Talk at Sea Island Savory Herbs

Yesterday, our friends at Sea Island Savory Herbs invited Lowcountry Community Gardens to come speak with the great folks of the Charleston Parks Conservancy, who were at Sea Island for a lecture series.

After seeing the magic of Jim Martin teaching a container planting workshop, I perused the usual grow houses, strumming my fingers along the scents and textures of the many varieties of herbs, flowers, and vegetables at Sea Island. Always a wonderful experience.

We spoke with a few people about what we were doing and got positive responses to our work. Allston, who's been helping out with plant donations and works at Sea Island, gave a great intro talk on the need for community gardens. This is particularly true in lower income neighborhoods, where access to healthy food choices are very limited. The concept of "food deserts" is very much present in many parts of Charleston, and community gardens are one step in the right direction. We are what we eat, so the many benefits of community gardening exceed the simple joy of growing food.

Examiner Article Highlights Lowcountry Community Gardens

It was a pleasure to meet reporter Leslee Johnson. Check out her article on the Park Circle Earth Day celebration that took place Saturday, April 17th:
Picture the possible: Earth Day Festival showcases ingenious stewardship

Earth Day at Park Circle

It was a busy and beautiful day at Park Circle for the 2010 Earth Day Festival. I'm a little surprised myself that I am posting today. Anywho, in the world of community gardening in Charleston, things are growing. The array of people who came by our table was fabulous. From kids getting excited about growing white cucumbers to lively discussions on how to best plant tomatoes, we learned a lot. All tomato plants happily found new homes and many new seeds will be sowed this spring!

Thanks to all who stopped by. We really enjoyed talking with all of you and learning about new unknown community gardens (see community garden map) and new techniques. The more people collaborate, the better. It's what makes community gardens the place of genuine interaction they are. For those of you that got tomatoes, we found a nice little primer here on how to grow them. Make sure to bury them :)

Enjoy spring and let us know about your ideas and projects. We love working together with everyone. Contact: andrea@lowcountrycommunitygardens.org

Elliotborough Community Garden Is A Salad Bowl

Go check out the Elliotborough Community Garden over on Line Street. It is looking fantastic. This is an amazing example of what can be grown in a tiny space.

Congrats to all the gardeners in the neighborhood.

Read more on the Charleston Parks Conservancy blog about this garden.

Seed Grant has Arrived!

The America the Beautiful Seed Grant has come in! Over 350 packets of seeds! There is a great selection of organics, flowers, herbs, vegetables and cool heirlooms. Lowcountry Community Gardens will be passing out these seeds to Charleston area community gardens. Look for us at the Earth Day Festival in Park Circle, April 17th.

Tomato Plants Donated by Sea Island Savory Herbs

The look of the Lowcountry Community Gardens truck full of 4ft tomato plants was a sight! Our friends at Sea Island Savory Herbs on Johns Island graciously donated their surplus tomato transplants to Charleston area community gardens.
If your community garden would like to receive a dozen heirloom tomato plants, let me know by contacting me cedric@lowcountrycommunitygardens.org
Let's get these babies planted!