Noah White needs little prompting to tell you what he thinks or, more accurately, how he feels.
The conversation with Garden & Health was ostensibly focused on his business and passion, AmentaGardens, in Atlanta, GA. However, it becomes clear very quickly when speaking with White that his thoughts on pretty much everything, from gardening and growing to tai chi to poetry, cannot be easily tamed or categorized.
But if one must, Noah White’s outlook on the world can be summarized, as he succinctly did himself: “Life is a farm.”
White credits this saying to a mentor and makes examples of how learning the skills of growing, nurturing, and harvesting a plant applies to a well-lived life before returning to his beginnings in the spiritually-minded agriculture world.
“I was born and raised in the Atlanta, Stone Mountain area,” he said. “I grew up and my passion was really I like playing outside, like doing sports, and kind of like outdoors activities and stuff. And that was kind of how I got introduced to agriculture.”
“I love working with youths. And so that’s kind of how I started once I finished out of high school; I (worked at) like a gardening summer camp,” White continued. “And that was really my first time being on a farm.”
“I had never seen that kind of greens or carrots because honestly, I was kind of like a kid myself just out there thinking, wow, this is, like, really just cool!” he said. “But I really just never imagined that carrots really grow in the ground! And so from there, I really kind of knew that I wanted to get into agriculture.”
White pivots to a broader view of why he’s passionate about growing.
“I’m kind of a quiet person. And I’m passionate about people. I’m always checking on people; I want people to be free and happy. That’s something that all humanity has in common,” he said.
White’s ethos is personified in his natural products business AmentaGardens, founded in 2020, and its mission statement perfectly: “AmentaGardens is created with the vision of elevation. We base ourselves in love, discipline, and respect for all beings. We are growers in the true sense and grow more than just food. We grow your body, mind, & soul!”
In addition to helping people learn to grow and harvest in their gardens, big or small, the company offers unique tinctures (concentrated herbal extracts) customized to the customer’s needs. It also has tai chi classes to strengthen the body and mind, hair oil for stronger follicles, and nutrition plans to meet each individual’s lifestyle.
If that weren’t enough, White’s poetry is also on the AmentaGardens website for those seeking creative sustenance.
White sees a connection between the basic desires of humanity and the nourishment and enrichment he finds in cultivating and serving his community through agriculture.
“So, I’m a super people person. And that’s really why I love working with plants,” he said. “Nature is something that we all have in common, and spending time in the garden can provide a lot of healing for everybody from all walks of life.”
White is on his way to higher ground, deeper meaning, and a world united in good food and stewardship of the Earth. And he’s asking everyone to join him on this journey.
