Garden Folk with Farai Harreld

I’m so thrilled to share a new series here, Garden Folk, building community through a collection of garden notes, stories, interviews from humans who love to grow to feed their families, communities, and their souls. Through growing plants and working in the soil they are rekindling their relationship with the earth and cultivating beautiful spaces.

Can you share a little about yourself for readers who might not know you? 

Hello there! Farai (pronounced Fuh-rai) (she/her), I am a writer, folk herbalist, birth worker, and gardener. I was born in Zimbabwe, raised in Botswana, and currently live on Kaw and Osage Land in so called Kansas. Currently, online I create space for people to welcome plant medicine into their lives, build community, and foster self- nourishment via patreon. As a writer and herbalist, I love the intersection of folk-lore and plant medicine as it relates to human beings and how humans have woven plants into their lives as long as we have existed. 

How did you find you way to gardening? Do you remember your first garden?

In Botswana, we had a garden where we grew a variety of greens, tomatoes, onions, and some other things that my step mother planted. It was commonplace for our daily meals to include vegetables from the garden. As a child, I remember thinking that the chore of tending to the garden was an absolute bore. I have come so far. 

What zone do you grow in? What are some of the benefits + limitations?

Currently growing in zone 6a. Other than the past couple of years which have found us with really wet and rainy spring weather that has kept my garden rather soggy, I feel that we have a decent growing period compared to some other parts of the midwest. I have only grown food in this area on this continent so I cannot compare it to anything else. I am rather envious of people in more temperate climates who can grow food year round however. I do enjoy the downtime of not gardening in the winter, but come late winter I am ready to be out in the garden again. 

What will you be growing in your garden this year? Can you share some of your garden goals?

ABUNDANCE. The last couple of years saw me focus less on growing food and more on tending to medicinal herbs unlike the previous years. This year I plan on building more beds so I can grow everything I want, food, herbs, and flowers galore. In 2020, I installed a greenhouse and converted most of the front lawn of our home into a garden. Ideally, I’d like to have enough flowers and food growing in my front yard to share in our neighborhood.

Quick answer: favorite vegetable to grow? Favorite herb? Favorite flower? Go.

You know this is a difficult question to ask an herbalist, Alyson, but I’ll make a gallant effort.

Vegetable: Okra because it’s ancestral to me as a Zimbabwean.

Herb to grow: Hmmm, mugwort is pretty prolific and has a mind of its own. I really love yarrow too, and Elder...and Nettle, Yarrow, and Rosemary even though she doesn’t do well here. 

Flower: This will be my first year really getting into flowers, I did cosmos for dye projects, but all the spring beauties like Daffodils, Violets, and Tulips make my heart sing. 

Sometimes I feel limited by our zone, is there something you’ve never grown but really want to?

In honor of my Mother, I'd really like to have a our walkway lined with giant elephant ears and other tropical plants that remind of Zimbabwe, But they wouldn't make it in the cold. 

Would you say you are good at gardening? I personally don’t think you have to be good at gardening to enjoy it. Does it come naturally to you or do you have to work at it? 

I'd say I work at it. I never thought I had a green thumb until I actually stopped waffling and actually just tried. I try hard to learn from my mistakes, ask lots of questions, observe, and take classes from my local master gardeners and pay attention to more experienced friends and just keep trying. To quote Mary Oliver "Pay attention.Be astonished. Tell about it.”

I love peeks into other peoples gardens, they can be such an expression of our inner selves. Have you ever visited a garden that really made a mark on you?

One of my herbal teachers Ocoee. She lives in an oak forest in rural Kansas and has carved this amazing sanctuary. Rows and rows of medicinal plants, and foods growing side by side. An entire wall of green beans I spent a heavenly afternoon tending to. In the peak of summer, there are gorgeous pollinators in every shape and color hovering around the flowers. I've come across newborn fawns, baby bunnies, turtles. I cannot begin to explain how enchanted this place is. To get to it, you walk down a set long length of stone stair that have osage orange tree railings. One side of the garden is near a creek, the other, the forest, one side an entire wall of sumac, and the other side a blackberry bramble. I'm obsessed.

Do you have any gardeners in your lineage?

For sure. It is not uncommon for Zimbabweans to have home gardens. As for my father's side. My grandparents were farmers here in Kansas who made a lots of things from scratch. I come by it honestly, though I probably do things way differently. I was born later in my parents life, my grandparents had passed on, but I hear tales from my family, and I have some of my grandmothers Irises. 

Our garden changes every season, and then next season i can incorporate past lessons learnt. What are some things you are doing differently this year than you did last?

Growing vertically, installing trellises. And maybe not procrastinating. I seeded real late last year, so my spring harvest were very paltry. I'd like to avoid that. 

I know some folks garden no dig, biodynamic, organic, what would you call your gardening style and what methods do you incorporate?

I've never defined it ever, I use mostly raised beds because remediating the soil here is something we can only do in increments. Definitely organic, and local. I try to source everything as close to me as possible, from the  soil, compost, to seedlings. 

My garden is a form of self care, how does working in the garden help you and help you help others?

It is grounding, you wouldn’t think so if you had seen me stomping and yelling at squash bugs last year, but truly. It incites a sense of wonder, and belonging in those who garden I believe. It also nourishes us, and builds community. I am much better for the connections I have made with local farmers, growers, and homesteaders around me. 

With the pandemic, and concerns about food scarcity and food availability with climate change, we’ve seen a rise in home gardens. How do you feel about this? How can our gardens help? 

I see this big time in the city I live in. Food deserts make it hard to access fresh produce, and I only see it getting worse with climate change. Gardens can help, as does equipping people with the skills to cook their fresh produce. I love the idea of teaching people about foods their ancestors used to nourish themselves, traditional recipes, from seed to table. Empowering them to reclaim their heritage in the gardens. Esp for Black people in America, who were some of the first sustainable, and biodynamic farmers out there thanks to necessity and sheer brilliance. As I build my skills, my partner and I hope to one day have a program that actually ties all of this together in our community. 

What is the best piece of advice you’ve received about growing? 

Never give up.

The garden within: what does your garden teach you about yourself?

I write about this theme of being connected and part of the Earth all the time and how gardening awakens that in me. I believe that it brings out the most elemental in me, simply but that sometimes all I need to do to feel ok is make sure I rest at night, take a shower to be centered, eat some nourishing foods, and stay grounded as much as I can. 

Can you share a favorite garden to table recipe?

Grab a bunch of okra, soak it in cold water for 10 minutes. Chop into stars or strips. Coat it with oil, season it with a smoke sea salt and bake it in the oven at 375 for maybe 25 minutes or until they feel baked/slightly brown~ Boom, baked okra for a side snack/dish. 

Thank you, Farai for your garden notes. To find more from Farai, you can follow her journey on instagram and on her website