Love & Carrots: Landscape Maintenance Technician
Who we are:
Love & Carrots is DC’s foremost urban farming and edible landscaping company. We design, install and maintain organic urban farms, vegetable gardens, and native landscapes across DC, MD, and VA. Through our garden care & coaching program we provide expert garden maintenance, guidance, and education in almost 150 gardens every year, helping connect people to their food and inspiring local food production and farming inside the beltway. Since our inception in 2011 we've installed over 500 gardens and our clients include residents, local restaurants, and community organizations throughout the DMV.
The Job:
We are seeking a qualified Landscape Maintenance Technician who will be responsible for the maintenance of our clients’ perennial gardens, ensuring that they are beautiful, tidy, and healthy!
We are seeking either full or part-time candidates for this position. Our season runs from February through November - winter work in December and January is not guaranteed. The Technician will generally work independently, driving from garden to garden, to perform all necessary garden tasks. On an average day the landscape maintenance technician will travel to 1-4 gardens, primarily residential. Our service area ranges throughout the beltway area, with gardens in DC, Maryland, and Virginia. Support is provided remotely by our office crew and in the field by a team of experienced senior staff, and the technician will be provided with all tools and materials needed to maintain gardens.
Maintenance tasks include:
Ensuring the plants are healthy and well-pruned, the area in and around the garden is neat, beautiful and maintained in such a way that exceeds client expectations. This includes, but is not limited to:
· Amending soil, fertilizing
· Weeding, pruning, and applying organic pest control practices.
· Leaf removal, cleaning, edging, mulching
· Trellising, irrigation repair and management.
· Tracking visit details on iPad with our data management software.
· Engaging with clients: sending recap emails, answering questions, receiving client feedback and applying it to the garden.
Necessary Qualifications:
· At least two full seasons of landscape maintenance or equivalent experience and/or education
· Familiarity with common native plants for our area
· Good knowledge base of horticulture and plant health
· Proper planting techniques , pest/disease ID, and organic fertilizer application.
· Experience with irrigation systems and proper watering schedules
· The ability to think on your feet and come up with solutions to garden issues on the spot, without immediate assistance.
· Experience with carpentry is a plus
· Proactive, friendly, and prompt communication through phone and email.
· Ability to work in all kinds of weather - we do not reschedule maintenance except in cases of extreme weather events
· Attention to detail and organization.
· A valid driver's license and working personal vehicle required.
· The ability to lift at least 50 lbs; the job is physically demanding.
Compensation and Benefits:
· $15-20/hr, depending on experience.
· 401k
· Benefits include health insurance and paid time off.
· Mileage reimbursement for use of your personal vehicle on garden routes.
· Opportunity for seasonal bonuses, based on performance.
· Our office/headquarters has an on-site vegetable garden for staff use.
