April 6, 2011
Author: Neighborhood Farm Initiative
Category: General News
Thanks to Neil Z. for conducting this survey and sharing his findings with our blog readers!
On Saturday, April 2, 2011, NFI volunteers joined with the Mamie D. Lee Community Gardeners for the monthly garden-wide cleanup day.
Mostly for fun, but also as an opportunity to meet some of the Community Gardeners, I went around and asked everyone on-site the following four questions:
- What is your name?
- What is your favorite plant to grow?
- What is your favorite plant to eat?
- What is an interesting/fun/other fact that you would like to share with the NFI community?
Please note: your faithful reporter claims no responsibility for the veracity nor the accuracy of the answers.
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Name | Favorite to grow | Favorite to eat | Fact to share with NFI community |
Foster G. | eggplant | bok choy | He has a paternal relationship with plants, is obsessed with eggplant, wants to get an eggplant tattoo and learn to breed eggplants, and writes songs for worms |
Jenna B. | peppermint and tomatoes | chard | She joined the NFI to impress her now-boyfriend Bailey; she keeps growing plants in her window sill, but they look so pretty that she never harvests them, so they go to seed and are dying |
Kayley W. | vines and tea herbs | butternut squash | Thinks more roller derbyers should garden, is a member of the DC Roller girls, loves Martha Squashington |
Kristin G. | jalapeno peppers | tomatoes | I have an awesome laugh |
Kat B. | cucumbers | red peppers | I do a good Woody Allen impression, and has eaten almost every part of a goat |
Bob L. | pole beans | corn | Like worms |
S. D. | sunflowers and okra | pumpkins | Mother taught him how to garden |
Sophie K. | potatoes | kale | Entered DC State fair with a cucumber she grew last year at the Garden, and won second place in the “funkiest-looking vegetable” category |
Michelle W. | basil | Swiss chard | Really dislikes worms, but is trying to get used to them |
Seth S. | carrot | watermelon | Used to work in Arizona at the biosphere |
Brian R. | sunflowers | tomatoes | |
Harry B. | green beans | green beans | Has participated for six years at the Mamie D. Lee Garden |
David P. | tomatoes | tomatoes | Left the Mamie D. Lee Garden for five years and is happy to be back |
Milagros H. | tomatoes | basil | |
Elisa F. | peas | tomatoes | It’s amazing how much work people can accomplish in one day |
Morgan P. | perennials and garlic | tomatoes | Dogs will eat organic fertilizer, especially if it comes from chickens |
Aaron L. | chili peppers | sweet potatoes | One can move a lot of manure in the back of a Toyota Corolla; the sweet potatoes he grew last year were awesome |
Stacy L. | tomatoes and beets | tomatoes and beets | |
Eva S. | arugula and tomatoes | arugula and tomatoes | |
Gabi O. | tomatoes | kale | One of the many carnivorous plants native to this area is drosera, which is really cool. It has spatulate leaves with red hairs that secrete a sweet sticky fluid; the sweetness lures in the insects, and the stickiness captures them. Then the leaf rolls up like a carpet, secretes enzymes that dissolve the insects bodies, and then absorbs the nutrients. |
Susan Y. | honeydew melons | green peas | It’s a nice morning |
Bea T. | garlic | eggplant | She is a dual citizen of the USA and the UK |
Sophie S. | tomatoes | squash | This is the first time she has ever done any agricultural- or gardening-related work |
Cathy A. | basil | vine-ripened tomatoes | Wants to try growing Peruvian peppers |
Tim S. | spinach | spinach | Radioactive rain is falling on the United States right now |
Brook D. | lettuce | lettuce and carrots | The radiation that is falling on the United States is only in trace amounts, and not at all hazardous |
Allison B. | sweet potatoes and okra | sweet potatoes and okra | Over 60,000 birds die each year in New York City due to their flying into buildings |
Sarah M. | cherry tomatoes | watermelon | Cherry tomatoes taste better than candy |













