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Sunday, January 11, 2009

Garlic Seed Exchange



April 2008 during a trip to Memphis to commemorate the fortieth anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s assassination, I made a visit to Midtown North community garden where I met Farmer Mary Norman. Midtown North garden is one of five community gardens in Memphis under the direction of GrowMemphis, a collaborative between the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center and local communities.
Within 5 minutes of my arrival Mary had me shoveling compost into raised beds. The Midtown North garden serves as a resource garden providing seedlings, fertilizer, compost and seeds for the other four gardens in the city.
Farmer Norman says
"We're trying to bridge the gap between seniors and youth. We want to pass on our wisdom, not only about gardening, but eating right and taking back neighborhoods."

She expressed interest in the garlic we grow and thanks to a bountiful garlic harvest, there was plenty to share with Memphis. ASsociety sent Farmer Mary 200 garlic cloves to get started.

Recycling tires, Midtown North garden planted about 5-6 cloves in each tire and they are on their way to having seed and garlic for market in this upcoming season.

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