BlogSmall growers
Social media without losing your evenings
Social media is where a lot of plant buyers will hear about you first, and it is also the job most small growers do last, on the sofa, after a long day, wondering what to post. It does not need to be like that. Plants are good to look at and a nursery changes every week, which is most of what social media wants, and an hour a week set aside for it does more than ten minutes squeezed in every night.
Pick one or two platforms
You do not need to be everywhere. The Pew Research Center's 2026 survey of American adults found 84% use YouTube, 70% Facebook, 51% Instagram and 37% TikTok. For most small growers that points to Facebook, where local buyers, groups and events already are, and Instagram, which is built for pictures. Do those two well before thinking about a third.
What to post
Show the work and the people. North Carolina State Extension's guide to social media for local food businesses says posts with people in them, you or your crew, help buyers connect in a way that pictures of objects do not, and Penn State Extension notes that photos of everyday activities draw a response. A tray of plugs going into pots, the first bloom on a block, the truck loaded for a delivery: none of it feels like news to you, and all of it is interesting to someone who has never seen a nursery from the inside.
Say what is ready and how to buy it. Cornell's guidance for growers says to make it clear how customers can buy from you, and a post that says which plants are ready this week and where to get them sells more than one that only looks pretty. How-to posts travel well too. NC State notes that how-to videos are especially popular, and a minute on dividing a hosta or what to plant in shade answers the questions buyers ask at the stall. A case study of one farmers market's Facebook page, published by a Michigan State researcher in 2014, found that photos drew the most attention and that posts inviting a conversation drew about twice the engagement of others.
One hour a week
Advice on how often to post varies. NC State suggests once or twice a day, Cornell suggests two or three posts a week to start, and Penn State lists posting too often as a reason people unfollow. For a grower working alone, consistent beats frequent. Cornell's point is that regular posting gives customers something to look forward to, and buyers notice a page that goes quiet for a month more than one that posts on Tuesdays and Fridays.
So batch it. Cornell suggests taking time during the week to collect pictures from around the farm to use later, and Penn State says to put content time into your calendar. Walk the yard once a week with your phone and take a dozen photos, write two or three short posts in one sitting, and schedule them. Meta Business Suite lets you create and schedule posts for Facebook and Instagram ahead of time, so they go out while you are in the rows.
The one thing that cannot be batched is answering. Cornell notes that people expect a business to reply to a question within a day, and Penn State that sometimes the reply is simply thank you. Five minutes in the morning covers it. End the posts about what is ready with your shop link, and if you sell through Sprout, the link takes buyers straight to the plants that are ready now.