Growing up, I remember my mother always chatting up her plants. She would always say, “They grow prettier when you talk to them,” and I was sure it was true! Her plants were always luscious, beautiful, and a vibrant green. But I don’t speak Green Thumb language…my plants don’t seem to understand me, maybe the melodic accent is off.
I have always been fascinated by people who seem naturally fluent in green thumb; people who can sow the seeds, grow the plant, and form a reciprocal bond with Mother Nature, ultimately reveling in its bounty. I limit myself to succulents these days – they get me.
In my years at the Arizona Food Bank Network, I have had the privilege of meeting several amazing farmers and stewards of the land. Many of whom happen to be women. For National Women‘s History Month, I wanted to share their stories and sprouts of wisdom they probably didn’t even realize they planted —much like my mother.
Danielle is a farmer who grew up in California. She has been growing food since she was five or six years old, something she learned from her dad. Danielle learned how to grow carrots and other vegetables in their backyard. Can you imagine, at age six, the wonder of pulling an entire carrot from the ground where you planted a tiny seed a couple months earlier? Pure magic!
As a grown-up, Danielle’s produce ended up at a farmers market in Chino Valley, Arizona, as well as in local restaurants there. She continued to sustain that for 10 years before the pandemic hit in 2020.
By 2022, she found her current home – a piece of land in Skull Valley, Arizona. It’s Danielle’s own 5-acre property. She’s been busy for the last year building geodesic dome greenhouses and teaching people in her community about growing their own food – sharing her wonderful experience developing a relationship with Mother Nature, and inspiring others to do the same. She has been documenting all her processes to put up how-to videos on YouTube to reach even more amateur growers.
“I am one woman, I am 50 years old, and I did all of this by myself, mostly. I have always had a passion for this; I have always wanted to feed people that needed food,” she reflects.
Danielle has been providing produce to AzFBN’s Friends of the Farm program through her one-woman operation, White Lotus Farms. This partnership helped her not only sustain her farm but continue to grow operations. This work has also supported other growers and businesses around her by showing how impactful Friends of the Farm can be throughout Arizona – how one 5-acre farm can feed so many people in need.
Another incredible woman lives on the east side of the state. Elaine Atwood of Steam Donkey Farms came across her calling later in life “by accident.”
She was always keen on growing things out of her backyard but didn’t move into growing “at scale” until she walked into a gardening class at Mesa Community College. For the first time, she truly understood the wonder of growing and sharing the bounty.
Her reason for doing this work resonated with me, the non-green thumb fluent, deeply. She told me that, “Running into children that didn’t know anything about growing food,” was a big motivation that pushed her to lead a kids’ gardening class at her Spaces of Opportunity garden.
Elaine handed me a small watermelon to take home during my visit. She called thes variety “Orange Glow,” a type I had never heard of before. “It tastes like orange sherbert, your boy will like it,” she said. And boy, was she right – my son’s awe in devouring the sweet melon that tasted unlike any other reminded me of how I felt watching my mom’s plants miraculously grow.
Elaine shared with me about her kids and her grandkids, and how important it was for her that they learned where their food came from.
Her only regret: “I wish I had started years ago.”
So now, inspired by these incredible women, I’ve decided that I can’t give up on my dreams of gardening just yet. Green thumb could be my third fluent language!
My conversations with Elaine and Danielle taught me that it’s never too late to grow and share the wonder.
Sprouts of wisdom from these women in the fields:
- Just like plants, people can certainly live as one, but through connection we can live in abundance.
- Speak openly about your dreams and goals to friends, neighbors, and colleagues at parties or events – and stay open to the possibilities. You never know what will catch on.
- It is never too late to try, but don’t let life pass you by! If you have a passion, learn everything you can about it and allow yourself to get absorbed in it – gather knowledge from the resources and people around you.
Thank you Danielle and Elaine, and, of course, Mom! I can’t wait to grow some of those watermelons myself.
Do you have any stories of women in agriculture? I would love to hear them! You can reach me at [email protected].
English 
Spanish 