Jeff Poppen is delighted to walk through the herbs, perennials, vegetables and wildflowers of this urban yard in the heart of Nashville. This garden starts at the 'herb curb' and continues all the way past the backyard to the 'sky bed' that's positioned above the trash cans in the alley.
This farm is a vital part of the campus of New Hope Christian Academy which serves children kindergarten through 6th grade located in a busy area of Memphis. The garden allows students the ability to enjoy nature, the chance to learn how to grow and nurture, and the opportunity to taste a variety of fresh-picked produce. The cafeteria manager sponsors a Try It Tuesday that features a fruit, greens or a vegetable from the garden.
Tammy Algood gets inspired by this grower who has planted out an intensive market garden plot on 1/4 acre to demonstrate how densely food crops can be grown. A lot of Reggie's plants are started by seed in float beds commonly used in tobacco farming. Plus, Reggie has a very sensible and smart sales outlet for the herbs and vegetables.
We visit the Correctional Development Center at the Davidson County (TN) jail to see the Sheriff's horticulture program for ourselves. This program teaches offenders valuable job skills, while it encourages healthy eating. The trees grown and vegetables harvested are distributed to the community free of charge with the help of non-profit organizations.
The Sumner County Master Gardeners of TN maintain a large demonstration garden on the campus of Volunteer State Community College. The goal of this garden is to educate the students and the public on the varieties of vegetables, herbs, perennials and fruiting shrubs that thrive in the middle TN climate. We'll take you on a tour.
The Mayor of Nashville launched a campaign in October 2018 to plant and care for 500,000 trees across Nashville by 2050. Julie Berbiglia learns about the collaboration behind this effort with various non-profits, government agencies, private companies, philanthropic partners, volunteers, and citizens. The campaign is designed to increase the city’s tree canopy and create a more equitable distribution of the health and sustainability benefits of urban trees across all neighborhoods.
A goal of Stony Creek Colors is to replace at least 3% of synthetic blue dye with natural indigo produced on Tennessee farms. Currently, TN has the most indigo in research and production than anywhere in the U.S. with all of the biomass coming from within a 60 mile radius of its factory.
