“How do you get away from toiling the land when your middle name is Farmer?” Leonard Farmer Hill said. “Its all about caring enough to cultivate community. We have to sow the right seeds to reap a bountiful har- vest.”
And that’s what Hill is doing within his community.
Though Hill dappled in farming, it wasn’t until he met Roger Dukes and signed up for a High Tunnel grant in 2019 that he really started seeing the potential of year-round gardening.
The high tunnel process started because putting everything under the high tunnels resulted in better control of the climate and getting a longer growing season.
Now the High Tunnel System is an increasingly popular conservation practice for many farmers and they can get financial assistance through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP).
The best thing about high tunnels is how they help local farmers to provide healthy locally-grown food for their communities, especially communities with food insecurities like McIntosh County.
“With all the seasons running together now, having high tunnels gives me the advantage of planting tomatoes in February and having tomatoes on the vine by April,” Hill said. “Lettuce has also been producing well and my daughter, Londyn, has been picking strawberries the last two weeks.”
Soil testing has also helps Hill to grow better garden vegetables. He believes when people work with their own hands and see that they can indeed grow their own food, they feel more productive.
“People can make a difference in their communities,” Hill said. “That’s what it’s all about.”
Hill definitely has made a difference in his community even though last year Checotah City Council denied the rezoning of the lots Hill’s community garden grows on, he still continued to grow all kinds of vegetables and gave them away to anyone who wanted some fresh veggies. That same year the USDA named his little garden, one of the People’s Gardens which was an honor to Hill.
The People’s Garden originally began in 2009 with Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. The People’s Garden was named in honor of Abraham Lincoln who created the USDA and called it the “People’s Department.” The People’s Garden today is a garden that connects community, shares experiences and challenges and educates the next generation.
“I grew up here,” Hill said. “I sat and ate at so many of these people’s tables before school and after, so I wanted to do my part and give back to them. God told me to just grow vegetables and show people His love so that’s what I’m doing. And every day I’m trying to plant good seed and then watch good produce come from it. I just want to grow good food in good soil for good people.”
In his little community garden Hill has grown several types of vegetables and flowers, from purple-hull beans to African okra to zucchini, squash, watermelon, lettuce, mustard greens and more. His daughter, Londyn, has also grown several different varieties of flowers, like zinnias, Amaryllis belladonna and Lantana. She even claims to know how to farm better than her daddy does.
“I’m grateful I can share this experience not only with my daughter and family but also with my community. Every day I thank God that He wakes me up so I can go play in the dirt and see the fruit of my labor.”
Hill is also going to the Checotah Senior Center and giving them plants and seeds to grow in their own gardens. He offers lots of gardening tips and also gets to glean from their wisdom of past gardening.
“It really takes a community coming together to get out of poverty and food insecurities,” Hill said. “It’s not about what you can take from others; it’s about what you can give to others to make a difference in their lives. God keeps using people to bless me so I can bless others and for that I am eternally grateful.”
