Meet the Giving Gardener: 12-year-old Ian McKenna Grows to Help Others

When he was eight years old, Ian McKenna started fighting. He was fighting hunger with a giving garden. He shared his harvest with a local food bank and has grown ever since.

Now 12 years old, Ian cares for three gardens using organic methods. His younger sister helps, too! As part of the Katie’s Krops network, he empowers other youth to grow food and help the community.

I met Ian when he was a finalist in the Hunger Squad Competition. He went on to win! I had the chance to talk with him this week, and I’m excited to share his story with you. He’s an inspiring example of generosity.

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Amy: Tell us about yourself and your gardens.

Ian: I’m 12 and in 8th grade. I live in Austin, TX. I can grow almost every single day of the year.

I’ve been gardening since I was four or five. I’ve been doing giving gardens since I was eight.

Now, I have three gardens—one at my house, one at my old elementary school, and one at my sister’s elementary school. I have 9 raised beds at one and may 15 at the other. I have 7 raised at my house, and I also have fruit trees and I plant around the raised beds.

We do raised beds because the ground here is too hard. They’re corrugated metal, and they’re a foot or so tall. They are wide, so they can hold more. They range from 3-foot cubes to the biggest one, which is is 7 feet by 4 feet.

Occasionally, we will have [community] work days. Most of the time, I’m just going out and working on the gardens. I go to each school once or twice a week.

We donate most of the harvest to the Capital Area Food Bank, and sometimes, I give it directly to people in need.

What gave you the idea to create a giving garden?

Once in my sister’s class as they were talking about Christmas around the world, a girl burst out in tears. The teacher said, “What’s wrong?” She said, “Santa hates poor people, and we’re poor, so he hates us.” She’d never had Christmas before.

Early in the morning on Christmas Day, my mom and I brought the family a bunch of gifts: a bike,  some food, and some toys. The parents put it out like Santa had come.

And then, I thought, what else can I do to help out?

I found out a lot of kids at my school get school breakfast and school lunch. Some of them didn’t have enough food at home. Some of them did, just not healthy food.

Home Depot came and helped out by putting the first beds together. I also had a grant which helped fund it.

This year, I applied for a Katie’s Krops grant, and I won. Katie’s Krops empowers youth to grow gardens in their community to help out. Then, they asked me as I wanted to be grower. There are over 100 growers.

Ian has said the Katie’s Krops grant is the best because it’s more than just a grant. He likes the way he can decide about crops and donations, the online resources for organizing and tracking, the community of growers across the country, and the advisers who are always available with friendly answers to his gardening questions. At the end of this article, I’ll include details about their current grant opportunity.

Why do you garden? 

It’s the feeling you get, the smile you get when people get food. It feels really good because you know you’re helping people.

What are your favorite plants in the garden?

I really don’t have any favorite plants, but I like to grow things I haven’t grown before to experiment. I’m growing a pineapple and a scorpion pepper in my backyard. They are red lantern shaped peppers. They’re the second hottest pepper in the world!

Yikes! Do you like spicy food?

(laughs) Yeah, but I don’t think I’ll be able to eat those. Maybe a single seed or one drop of juice!

Are there things you always plant?

Carrots, lettuce, and sweet potatoes. Things that grow quickly.

If you have plants that grow quickly and survive many things, you don’t have to tend to them that much. Then, you can focus on other plants and
occasionally come back to help them out.

So, I always have something to donate when I go to the food bank. In the summer, I go every week. The rest of the year, I’ll bring it when I have enough.

Oh, and I always like to have tomatoes.

What’s your favorite thing to eat from your garden?

Tomatoes are definitely my favorite! I love fresh tomatoes. I grow different varieties and lots of colors, and I love to sample the different tastes. This year, Indigo Rose and Black Krim were my favorites.

Next year, I’m going to grow white and peach tomatoes. I had peach tomatoes at the farmer’s market and couldn’t believe they were fuzzy like a peach!

Can you tell me about a big challenge you faced this year? And share some tips for other gardeners facing it?

One of my biggest problems would probably be extreme weather. Going from sweating in a drought to all of a sudden really bad floods. How can you prepare your plants for those?

Sudden change in water amounts can put the plants in shock.

Ian described how he tries to water his plants when they need it and protect them when it rains too much. Last summer, he documented one storm on Instagram:

“From drought to rain and flash floods. Over 1.5″ in less than an hour and now over 17″ this month. 🌧☔️🌧☔️. 10-15″ predicted overnight 🌧😱😱😱😱”

Back on the phone, Ian shared a few ideas for conserving water when the weather shifts back toward drought:

Depending on the time of day, how much sunlight is in the air and how hot it is, you want to try to water when it’s cooler.

And then while your shower heats up, you can put a bucket in there and collect the water. That way you can save energy, save water, and have a way to water your plants.

Let’s go in the other direction – tell me about a SUCCESS you had this season!

I’m really proud of my harvest total for this year. Since May, I think it’s over 500 pounds for just my backyard. That’s my Katie’s Krops garden.

At the schools, it’s hard to know an exact total because that’s where people can come get food if they need it. But I’ve grown at least that much.

Ian’s mom, Sarah, was nearby during our interview. I asked if she could hop on the phone for a moment, and I asked…

What are you most proud of about Ian’s project?

Sarah: I would say his determination to keep going no matter what. There’s been some vandalism, and he just picks right back up and rebuilds. He’ll go out and find his own sponsors. He just needs me for the transportation!

She handed the phone back to Ian for my last questions.

If you had to start over from scratch, what would you do first and what would you plant first?

The first thing I would do is get compost or fertile soil in raised beds.

The first thing I would plant is the quick growing crops. Like I said before, I can get those started and then focus on getting other things done and more crops planted.

And if somebody wanted to do what you’re doing, how would you suggest they get started?

Apply for a Katie’s Krops grant! (Details below.)

Or go to a garden supply store (or someplace that has seeds) and buy what you want to try to grow.

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I learned about two neat grant opportunities from Ian:

• Stephen J. Brady Stop Hunger Scholarships – Due December 5, 2016
  Open to students ages 5-25 with selection based on their work to fight hunger. Five scholarship recipients receive a $5,000 scholarship and a matching $5,000 grant for their anti-hunger charity of choice. Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation also recognizes 20 regional honorees with $1,000 donations for their preferred hunger-relief charity.
• Katie’s Krops Grants – (Ian’s favorite!) – Due December 31, 2016
  Open to youth, ages 9 to 16, who want to help end hunger in their community by starting a vegetable garden where the whole harvest is donated to feed people in need in their community. They are seeking youth who will continue on with this garden, season after season, thereby creating a long-term sustainable solution. The award includes a gift card to a garden center (up to $500), support from the Katie’s Krops team, access to the private Katie’s Krops Grower reporting website and growing manual, eligibility to apply for the all-expenses-paid Katie’s Krops Summer Camp, and more.

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If you want to follow Ian’s project, you can follow him on Twitter or Instagram or visit his website.

Have you ever grown a giving garden? Do you know someone else who does? Would you consider planting extra beds or rows to share? I’d love to hear what you think in the comments below.