This 6-year-old is Georgia's youngest certified farmer
Sweet potatoes, strawberries, collard greens, bell peppers — if it can grow in the Georgia soil, you'll find it at Kendall Rae Johnson's urban farm.
At just 6 years old, Kendall is the youngest certified farmer in the state. Her interest in gardening began three years ago, when she learned about planting vegetables from her great-grandmother, and she's been digging in the dirt ever since. "Kendall leads us, and wherever she wants to, we're there to back her up," mom Ursula Kendall Johnson told CNN.
The farm is in the backyard of the Johnson family's Atlanta-area home. Through farming, Kendall has not only learned how to plant seeds, but also what makes fruit and vegetables grow, how to compost, and facts about the different crops. Carrots are her favorite vegetable, and Kendall told CNN she enjoys telling people fun facts, like "if you eat a carrot, you're actually eating the roots of a carrot."
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The Johnson family invites members of the community to visit their farm, and friends, local students, and Girl Scouts regularly stop by to see what's new and help with harvesting. For many, this is the first time they're seeing food at the source, and that's one reason why Kendall would like to start a program for schools that helps kids learn how to grow their own fruit and vegetables.
Kendall is already receiving accolades for her work on the farm — she has had the opportunity to meet Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) and had two city proclamations declared in her honor. "It feels great that they know me now and they know I garden," she told CNN.
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Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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