 3 years has been mind boggling. I'm excited to see what the future holds. Enjoy life and make time for you. Sending all of you prayers, good JuJu, love and light, etc.
💚
As a small business owner. Every bit of this I have felt. The stress on time, the physical and mental toll of building a business.
I have been really trying to find time and reflect on what I really want. To restructure my future plans.
It was nice listening to this. To know we all are dealing with challenges and we arent alone.
My father and I started a 1/4 acre in 2018. Your channel has made a huge impact on what do. We have expanded to the home I bought with pear trees, apple trees and grapes. I can't wait to see you evolve!
Dude, I appreciate this a lot. Most people don’t give an inside scoop like this. Just in the 5ish months that I’ve watched you I’ve seen growth, and growth is stressful! So you take care of yourself. Take time off as you need. You, Jacques, the whole team work hard to give us content for free that we enjoy and I hope you feel it is as appreciated as it is.
Thank you for joining our journey! To growth! 🌱
I'm so so proud of you in what you are doing for yourself personally. Our best physical & mental health is the most important goal in our lives. The honesty and vulnerability you show on this video is a great testament for others. I (& dad) are so in awe of your efforts to grow personally to be as content in life as possible, and still share so much with others.
The weight of being a leader is no joke. When you really care about the success of your team, the pressure on yourself can be incredible.
This! ❤
I’m so glad to hear that you’re letting other people grow in the business so you can recenter. I think we’re like plants in that way-we need rest and a prune every once in a while. So this is just the winter for you to focus on root growth so you’re healthy and eager for your work to come. You and the community you’ve built are a huge blessing to so many of us. Thank you.
I honestly don’t know how you’ve kept up the pace for so long that you have. Prioritize you. 👏🏻
We will miss seeing your face of course, and I was so impressed with your business brain and the story of Epic.
So sorry you all lost your Dad so young. How hard and heart breaking that must have been for you and your family.
It is a good thing to evaluate our possible time we have left here and make the most of it. And that “most of it” looks different for all of us. I wish I did that sooner in my life.
I am sure your family and friends are amazed with how a challenge with your brother turned into a gardening empire. It’s been nothing but impressive watching you get to this point.
Looking forward to see where you go from here, even if it is just sharing vids of you traveling to meet these gardeners all over the world. 🎉❤🎉
Thank you for this comment
@@epicgardening You’re welcome 😊 Many blessings on all your adventures with your company and also just doing life as you need to do it.
Don’t delete this video! I’m proud of you and so grateful for the knowledge you have shared! I can’t wait to see where you lead us! ❤️
Congrats on a new chapter in this journey Kevin and thanks for sharing!
Thanks for watching!
I have been following you for years. Thank your for the heartfelt and authentic look at your epic journey. You are going back to your roots. I hope you take time to just "be" in your garden. I believe that's what hooks us all. Gardens are massively transformational. Thank you again for bringing your vision to life for thousands, millions. You are healing minds, bodies, and the planet! Love the channel and its evolution.
In 2022 I got extremely sick, blood pressure, kidney issues, fatty liver and went septic. I spent 2 weeks in the hospital and when I got discharged I decided that would not be my life. I changed my diet, my eating habits and most importantly my stress triggers. I've lost almost 50 lbs now and on my health journey I came across your channel. Ive never been one with a green thumb I usually killed all my house plants. But I took the plunge with your inspiration. Bought a little greenhouse to start and my this year my 1st year I've germinated almost everything I've planted! I've got cucumbers, summer squash, peas, stringbeans, carrots sunflowers, radish, broccoli, cauliflower, swiss chard, lettuce, and herbs!! Now I'm binge watching you daily to ensure I'm tranplanting and keeping them alive. Thank you for your advice, and words of encouragement. 🥰🥰
Congratulations to the entire Epic family. I am watching and learning from the beautiful island of Antigua. Can I just say that I am extremely proud of you and what you have built. I am here for all the evolutions of Epic.
Thank you so much
Beautiful Antigua! How lovely!
Thank you for being you & doing what you do. I appreciate you!
Sorry to hear about your father. I had a similar situation with my Dad and like to think I understand your pain.
I look forward to seeing the evolution of the channel. Do what you gotta do to make yourself happy.
Sorry to hear you've ahd the same situation :(
Thank you. It's an unfortunate part of life that things like this happen. But I know he wouldn't want me to be sad about him being gone, so I keep moving forward and keep his memory dear to my heart.
Thank you so much Kevin! I really value your transparency and this will help others learn as well. You are very inspirational. I found Epic Gardening yesterday when I wanted to learn more about micro greens. When I realized that the store I work at, Bachman's in Minnesota (where I just started working at in December), carries Botanical Interests and then today I learned YOU acquired the seed company...that is so amazing and I will whole hearted support the Epic Gardening Ecosystem. Congratulations on all your success and I look forward to learning more from all the wonderful people on the channel.
I just want to say I have really loved watching Epic Gardening over the years and watching it grow. I don’t want to see it go away but please please take care of you and your health!
Can’t wait! I actually saw your job postings and almost even applied! I’m a gardening enthusiast and also an industrial psychologist specializing in burnout and emotional labor - you’re doing the right thing by delegating. I love that you’re basically starting a network of everything I love! Congratulations on your success
I haven’t heard of industrial psychology before and I’m really intrigued by your specialization. I’m working on a PhD and took a class in ecological psychology (ecopsychology) last semester and it’s caused me to think of things much more holistically. I keep seeing connections everywhere now, and I’ve been noticing an interesting trend lately of content creators and authors starting to emphasize a more mature and balanced life. I’ve also read about the “quiet quitting” trend and indications that millennials and Gen Z are less willing to run themselves into the ground for the ladder-climbing career. Have you done or seen any research on this? It’s giving me a lot of hope for our future as a human race…if we can manage to keep our leaders from destroying the planet with war, ecological catastrophe, and disease that is.
@@kaiyakershaw1028 Hi - thanks for your response, apologies in advance for the lengthy response. Industrial-organizational psychology is not a well known career, but it should be. It actually began during the industrial revolution with work-motion studies in factories. Arlie Hochschild from Berkley first brought emotional labor to light in the 60s studying flight attendants - I highly recommend her book, The Managed Heart. In the US, most IO psychs work for the government devising training programs and psych evals, crunching psychometrics, etc. At it's core, it's basically the study of work psychology and a statistical analysis degree wrapped together - very difficult and scientific, which is why we hear little about it. I am one of VERY few who chose to specialize in studying the emotional labor, specifically of human service workers - doctors, healthcare, lawyers, medics, etc. My career is in healthcare and after witnessing so many coworkers succumb to mental and physical health problems, I decided to find out why. Turns out: 1) leadership and management matter more than can ever be scientifically accounted for. 2) Those personalities interested in caring for (and leading) others does not typically align with corporate values ($ over patients), and, in layman's terms, over time this literally eats away at one's soul 3) Anytime we are forced to hide our true feelings (work related or not) we create a dissonance gap that gets filled with coping mechanisms that can become lethal. Hence why human service workers are so ill as a collective, which does not bode well for organizational wellness. Believe it or not, doctors spend 12 years learning how to care for others but never once are taught how to mitigate the atrocities they will witness 40-60 hours/week. In fact, learning how to keep ones self well is not a part of ANY healthcare degree. Very few institutions employ IO Psychs - they are mostly contracted. Orgs don't want to spend $ upfront and wait for a ROI in the form of retention, less sick call out, etc. The crazy thing is so many hospital systems are self- insured, offering employees health insurance through themselves and they still can't see the $ connection with investing in IO Psych for a healthier, happier org. I think it should be mandatory every human service org have IO psych on staff to weed out anything that could potentially be contributing to employee unwellness in these orgs - because let's face it, it's a social norm that isn't going anywhere anytime soon, to fake a smile in any service role. We will always have to walk out of the trauma room where someone just died and continue on with our day as if nothing happened. I think if IO Psychs were part of mainstream, we could have saved many workers' lives to suicide during covid. It truly is fascinating but unfortunately IO Psych hasn't caught on in the civilian world - hopefully one day! As for your gen Z question - my theory is 1) they saw their parents working too hard and it not amounting to much besides them being latchkey kids (subconsciously painful, likely w lingering resentment) 2) As a generation, they are really the first that has been overstimulated much of their lives and subconsciously, as a self preservation mechanism, they know their lives depend on making time for enjoyment/downtime. Our bodies are the smartest machines on earth - it will do anything to survive. In this case, it has resulted in a great and necessary cultural shift to be able to thrive in today's world. Correct, links do exist everywhere. Psych and economics go hand in hand - therefore EVERYTHING is affected by both. Everyone should at least minor in psych - the world would be a different place ;)
My heart goes out to you as you really share deeply personal and emotional stuff with us, Kevin. It isn't easy to share at that level in many aspects, much less in front of a camera. Sending you lots of green and bountiful blessings in this new stage on your pathway through life's garden. 🌿
Kevin you are now showing others by example to NURTURE yourself. ❤ We love what you have done and appreciate you. Good luck!
I don’t know if you will read this but having felt the weight of the “What ifs” I want someone to tell you, we like gardening, but we LOVE you. It is important that you enjoy your existence, we’ll find gardening resources, it is most important that you are being fed (literally, mentally, emotionally) by your gardening. Do what makes you joy-full and brings you growth. ❤
Great 'evolution' Kevin. Keep showing how any curious, persistent human can learn to do this stuff for themselves. I retired from medicine 10 years ago and have taught myself animal husbandry, permaculture, dairying, butchering, horticulture and more. I dont have a country/farming background at all and I'm proud of what i can now do myself. Keep inspiring people and firing their curiosity.
Kevin, thank you for helping me turn my very ordinary thumb into a green(er) thumb. Epic Gardening is my number one source of information relating to gardening. I've seen many channels relating to gardening, but none give as accurate, honest and knowledgeable advice as Epic Gardening.
Thank you for sharing about your situation. You are awesome, man. I am still amazed at all the accomplishments you've made in such a short time. Most people would spend their entire life striving to do the same as you and not even accomplish half of what you've already done. Your health and wellbeing is way more important than appeasing the masses. I'm excited for this next step in your Epic journey. I'm super thankful that I get to see part of it on UA-cam.
Stardew Valley!! As a south african we dont have many similar zones, but yours is very close to us. I miss watching your older videos, they were something special for us down here when we had no other channels. Also, Thank you for showing us this part of your life. You may not realize it, but doing that makes us care all the more about you and epic gardening. We like knowing our superhero gardener is vulnerable and human too. Goodluck on your new journey!
Kevin your channel brought me from black thumb to greeener thumb and I am still learning from you today. This message of self care, boundaries and rethinking priorities in your life is just as valuable as what we do in the garden. In fact gardening in many ways (I believe) opens us up to that teaching. So just wanted to say thank you, from teaching me about grow bags very early on and all the valuable things you and the team have taught me since then. Here's to all the beautiful things that lie ahead!
Absolutely love to hear this
This is my first time commenting on any channel. I want to say THANK YOU. Your message resonated on so many levels. To be open to evolving, learning and growing is at the core of our experience here on earth. Your idea to expand the channel to be about creation vs consumption was spot on, at least for me. I look forward to learning and listening to all of the amazing topics and speakers you will be sharing.
Namaste💓💯!
🔥
Thank you for making this channel. It has inspired me to start my own garden. I am an Uber driver and drive in San Diego California and I knew that one day I would find your garden, I found it today. Wishing you good health
This has a ton of value for not only gardeners but other content creators like myself. I truly appreciate this look into your growth and understand why you'd personally want to come back to basics for yourself and add on team members to support the overall mission. Thank you so much for providing this perspective, it helps confirm some things I was thinking about for myself.
It is amazing how cultivating and growing something from seed or early transplant can transform who a person is, on a psychological, philosophical, and literal sense.
You presented an impactful video, thank you!
You've built a team that really matches your vibe on this channel, which makes this change really work. The blueberry video the other day was great and the rosemary video hit it out of the park. It seems like everyone you bring in is a good mix of relaxed and fun, which is a really good sign for the future of Epic Gardening and means I'll keep coming back to learn. Thanks for the content so far and in the future.
Appreciate your support, Victoria! 🙏🏼 To more epic content! ✊🏻
Hey Kev, as a guy in the thick of it, my hat's off to you man. To grow the insanity to a point of needing a team is something I've consciously avoided simply because I know I couldn't make it work. You've not only made it work but you have also pioneered essentially a new space and niche for all of us to enjoy. I'm pumped that you get to play with all of the outside stuff, while staying passionate about the original content that started it all. Not many can do such a thing, so its fun to sit on the sidelines and watch it all unfold. Is it planting season yet??
Congrats man! Happy to see you grow
I could tell your company has been growing by leaps and bounds quickly. I came across your channel early on in my gardening path, when I rented a plot in my city’s community garden program, which has organic community gardens all over the City. I had never gardened before and it’s been a delight to learn to grow in a 60 sq ft plot lots of food for myself and friends and food to donate to our garden’s food bank donation program. I also volunteer on our garden’s “giving garden,” a plot dedicated to growing food specifically for the food bank. As a busy downtown office worker bee, urban gardening has become such a rewarding activity, and your guidance is part of that.
Thank you for your generosity, your vision for Epic Gardening now, and taking the time and space you need for you. You inspire and bring a lot of enthusiasm that reaches so many. With much appreciation! 😊💚
I found your channel last year when I decided to try to grow not kill my plants and to find a way to relax and take care of me. While I am just starting my gardening/urban homesteading journey, thank you for being relatable. I get up everyday with more purpose. Thank you.
Thank you Kevin and team for all you do.
I hear you. My mom passed away when I was a senior in high school. I’m now a few years away from the age she was and I’m focused on my health more. You keep doing you, friend. I’ve loved watching this channel grow and change, but if it’s not filling the cup, only emptying it, you need to make a change. Thanks for the authenticity and vulnerability. Take care of you. We’ll be here. 🤗
You help people with much more than gardening…thank you for all you do.
Looking forward to what comes next. Take time for you and move forward. I know you can do this and create a better place for you and us!
Epic Gardening is a success and now it's obvious why. Thank you for starting and expanding and growing and sharing. I've learned and applied what I've learned with a sense of humor and humility watching this channel. It's a good thing for you to stay in touch with what got you here. It will benefit all of us who value this information.
Hard work and dedication! Look you started all this from a kid in the basement to a love for the land! I've learned so much from you, thank you. I will definitely be a part of what comes next! I'm so excited for you. Congratulations
Please don’t ever feel that you have to explain. I love you. You have opened my eyes to gardening. I am 67 and a newbie. God have given you a wonderful gift and you have shared that gift with all of us. I wish you were my next door neighbor. Best wishes to you always.
Thank God Kevin, so glad you realized and are doing this. I love your "classics". Thats where you shine the most. 💚 Take good care of yourself, most important for You and Your Family.🙏
Your channel is what inspired me to create a property that produces more than I ever imagined. From chickens to garlic, to a now thriving avocado tree I am hooked! I have learned so much from you and am grateful for your contribution to reviving backyard homesteading! ❤
You’re so cool and inspiring. I can’t wait to see where you take things, and I wish you the best of luck. Finding rest is a talent in itself.
My word for 2024 is “stillness” and in a similar vein, the goal is to work more on finding my own joy. Part of that is getting into our new garden after the frost passes!
I love that we’ll be seeing more of Chris! She grows in my zone and is also a huge inspiration for us, and we found her through your channel as well.
You are a blessing in ways you probably don’t realize. Thank you for your mission, and for how you choose to execute it. We’re better for your vision. My home will be, anyway. 🌱
Thank you so much my friend
You've made Epic Gardening, well... epic! I've gardened longer than you've been alive with varying degrees of success and failure. I have become a fairly good gardener but I still learn new things all the time. In the UA-cam world, I found your channel, among others. I've seen many channels morph, change, grow, and fail. I've been grateful to be able to be along on your journey. I'm so happy that you are turning your channel's path into what is right for you, and I look forward to learning new ideas from the talent you've surrounded yourself with.
I started a vet clinic in late 2019. Its grown to 3 locations in two states. 30+ employees. The pressure you're talking about, i feel it to my bones. That exhaustion. The looking around and saying what the hell happened?
WOW! Sounds like it's time to sell some?????
Thank you for your authenticity!! 🌺 Very heart filled, human and refreshing.
Enjoy your new season!!
I love how far Epic Gardening has come and I welcome any change that allows this community to keep going strong! Thanks Kevin for giving us so much of yourself, I know I speak for a lot of us when I say you've helped us grow a greener thumb.
So glad to hear
I love that you emphasized cultivation over consumerism! That's what life should be all about, even outside the garden. I'm excited to see the ecosystem grow and learn from all these awesome cultivators. Good on you for taking a step that would encourage your own cultivation ❤️
I won’t be saying anything soooo many other people have already said, but I just want to chime in with the rest and reiterate:
1. How amazing and special this channel is - to me and to so many others
2. How admirable it is that you recognize and acknowledge your limits and then choose to move forward and evolve accordingly. Seriously, mad respect for that accomplishment alone, not to mention all the rest!
3. How COMPLETELY FREAKING DOWN I am for all the changes/evolutions you’ve got lined up for the Epic Gardening Ecosystem. It sounds like it’s gonna be awesome, and I’m excited to see the world of Epic expand!
Thank you and congrats. We’re all ROOTING for you, Dragon Daddy! 😊
I’m really proud of you Kevin. Thank you for sharing your journey and being vulnerable and honest. I wish you, your family and your team all the best. Looking forward to watching you grow. ❤
Having your own business means that you are working 24/7. Unless you have had a business it is different to understand just how much that impacts you and the pressure of all those that work around you. I love your insta, podcasts and youtube. You have great people and though it is a hard change to make, use those people around you to give them the freedom to show their strengths and help you. Thank you for the candid words but allow your staff to flourish and help you. You will always be needed to resolve challenges but what you have achieved already is inspirational and fantastic. Well done.
8 years of watching your videos. Thank you for giving so much of your time to strangers. I've learned a lot thanks to you. Cheers to you and the team as you enter this new chapter!
This was really wholesome. I found your channel during the pandemic trying to learn more about growing a vegetable garden despite only have an apartment balcony and a small corner in my kitchen to grow things hydroponically. It inspired me to grow more and share what I'm doing as well so that everyone can grow their own food! And no, you haven't quit, you just became the guild leader of this MMORPG called gardening haha like any good multiplayer game, you can't beat the final raid boss without teamwork and that's exactly what you have achieved :)
You got this !
I had no idea y'all acquired the entire seed company!!!! This is sooooo wholesome !!!! ❤ Your education is helping us take it to the next level!
EPIC! As always! Been a fan for a few years now. Great video, I laughed & I cried! But most importantly I want to say Thank you for everything. I’ve learned so much. You inspired me to start my own garden and to teach my children about gardening and sustainability. Never stop EVOLVING & never stop LEARNING. Your Dad is looking down from Heaven and I know he’s so proud of the man you’ve become. You’ve helped and inspired so many! ☮️ 🪴 🌱 👩🌾 💪🏼 🙏
Thank you for sharing your incredible story. I love how the flowers are nodding agreement over your shoulder the entire time. lol. You really helped me get started in 2020 and I've built a few birdies beds I bought from you also. Love them by the way. They are a Godsend in the desert where the sun is cruel to wood. Going on the third year and they still look brand new... Happy New Year!
Cosmos always know what's true.
Thank you so much for busting your butt for us home gardeners!! Glad you've found a better, more healthy balance. Stay well.
Thank you, for everything. Ive been following this channel since the "post-apocolyptic growing" video. Ive been hooked ever since. I transformed to one raised bed to two, to 4, and now i have a 290 sq ft greenhouse. All of my knowledge and gardening know-how has come from you and Self-Sufficient Me. Thank you for all of the inspiration and making gardening such a welcoming hobby. Im excited to see where the channel goes and am happy to be along for the ride.
Kevin! I'm so proud of you! I've been watching you since around 2016/17. Watching your growth and evolution has been such a joy and inspiration. Wishing you a beautiful slice of peace as you get back to yourself ❤
I'm so glad that you have been able to listen to that instinct telling you what you need, and that you've been able to plan and transition the company before you totally burned out. Your mental health is crucial to your well being! It's amazing what you have built over the past decade. I just love that you are still the grounded, down to earth, relatable guy that started out. We are all just out here experimenting with the land, trying to make a life of joy. Follow where your soul guides you!
Excited for the next chapter. You deserve to be able to enjoy the fruits of your labor (literally)! Thanks for all that you do.
Kevin, thank you for sharing such a vulnerable message. I applaud you! I’m glad to hear that you are continuing on this journey and bringing a bigger team along to support you.
I do have one question. Why would you want to delete this from your video? I think this is an incredibly powerful testimony-listening to your body, taking care of yourself, and learning how to evolve. It is a message that many people need to hear. I would encourage you to keep it in the video!
Wishing you the very best!
Eventually it becomes the channel trailer! But we shall see...
I just wanna say I am so honored to be able to come to this channel and see you and your business grow and evolve. I initially came across your channel when the pandemic hit and wanted to look more into gardening without all the frills and bells and whistles that seem to come with a lot of how to videos. Your channel became a refuge for me when I needed a break from being trapped in my apartment and needing a reason to be out in my backyard. I am so proud of you and your accomplishments, and thankful for you changing my life.
Ah Kevin. It takes so much maturity to know when the biggest roadblock to your brain baby's growth is your own bandwidth! It's so cool that you're prioritising both your own joy as well as the future of epic gardening through this one, well, epic move. Good on you, brother. May you find greater balance, and may epic gardening scale new heights with an expanded, more varied team!
I wish you all the best! One of the reasons I haven't put myself out there with what I do is exactly what you have experienced. I want to enjoy what I do, not be on social media, marketing, solving customer problems, etc. However, you have given me much information through the years and I thank you for that. You introduced me to Birdies beds and I purchased some from you. Thank you for the entertainment, the knowledge, and the dedication to your work. In some ways I'm sorry to see that you've been so successful because it does change things, but I am happy for you that what you love and enjoy has become a successful business for you. It's been EPIC! Blessings to you.
Change is inevitable Kevin and we understand you needing to evolve. Glad you aren’t going away.
You’ve brought so many people to the love of gardening. ❤ We appreciate all you’ve taught us. Good luck in your future endeavors.
You’ve been a great influence to many. Take good care of yourself and focus on what’s important. I wish you the best.
That is a huge change, indeed-from a guy addicted to video games to a gardening expert with a business empire! I’m stressed out just thinking about it! You’ve done excellent work, my friend, that has helped countless people! Now it’s time to take care of you, designate to your awesome team, and enjoy what you’ve built. All the best to you! You’re truly inspiring!
I have always wondered how you all do it. It is a lot of work to homestead but even more work to create content and the back side of what we all see. I sincerely appreciate you and your team and the change you are making is awesome. You can't let working your hobby ruin your hobby (well more of a lifestyle now). God has His timing for everything and He is slowing you down so you can enjoy what He has given all of us. You and your team are loved! Take a break, my friend. It is well deserved. Stay happy in the garden.
You're making a great move. This is the best way to grow - you're absolutely right, nobody can do it all. Hope you feel more joy in what you're doing. Looking forward to seeing all the new people and new stuff. Been enjoying your channel for a few years already and not going anywhere now.
Good luck!