Traffic Jams, Hayrides & Sunflowers

This week I've been in deep reflection about all that I experienced over the weekend of October 14th - 16th at the 2011 Black Farmers & Urban Gardeners Conference in New York City.  I'm thinking more seriously about where I want my love of food to take me as my eyes were opened to so many possibilities.  My gardening is currently limited to the confines of my backyard where I grow food mainly for my own table.  I'm using this blog as a way to document my thoughts, share my experiences and celebrate other people (like myself) that garden on a small scale. I figured that I would eventually establish a crop swap or grow Telmore Gardens into a true community garden.  When I walked through the doors of Hostos Community College in Bronx, NY and into the arms of possibility, everything changed.  My simple mission is no longer enough and I am bursting with excitement about my future in food!

It will take a few posts to capture my amazing two day experience in the big apple.  Since the end of the weekend was just as important as the beginning, I will start there.  On Sunday morning (10/16/11), I just couldn't sleep.  I was up early (3AM) and in research mode.  I'd already met some amazing people and wanted to make sure I made the connections that would keep me in touch with their businesses and various food ventures.  I bounced back & forth between twitter, facebook, blogger and word press where I followed, liked and subscribed with an extreme sense of urgency.  When my eyes couldn't read another thing, I dozed off only to be awakened by Toni (one of two friends who traveled with me) hollering "it's 9AM!".  Upon receiving this news, I dashed to my feet and quickly began preparing for the day ahead which was to start with a 10AM tour of New Jersey Community Gardens.  After making it out of the hotel in record time, we (the three Ts - Toni, Tonya & Tamara) found ourselves stuck in traffic, detoured through the streets of Newark NJ and ultimately late.  Upon arriving to the meeting point at Newark Penn Station, we quickly made our way  inside and joined the rest of our group - Frances, Shani, Micheline, Kaeko, Tolu, Lorraine & Wendy.  Once Lee (our guide) arrived, we hopped in his van and our adventure began.  The van took some getting used to as it smelled kind of like a farm and had a light dusting of hay scattered all over the floor.  I imagined myself on an urban hayride and knew that it would be an interesting day.  

Our first stop was at a community garden managed by Walter Barry, an award winning landscaper (International Landscape Design) and member of Prodigal Sons & Daughters Redirection, Inc which is an organization that helps ex-offenders after their release from prison and ultimately uplifts the community through mentoring, job training, etc.  Mr. Barry showed us around one of several gardens that he manages.  It was a serene setting anchored by a water feature and complete with bonsai tree, various fruit trees, raised garden beds and earth boxes.  Along with the trees, there were ornamental flowers including candy cane vine (also called firecracker vine or cigar flower), a variety of eggplants, tomatoes, hot peppers and so on.  I was also quite amazed to see cotton which will be grown as part of a Heritage Garden and used per Mr. Barry "to bring the community back together".  He calls it "reconnection with the earth instead of redirection".

Our next stop was at the SWA Garden which some of us initially identified as "swag garden".  I don't know if that was a misinterpretation of the sign or due to the impression of Mr. B who was waiting for us at the garden entry and definitely had swag (great style)!  The SWA Garden is part of a faith based mission and you could really feel the love in that place.  There were large vibrant sunflowers standing tall and welcoming you into a garden bursting with life.  We stepped over baby pumpkins with vines reaching far outside of their beds and tasted both cherry tomatoes and raw sunflower seeds.  We were surrounded by stalks of corn with bright burgundy silks, various greens, okra, beets and carrots. It was absolutely wonderful! 
Our final stop found us with no time to get out and walk around but we could see the garden's beauty from the gate.  Since we were delayed, the young man that planned to host our tour joined us in the van for the ride back to Penn Station.  We had just enough time for him to share his experiences and a bit of information about the garden.  It was obvious that he was proud of his contributions to the community and was committed to his work.  While I would have loved to tour the garden, I was more than pleased with how our day ended.

Connections, some of which I believe will be long lasting, were made on that tour.  For myself, I hope to see Lorraine again one day.  When our paths cross, I'm sure she & her husband will have their own garden or maybe even a farm.  I'll ask her how her eight kids enjoyed the fresh sunflower seeds she brought home from the SWA Garden.  I look forward to hearing about the great things happening at Victory Programs' Revision Urban Farm in Boston where Shani is a farmer.  I want to know how things turn out for Kaeko whose journey in America is still in its early stages and also hear about the growth of Tolu's venture in Troy, NY.  I plan to volunteer my time to help Micheline when she starts her farm in Brooklyn.  I will continue sharing my journey which I know will lead me down an exciting path of self discovery.  All the while, I'll have the support of the other two Ts - Toni & Tonya, my faithful friends and self described gleaners of my backyard garden.

To Learn More visit the following links:
Black Farmers & Urban Gardeners Conference: www.blackfarmersconf.org/
Greater Newark Conservancy (Newark, NJ): www.citybloom.org/
Prodigal Sons & Daughers (Newark, NJ): www.prodigalsite.org/
Victory Programs Revision Urban Farm (Boston, MA): http://www.vpi.org/