News

Apr 16, 2023

Metro Detroit farmer uses land to help community members become physically, mentally healthier

Will Jones, Anchor/Reporter Brandon Carr, Digital Content Producer Travis Peters

Will Jones, Anchor/Reporter

Brandon Carr, Digital Content Producer

Travis Peters owns and operates Green Boots Veteran Community Horticulture Gardens and Marketplace at Southfield Road and Davison.

He purchased the property in 2018 with the assistance of the Detroit Black Farmers Land Fund.

Peters describes Green Boots as a place of growth, helping community members become physically and mentally healthier.

"I decided to try to beautify the neighborhood and turn vacant parcels of land into a food oasis to provide fresh, high-quality access to organically grown fruits and vegetables," said Peters.

Like many farmers, Peters has kept his eye to the sky, hoping for rain with much disappointment.

He bought two rainwater collection tanks in 2021 to help get the farm through dry spells.

His 275-gallon tanks reflected how little rain Metro Detroit has had in southeast Michigan this spring.

"The tank is pretty empty," Peters said. "Not much water in here."

Read: Rain is expected in Metro Detroit, but it will take time to recover from lengthy dry conditions

Neighbors have been helping fill the void of what Mother Nature hasn't been providing lately.

"I have a lady," Peters said. "I call her the water girl. She comes up, and she takes gallon water jugs, takes them to her home, fills them up, brings them back."

Peters isn't ready to panic just yet with the lack of rain.

"I haven't been harshly impacted yet," Peters said. "The crops are still in the vegetative state, and nothing has come to bloom yet. That is where it will be key. So right here, I am able to sustain enough to keep the plants growing."

But he wonders for how long.

"The things I have growing here are like 30-day, 40-day turnaround crops, quick beets, radishes, lettuces like that," Peters said. "So I will need to keep the rain to keep that turnaround."

The marketplace just opened on May 30. It runs every Tuesday from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. through the end of October.

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