A follow up:

Recent places I've applied to, in case something rings a bell for another poster, include Johnny's Selected Seeds (Maine), Evergreen Tree & Landscape (Seekonk), 4 Town Farm (Seekonk), Oakdale Farm (Rehoboth), Agraria Farm (Rehoboth).

Any recommendations or insight would be helpful!

Widen your net.
Apply to grocery stores, restaurant supply, any place where your knowledge might give you an edge. You listed on your page that you want to grow a pumpkin crop. Are there restaurants who might want a luxury desert for their customers, such as a pumpkin pie type of dessert baked in a miniature pumpkin?
Are there already growers in the area of produce that you might pick up from and bring fresh that day to restaurants?
The other way to decrease your anxiety is simply to get any job to pay the bills. Maybe one that might be flexible in hours, so that you for instance might be able to work 3 or 4 ten hour days and then use the rest of the week to continue your hunt for the job you really love.
Or even start your own small business.
Good luck.

This is a tough time of year to find work in ag as many farms are slowing down now. I would check any apple orchards or other farms with fall crops such as a corn maze.

I agree that any job to pay bills would be a good idea, especially since having a job history that shows that you are reliable and hardworking always has value. Keep looking and making lists of places to talk to starting this winter for the coming growing season. I know NH has lists of farm stands and farms -perhaps MA Dept of Ag has something similar. There are also grower organizations that you might check out, as word of mouth is often a good way to find out about jobs. See if the Farm Bureau has job listings.

Good luck with your hunt.

What about getting involved in an organization that would be on a volunteer basis, while working another job not in your field, but that your expertise might put you in a position to be offered a job? Such as the New England Flower Society, Mass Horticulture. How about a Botanical Garden like Tower Hill, or Arnold Arboretum. The Isabel Stewart Museum in Boston has a garden. What about the Organic Gardening Organizations - NOFA? FEDCO Seeds up in Maine. Either a position with them, or they might have someone they can point you to.

What about some section of Boston government that could need someone to help establish, consult with or manage community gardens in Boston?

I would think this is not the best time, to expect a job to be available but it's always a good time to keep exploring possibilities and getting your name and resume out there and networking. Have you considered Linked In, or another networking site?

The other idea I have is temporary work. I know a number of people who have taken temp work, were paid well, and then were offered a full time job based on their performance. That could hold you over while trying to find something in your field.

edit:
I have seen people establish themselves in a self employed way to work in people's gardens. You could offer to get people's gardens ready for spring. Charging a pretty good hourly rate for their understanding of perennials and shrubs. Lots of people don't have time to keep their gardens going and want more than a lawn or landscaping service. I found them from flyers they put up at supermarket bulletin boards, hardware stores, and bulletin boards at local nurseries.

Have you checked with New England Nurseries in Bedford? Or Russell's who does grow organically?

This post was edited by prairiemoon2 on Sun, Sep 7, 14 at 15:43

To lucille: The net has been widened already but I'm ready to widen it further. Two weeks ago I sent in applications to new restaurants on route 6 and to the local Shaw's chain. I think, based on everyone's "combine the passion with the work" recommendation, I might widen that out to include Dave's, Trader Joes, and Whole Foods. I know there's a Whole Foods on the East Side and will have to check if they're hiring.

To nhbabs: Unfortunately, throughout college I had a two jobs similar to this and had to let them both go because I graduated. The positions were only available to undergraduate students. One was in graphic design, a trade I learned in high school and have been working in for 8 years. The local press shop is not hiring, and others in the area are seeking freelance, commission-based artists which is not my forte.

Some jobs I was thinking that would suit my balance of work experience were in fact local botanic gardens, bakeries/cafes, or any "fresh things brought to the customer"-type business.

To prariemoon: The Arboretum is a good suggestion and would open up possible academic ventures (considering their affiliations). Re: your edit. I actually HAVE been gardening for friend's families and neighbors, all of whom either don't have the time, the energy, or the knowledge to care for the plants they have and establish new ones. While working in a neighbor's yard yesterday, I met a woman (who was working with me) who does this exact kind of work when she's free in the summer time. I'll get back in contact with her to find out more.

Thanks for the suggestions so far. It's helping me to brainstorm. I heard back from two applications yesterday: Another letting me know that the season's over and they don't want to hire people who aren't "in" the family business already, and also from Johnny's Seeds who said they review all applications on a monthly basis. I'm anxious to hear back from them because the job description fits my previous work experience wonderfully and the work would not be impossibly foreign to complete.

If employment eludes me, there's always the option of going back to school to study for a Master's degree!

-Persimmons

Hope you will continue to update how things are going. Good luck!

Landscapers?

Check out your local Employment Training center. Lots of workshops about networking and developing other job seeking skills. http://www.etrcc.com/about.php

Maybe attend/ become active with your local garden club? Good for networking. Some have lecturers too.

Study for your Master Gardener certification...more networking in classes for that.

I've heard Briggs is huge (Attleboro). I think they have a store so they may be open year round.

Norfolk Agricultural High School has an opening.
http://www.norfolkaggie.org/files/_3OAvL_/20cac4673ba459d03745a49013852ec4/FOREPERSON_-_Grounds_Supervisor-Foreperson.pdf

You can check out Hope in Bloom for volunteer opportunities. They design and create gardens for breast cancer patients.

This post was edited by muffin1358 on Sat, Sep 20, 14 at 3:08

Try Indeed.com

I entered "landscaper" For Massachusetts and some opportunities came up.
A perennial buyer, landscapers, one place looking for help to grow the family business...

Try snagajob.com too. Did the same there and a job popped up via Care.com for a landscape assistant in the boston area for a 5 acre estate

Last one...for now. :)

Are you on Linked In? If not, create a profile. As you develop your network you can find people who can help you with your search. Folks can glance at your profile and get an idea of the field you are interested in and your related experience.

This will help them think of you for opportunities that may be a good fit.

For example, are you looking to get your hands dirty? Garden design? Executive management of a gardening project? Buildings & Grounds maintenance? Etc

You might check with the organizations that promote or run farmers markets, or 'winter markets' which are so big now - maybe at http://farmersmarketcoalition.org/. I used to get emails from some other group that's located around here (New Bedford area, maybe?) but I can't seem to find them in my mail box any more, or via google.

I have a young friend in a similar situation who got a grant and started a program at a local women's shelter, growing food for the guests and teaching them about nutrition. She doesn't actually know much about gardening, but the idea seemed like a good one. That would take a lot of spin-up time, I'm sure, but might be an idea for a part time thing if you have to take a job in another field just to make your loan payments.

Good luck, and please DO keep us posted!

An update:

So since my last update, I haven't submitted many applications in the ag field. I did submit more to USPS and a local bagel bakery, as well as some retail garden outlets. Today, I heard back from one of the USPS positions, and they'd like to conduct a background check for further consideration of employment. At about $15.50/hour, this might be the part time job that I can't say no to.

I'm still holding out hopes for some dream job positions (i.e. Johnny's Seeds in ME) or local nurseries (e.g. Evergreen... Seven Arrows!!!) but I think the post office has sucked me in for the holiday season.

Muffin: A friend of a friend who lives in CO provided me a link to the Young Farmer's Coalition who has a chapter right hear in Southeast MA/RI. It is a small organization; the founding members also work together on an urban farm in Providence and on a few acres in Seekonk. I'm hoping to become a volunteer for their organization and see what doors open from there. The first meeting I'll be attending is this Wednesday, at a farm-to-table style dinner in Raynham.

Re: previous posts -- I'm going to be visiting the Arboretum and some local botanical gardens during Autumn/Winter to find out about employment or volunteering opportunities there. I would do this sooner, but USPS came knocking at my door (lol) and I'd love to spend some of the colder hours enjoying the gardens and meeting their owners.

I will try indeed.com in the coming weeks depending on how successful my other applications are. The idea of social networking on LinkedIn is scary to me (the personal info being online..) so anonymous job hunting fits me better. I enjoy being outside and getting dirty, so suggestions for landscaping assistant or "help grow family business" which surely involve some dirt are preferable than a retail or office job. I'll look into those when I conduct an indeed.com search!

Just wanted to mention that I found the group I'd mentioned a few days ago. It's the Southeastern Massachusetts Agricultural Partnership (SEMAP) and they seem to do a lot of coordination for local farmers. They might not have an opening, but they might have some leads for you.

Here is a link that might be useful: SEMAP