Planting lessons: Gang Free Inc. participants tour Henderson farm

Aug. 04--Master Gardener Rosetta Brodie Thorpe walked alongside green leafy swiss chard, string beans and okra fielding questions from kids Wednesday.

Pausing at one plant, Thorpe posed her own question.

"What do you think the ones with the big ears are called? Look at at the shape of the leaf," she prompted.

Slowly, voices joined in unison to answer "elephant ear plants."

Thorpe led a group of six children, who are participating in Gang Free Inc. programming this summer, on a tour of the Brodie Farm at 526 Lone St. in Henderson.

Gang Free Inc. is a Henderson-based nonprofit that "empowers and educates," at-risk youth and adults through "innovative," programs and services, according to its website.

Touring the farm was 11-year-old Jada Peranell, 11-year-old Shamoria Bullock, twins Taliya and Jaliya Flye, both 7, their cousin 8-year-old Za'liyah Foster and 9-year-old Jordon Hester.

"Something that I learned is about the plant -- lemon thyme -- that you can make tea out of. It smells like lemon," Shamoria said. "And these plants are called 4 o'clock plants. And if you don't water your plants in the heat, they'll die and you give your plants water and sun."

Za'liyah liked seeing some insects, but not others.

"I liked the part when he's like drinking -- the butterfly hanging around the plants," she said. "The thing that I didn't like is the bugs biting."

Wednesday's tour was part of a collaboration between three different entities, said Karen Callahan, who is both a Vance County Sheriff's Office employee and Vance-Warren Extension Master Gardener volunteer.

"In April, I started the pollinator garden at Gang Free, and they're continuing the education," Callahan said.

The Sheriff's Office, which is a Gang Free Inc. partner, provided transportation, the Vance-Warren Cooperative Extension Service and Master Gardeners provided the educational component and Brodie Farm hosted the tour.

Thorpe, who's been farming since she was 5 years old from a 400 acre farm in Granville County, joined the Master Gardeners about seven years ago.

"In growing up this way, it was a way of life," she said. "And then through horticulture, people who need to relax and find a different outlet from grieving to whatever it's a way of actually being very therapeutic."

She now grows items at her cousins' farm, which is operated by Marion Brodie Williams, Carol Brodie Robinson and Williams' daughter Simika Williams.

Marion Williams, who is also a Henderson councilmember, said the farm started as a therapeutic project about three years ago when there were deaths and sickness in the family.

"I had a home invasion, and someone got killed in my home, and I was like I'm out of here," Williams said. "You never know why tragedy happens. Sometimes you have to turn to another way to set your focus. Dirt brought me back -- by putting your hands in that soil and touching it and seeing the plant grow -- sometimes nurturing something else with your own inner feelings will allow you to grow again."

The farm became a focus for her family.

It's grown to have one of the first greenhouses in Henderson, has become GAP certified -- meaning the family can sell to stores and restaurants and schools -- and has created the off branch organization the Southern Organic Female Farmers Association.

"You don't have to have 90 acres. You can have a quarter of an acre to do it," Williams said.

Each family member uses their own interests to bring something to the table -- Thorpe grows items, Robinson cooks the vegetables and takes items to the farmers market and all give back to the elderly and disabled.

"If you don't really like farming, do something different," she said. "We saw the string beans and thought the children would love it. The patty-pans. That's odd. The kids think that's a flying saucer or whatever they look like. Then the odd tomatoes. So that's what we do -- to try to tap into people so they say 'I can do that.'"

Thorpe said she hoped the Gang Free kids learned that farming can be self sustaining.

"They can sell to farmers market. They can sell to resturants. They can have some income," she said.

For Shamoria, she's already grown her own tomato plant.

"You learn something new instead of always handing out money to just grow your own food, keep it together and never stop," she said.

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