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PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
By John Atkinson
Y’ALL COME OUT TO McDANIEL FARM!
The Master Gardener Program is about learning and giving back to our community and this is a fun way to get involved. Most of our planting, cultivating, and harvesting times are Wednesday mornings. Watch for Kathy Parent’s weekly announcement about working as a volunteer at the park. We usually have a halfdozen Master Gardeners (McDaniel Mulchers) turn out which helps make the project work less strenuous.
It’s easy to find McDaniel Farm Park. Go to Old Norcross Road and Pleasant Hill and turn left at the second intersection on Old Norcross Road (McDaniel Road). Proceed about a half a mile to the Farm. The address is 3251 McDaniel Road, Duluth. It is behind the Gwinnett Place Mall.
We planted row crops to demonstrate a garden from the 1930’s. Last year we had tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, squash, eggplant, peppers, greens, broccoli, corn and pole beans growing on the corn stalks.
Park employees also had a pumpkin patch (prize winning giant pumpkins) and an herb garden. We found that the local deer harvested most of the
pepper and broccoli plants before they could produce.
The produce we harvest goes to our “feed the needy” project at Annandale Village in Suwanee where we also have a landscaping project with the
residents.
McDaniel Farm Park, a former cotton farm covering about 130 acres, has been restored to depict a typical 1930’s tenant farm operation in Gwinnett County. One of the original tenant farmhouses on the property has been restored, as well as the barn, well house, chicken coop, buggy shed and blacksmith shed. The McDaniel Farm House features displays for viewing in several of the rooms that can be viewed.
Other articles in this issue:
Benefits of a Rain Barrel – By Karen Alexander
An Edible Landscape: Wild Mustard – By Dan Willis