How many gardeners or homesteaders do you follow on social media? Whether it’s Instagram, YouTube or Facebook, there are so many experts, influencers, coaches, consultants, bloggers, etc. all vying for your attention. It can be pretty overwhelming, especially since there are as many ways to garden and homestead as there are gardeners and homesteaders! I always suggest trying different methods and watching a lot of YouTubers or following different accounts on Instagram for good information, but watching or trying too many can leave you confused or feeling bad about your methods because X,Y,Z people don’t do things that way. Or there are just too many ways to do something and you end up feeling overwhelmed. I suggest wading through all the teachers and creators and finding just a few accounts and people that really mesh with you and your way of wanting to do things. You and still watch and follow others, but focusing on just 1-2 people to use their methods will cut the noise and overwhelm for you. Below you will find some tips and things to keep in mind when choosing who to rely on for information to bring into your garden or homestead.

• Read Their Bio – Reading the about page or bio should tell you how long they have been gardening or homesteading. It may include education they have done and possibly the methods they follow.
• View More Than A Few Posts – Take your time to read more than a few posts, look at the comments to see if they are responsive, if they do respond does the way they respond mesh with you. Sometimes you can seemingly like everything about an account then see that they handle comments in an off putting manner that can leave a terrible impression. Looking at more than a few posts also shows you their style and can give you a sense of how they do things and teach.
• Always Visit Their Website – I like to look at websites to see what more is offered either for free or purchase. I love to support small businesses and this is a great way to do that if they have something valuable to you. I also look to see just how often their blog is updated if they have one. (I like to see up to date and recent posts.)
• Look At Who They Follow – You can get an idea of their methods and style based on who they follow, plus you may find some really great people to also follow. While doing this also look to see how many people you are already connected with and see who else follows them. Is it a lot or just a few or possibly none? This can clue you in to whether they will mesh with your style or not too. Don’t be afraid to follow those who are completely different than you, it’s good to have differing opinions to learn from!
• Give It A Go – Try out the methods they teach, while also continuing your own. Personal hands on experience is really the greatest teacher there is! Try what they teach, see of it works for you. Take what works and leave the rest. Book a coaching session, consult or take a class with them to further learn on a deeper level from them.

Being intentional about who we follow on social media is crucial for feeling less overwhelmed. It is helpful for making sure that we are not being stressed out about doing things in the garden or on the homestead in a certain way. (Remember that there as many ways to garden or homestead as their are people doing it.) Following people intentionally and taking the time to really learn their methods through hands on experience will help you grow on so many levels. Having too many mentors can be so confusing, overwhelming and frustrating, especially if they each do something a different way. Take the time to really focus in on just a 1-2 people to practice their methods throughout a whole season to see what works for you. Don’t forget to take notes or keep a journal so you will remember what you want to do in the future.