Good Time to Grow Healthy Food in Tennessee
We practice mutual aid in the community garden with free food, education, and sustainable advocacy.
Do you enjoy gardening? What about giving back to your community? Is it important to spread kindness and happiness? Well, I want these things. I have done so for years.
Murfreesboro Community Gardening provides a free place to grow food, make friends, and relax. It doesn’t cost any money to join. Generous organizations and community members support our non-profit cause.
Giving to our community is at the heart of what we do. We will discuss the history of this group, and we will chat with our founder, Autumn Shultz. She mentions this year’s plans in our interview below.
What Mboro Garden Does
Mboro Garden offers an invaluable space and service to the community of Murfreesboro. We provide a free spot to grow food and grow as people together. It costs nothing but time to join, and you learn much about growing food over time.
Leaving the house costs money these days. Besides a public library, there are few places to spend time but not money. Or “third places” that are not work or home. We bring happiness to visitors and onlookers as they find a little peace and Earth connection. We build bridges and share good vibes.
Meet us at our booth during local community events like Earth Day. We love to talk about how to Save Soil or other ways to be sustainable. Sustainability means we practice what we preach in the garden. We want to give back to the Earth as she has given to us.
Learning to minimize our environmental impact is a great way to be kind to the Earth. She provides us with a relatively safe space to thrive. We should steward her so future generations may enjoy her fruits.
“Society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.” — Greek proverbWe use several sustainable practices in our garden.
Think of composting, smothering, layering, and minimal chemical use. Composting all food waste could cut 30% of greenhouse emissions from landfills. These seem like simple ideas, but practicing them on a systems level makes a big difference.
Furthermore, we present free classes that are open to the community. I have given talks to Middle Tennessee State University’s Soil Science Club and taught lessons on propagation in the garden. Folks in our community love to get out, and we teach useful life skills.
Plus, the food we grow is free. We give back to the Earth by building soils, providing food for pollinators, and composting. We educate for free, and people can take these lessons out into the world. They learn to advocate for nature, live more sustainably, and love the Earth where they are.
When you come to volunteer on a Saturday, you can take home local produce when it’s available. It’s a great way to make friends, save money on groceries, and have a moment of peace. Frankly, what we grow tastes better than store-bought.
History
Autumn first moved to Murfreesboro in 2010. The only place she had to garden was a small patio at her townhome. She thought it would be grand to have a common place where anyone in the community could garden together. The gears started turning, and she began to canvass for interest from other locals.
She took the course and became an Extension Master Gardener in 2011. She continued to gauge community interest. We were fortunate to partner with Key United Methodist Church in 2014. They graciously offer us a large plot on their church grounds still to this day.
Several local publications featured us over the years. Among those include The Daily News Journal, VIP Magazine, and Boro Pulse. The Secret Garden Tour of Murfreesboro featured us for several years. They’re a great fundraiser that supports the local children’s Discovery Museum.
While I moved to Murfreesboro in 2015, I didn’t learn about this organization or join until 2018. That year we reached our first 100 likes on our Facebook page. Also, we got a new garden shed.
A local Eagle Scout group built us a workstation and large bench in 2019. In 2020, we started our website and blog where I share related work from Medium. I completed the Tennessee Extension Master Gardener program and achieved certification in 2023. It brings me joy to be more qualified to educate the community through my passions this way.
Since we are an established garden, this allows us the experience to help others get started. We share seed and resource donations with other gardens. We share what we know, and we help to build awareness. Building networks like these are how we become more resilient communities.
All of this is to say that kindness goes both ways. We give our time, talent, and treasures to the neighborhood through our garden. The community gives back to us by sharing land, building a shed, and offering support. It’s akin to an amplification loop for goodwill.
What's new in 2024?
Autumn sat down with me and discussed what’s in store for 2024.
After popular demand, we decided to build raised beds. Raised beds help better control weeds, moisture, and soil quality. Here’s our interview.
Me: “Hey, Autumn! Thanks for interviewing with me today. Let’s jump right in. What are Mboro Garden’s plans in 2024?”
Autumn Shultz: “A couple of things right off the bat, we are using cardboard and wood chips for some ground cover. In the past, we used one or the other, but (now we are) trying them out together.”
Me: “How exciting! That should really help control weed growth. I like how that will compost into rich, organic matter. Are we growing anything new this year?”
Autumn: “Jessica is also going to bring us some cucamelon seeds. They are tiny cucumbers that look like watermelons and grow on a vine.”
Me: “I’ve never had a cucamelon before. I wonder if it tastes mellow like a cucumber, sweet like a melon, or both. Can’t wait! Do you know how we would grow them?”
Autumn: “Most of our efforts this year will be space-saving. The arches will help us grow upwards.”
Me: “I like the idea of vertical gardening. It makes for less competition with crops and also grows more in the same space. I hope we have even more food this year.”
Autumn: “Oh, and I hope to plant the corn a lot closer together for support and better pollination.”
Me: “Since corn is wind-pollinated, that should increase how much we can grow. Thanks for taking some time for the interview, and I can’t wait to work together this year, Autumn.”
Autumn: “Sounds great!”
Conclusion
I enjoy community gardening because it’s my passion and I can give back. We all need food, and this group teaches us how to provide for one another. We need food and social nourishment. Murfreesboro Community Gardening gives us that.
What a joy to see others share in our passions. New gardens continue to spring up, and we get to help others succeed. Our stone skips along the water rippling out kindnesses. We can take the lessons we learned and help folks avoid setbacks. Learn from our mistakes.
The pieces keep coming together. Autumn planted the seed in 2014, and we keep it cultivated together. There are too few places where you can be social in public and not need to spend money. Add one more place to the list of non-capitalist enterprises.
2024 looks to be jam-packed with upgrades and new experiences. May it be filled with friends, good food, and a bountiful harvest. I look forward to growing more with you all. May we continue to cultivate happiness and kindness through camaraderie.
You can support us in many ways. We work together on Saturday mornings from 10 am — 12 pm from March through October. Connect with us through the Kroger Community Rewards and Amazon Smile programs. We accept monetary donations on our website. We also run an ongoing t-shirt sale.
