One of the Internet’s favorite self-taught gardeners is building a movement around an important notion: You don’t have to be an expert to grow your own food.
By Brianne Garrett
Last updated 03 Feb, 2025Just outside of Orlando, Florida, Andre Baptiste’s gardener journey began with the planting of a mango tree. The early-stage motivation was simple: While his former homeowners association prohibited residents from gardening, Baptiste’s new home had a one-acre lot he could finally put to good use.
“I had an opportunity, and I was like, ‘you know, why not try it?’” Baptiste, a practicing orthodontist for more than 20 years, tells EatOkra. “Next thing you know, I've got 100 fruit trees and 10 raised beds, and I'm growing food on a scale I did not expect.”
Now fondly known as Andre the Farmer, Baptiste also didn’t anticipate how well-received his gardening videos would be across the Internet. Considering 37.8 million people in the United States face food insecurity (a lack of reliable access to safe and nutritious food), his accessible approach to self-sustaining practices proves to be not only entertaining to watch but also much-needed.
When he started, Baptiste was already an avid fisher and hunter, but had no prior experience with gardening. He dove in eager to learn, mostly by experimenting, and began documenting his adventures on social media just for fun. Then one viral video planted the seed for lucrative business opportunities. Now with more than 1.25 million followers across Instagram, TikTok, and Youtube, Baptiste’s gardening has generated countless income sources, including collaborations and sponsorships.
While it was helpful that his son had already been well-versed in the influencer world—garnering a following from TikTok in the early stages of the platform—Baptiste wanted to do things his own way. With an unabashed dedication to raw documentation, he shares everything, including the failures, with his growing audience.
“Most of my videos, if you watch them, are one shot,” he says. “That's it. There's not a lot of editing. A lot of times, even if I trip over my words and say something wrong, it’s just going to be in the video.” It’s a style that’s likely working in Baptiste’s favor. Data proves consumers tend to like their content this way.
Baptiste says that if it’s something that can be grown in Florida, it’s probably in his garden. That includes okra. Like many, he wasn’t a fan of the green seed pods many deem overly slimy in texture—until he tried them fried.
“Okra went from something that I didn't ever want to eat to one of my favorite vegetables,” says Baptiste.
A couple years ago, Baptiste purchased okra seeds from his farmers market to plant at home. And while most of them grew into regular plants, he says, one in particular grew to be seven feet tall. “It was an okra tree,” marvels Baptiste. “That one, I figured, was special.” So he harvested those seeds, which he now sells on his website.
Across Baptiste’s online marketplace, you’ll find a range of items including seeds, tea, cuttings, and gardening tools. But the best selling product is his homemade pepper sauce, a recipe largely inspired by his Bajan and Grenadian roots.
As his business grows, Baptiste hasn’t wavered from his mission to show people with spaces of all sizes that they can grow their own food at home with minimal tools. “I'm all about makeshift gardening,” he says. “I don't have any technology whatsoever. I will make trellises out of logs that are on the ground or broken branches. Old containers—I'll use them to plant stuff in. I feel like gardening is almost better with less stuff.”
His next big endeavor is strengthening his growing merch department and getting aspiring gardeners excited through items like hats, shirts, and hoodies. It’s a lifestyle, after all.
In a perfect world, Baptiste says, “I’d love to become the Nike of gardening.”