Memphis Master Gardeners
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Chuck Denney
Bloomin’ broccoli and lots of tasty vegetables. You’ll find supper growing in this garden.
Betty Mullholland
“We have potatoes, and broccoli, and cabbage, and onions, and beets and squash.”
Chuck Denney
But Betty Mulholland isn’t cooking up these veggies. Instead, she’s helping to grow them - part of the “Plant a row for the hungry” program in Memphis. These vegetables will go to the Great Harvest food bank.
Betty Mullholland
“The first year we grew two thousand and some odd pounds, and we learned a whole lot of things. The second year was last year and we took 46-hundred, almost 47-hundred pounds to the food bank. This year our goal is to take five thousand.”
Chuck Denney
Now that’s what you call a boost in yield. This food bank effort is one of about fifty projects the Memphis Master Gardeners do in a typical year. The MG’s also grow pretty flowers and plants. Memphis boasts a large and active horticultural society.
Catherine Lewis
“I think it’s a direct result of Master Gardeners. We have dozens of plant societies, You pick up the paper any day of the week and you can find something going on where there’s a presentation being done about gardening.”
Chuck Denney
There are more than two thousand Master Gardeners statewide, and the program is offered by UT Extension in nearly half our counties. Shelby County has the largest MG enrollment - and this group volunteered more than 30-thousand hours of service last year.
Dale Skaggs
“The Master Gardeners are a great asset to the Extension office. They answer phone calls and man the hotline. That’s providing a great service to Shelby County.”
Chuck Denney
Perhaps more than anything, the Master Gardeners are looking to grow community pride.
They’ve done the landscaping for a number of Habitat for Humanity homes, including this neighborhood in south Memphis.
Carl Wayne Hardeman
“It’s more than just a house. We’re turned it into a home with character with the landscaping we’ve done.”
Chuck Denney
The work is just about done at this Habitat home, and then the Master Gardeners will move on to another session of planting and working. Whether it’s giving people a pretty place to live or food to eat, their generosity means a better life for someone else.
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NOTE: There’s a statewide master gardener web site – http://mastergardener.tennessee.edu
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