New Stories From 'Urban Agriculture Notes'
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These Black St. Louis Farmers Built A Garden ‘Tool Bank’

“We’re reteaching ourselves something that our ancestors already was doing,” said Lewis, a former gym teacher who farms two acres in Bellefontaine and several vacant lots in the city of St. Louis.

For these farmers, supporting a more diverse group of urban growers in St. Louis is directly tied to building a sense of community ownership and self-sufficiency.

By Shahla Farzan
St. Louis Public Radio
October 2, 2020

Excerpt:

“It’s ironic, because the same things I pride myself in growing, he did the same thing,” said Lewis, a former gym teacher who now farms a two-acre plot in Bellefontaine as well as several city lots. “We’re reteaching ourselves something that our ancestors already was doing.”

Lewis started leasing three city-owned lots in the Kingsway West neighborhood in late 2017, through the city’s Garden Lease program, which allows residents to farm vacant lots for five years at a cost of $1 per year.

He spent months cleaning up the lots, hauling out bricks and moldering pieces of carpet. Three years later, the space is filled with sunflowers, rows of okra and several honeybee hives.

In addition to transforming the space, Lewis has built relationships with his neighbors, who nicknamed him “Green Thumb” and honk their car horns when they see him working in the garden. “I can’t get no work done when I’m here,” Lewis said. “If I’m outside, somebody’s gonna stop by and talk.”

Read the complete article here.