Man in Overalls

Time to put on your overalls. If you've been waiting for a good opportunity to start growing food, now's the time. If you already know how, it's time you started extra seeds so you can get them to friends, family, neighbors, and strangers. And it's time you start posting and otherwise sharing your grocery growing hacks with anyone interested. Right now, food shortages are largely a phantom of over-buying and everyone stocking up, but with the spread of this disease, a decentralized food system is a resilient food system, a disease resistant food system. Not even in the aftermath of 2008 has a home garden looked so good. Not to mention, in the face of disease, health is paramount. My co-worker said, "What's terrifying and yet strangely beautiful about the current situation is that it reveals the amazing power of nature to grow and spread. But that same power is available to us"-- to heal, to grow, to feed. Time for us to grow a better future. In t...

Good folks, I've got a quick bunch of stories for you, a couple food garden pointers, and a (workshop) announcement.  1.) Stories: When I've got a book to write and only got a page The challenge every time I try to write a newsletter or blog is whittling down the list of possible stories to share. Living amidst the Tallahassee Food Network  (TFN), there is so much good work going on and so many dynamic stories to report. We need a documentary and journalism crew on the team just to capture all the stories: from the 75+ community gardens in town to the hundreds of youth that Qasimah Boston has trained in leadership and nutrition, from the Red Hills Tomato "Feastival" this past weekend to the wheat threshing/grinding demonstration today at the iGrow Youth Farm. And that's not to mention the many home gardeners who tell me their stories of family recipes, of their parents who planted by the moon, and their children who, "Just today!" harve...

Southwood Community Garden looking great (12/2012) So lets say you're starting a community garden. You've done your homework, so you realize that when you're starting a community garden, the community  aspect is just as important as the garden  aspect. In that light, before breaking ground or applying for land from the City of Tallahassee  or Leon County , you'll likely organize a community garden interest meeting. A year ago, I mentioned  asset-based community development ( ABCD ) in a post about my friend and mentor, Amanda Edmonds at Growing Hope in Michigan.  At the core of ABCD is the premise that everyone-- and by extension, every community-- has assets: skills, knowledge, resources, people they know, and organizational affiliations that teams can fit together like pieces of a puzzle to better their community. A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to put ABCD into practice when I aided Cristin Burns (marketing manager at New Leaf) in facilitating...

It's that time of year: Folks ask me what I've been up to, and my consistent response is: "Gardens, gardens, gardens." Whether building and planting raised beds for folks who purchased Future Garden Coupons  or top-dressing and replanting with repeat customers, it's a wonderful whirlwind of business and plant growth. Here's a couple few pictures from the past week: Wendell, Nathan, and Bill - Piney Z farm boys Claudia and Tina after replanting their three raised beds. Accenting Kathy's existing garden with a couple raised beds down the middle. Going back Monday to spruce up and plant. Friday morning I stopped by FBMC Benefits Management where-- this past spring -- I installed their company wellness garden.  They started with four 4x4s, and now have requested I double their bed space by adding four more 4x4s, which they plan to plant, tend and harvest in order to donate to a food pantry through AmpleHarvest.org .  Below are the flags plotting ou...

Some days we get to live the life we imagined. Yesterday, I had the privilege of presenting on Community Gardening at the Second Harvest of the Big Bend Annual Agency Conference.  Of the 150 or so agency partners (largely food pantry coordinators and volunteers), 35 folks attended my workshop.  For starters, to demonstrate the inseparable link in my world-view between gardening and food security, I shared stories about my 93-year-old grandmother who shaped my childhood with stories of surviving the Great Depression via her family's garden, milk cow, and chickens. Next, we walked through Food Gardening Basics like sunlight, water, garden bed preparation, how deep to plant seeds, etc. Then, after a quick overview of the three major types of community gardens ( Allotment  or Subscription, Educational, Donation), we brainstormed, "What Does it Take to Start a Community Garden?" which brought to light the need for people, commitment, communication skills, and...

Saturday morning, the Southwood Community Garden Leadership Team joined hands for its first mini-workday of the installation.  In addition to measuring and marking the perimeter with stakes & strings, the team spray painted the future outline of the first 20 (of approx. 50) 4x8 raised bed plots. Amidst the other work, I conducted a mini lady's workshop on power tools and raised bed construction in order to facilitate the construction of the garden's first raised bed frame.  We also took at look at and talked through the ingredients of my "magic compost mix" with which we will fill all 50+ beds. For the past ten months, I've been working with the Southwood Community Garden Leadership Team to facilitate their garden development .  The project has mean a constant blend of community organizing, food-garden recommendations and education, communication and group coordination, leadership development, guidance through legal loops & hoops, and linkages to Tal...

Sometimes I feel like a broken record.  Nonetheless, I'm going to say it again: there is SO much good work being done locally as it relates to the food movement, as it relates to building a resilient community-based food system*.  When I consider highlighting great work and to whom to offer thanks, I am often at a loss because I don't know where to start. Allow me to chronicle the list by memory and dates as I've encountered the food movement recently. April 13th , I met with Betsy Henderson at her Dunn Street property (currently a vacant lot); she dreams of a thriving French Town Community Garden that involves both young and old, hosts community food workshops, provides space to local churches to raise food for the hungry, and hosts periodic cook outs where neighbors can meet neighbors. April 14th , via the coordination of Ms Miaisha Mitchell of the Frenchtown Revitilization Council and Harriette Hudson with Tallahassee Memorial Hospital, I conducted a workshop at TM...

In late March, I reported on the Nemours Clinic Community Garden in Jacksonville.  Less than a month later, I presented to Working Well , a "community-wide initiative...dedicated to creating a healthy workforce in Leon County."  Though the presentation was lively, and folks were joking and laughing, the real excitement began a few days before the presentation.  Glenda Atkinson with FBMC Benefits Management contacted me by email to see if I would assist FBMC's Wellness Team in developing a company employ garden. "Definitely." The day after the Working Well presentation (details available here ), I visited with Glenda at FBMC to explore their space, sunlight, and discuss food garden design possibilities. She asked that I put together something-- including a garden layout-- that she could take to her administration for approval.  I drafted a proposal that night. Then, three to four days later, after securing admin approval, we set up a time for the W...

Sat., April 16th I taught a "Is it Too Late to Plant? Not Yet" food garden workshop at Esposito Garden Center.  Ralph, Esposito's owner graciously offered me a demonstration spot to showcase one of my 4x4 economy gardens .  Coming this fall, I plan to take him up on his offer. MIO demonstrating how to plant tomatoes. Below, in the Park at 9th and Terrace, you can see the city's smallest community garden.  Back in November, I joined the Midtown Neighborhood Association and friends to install and plan for the development of this garden.  The kale, arugula and oregano are thriving.  If you live in the area and would like to help in take this garden to the next level, send me an email -- I'll put you in touch with the right folks. Two years ago my friend Daniel Sherman (a student at FAMU at the time called me up): "Nathan, I've got a project in mind.  I wonder: would you be willing to help me get a garden started for the seniors at Bethel Towers?...