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A Growing Passion

Te’Lario, 16, loves to share his joy of gardening.

October 2024
Ellen Song

Cucumbers are just one of Te’Lario’s crops.

Mushrooms can grow on logs in dim, dark places.

Te’Lario Watkins II was 7 when he grew his first crops. For a Cub Scout project, he planted basil seeds in soil in Styrofoam cups that he kept by his windowsill. Pretty soon, his window was filled with green leaves. Te’Lario’s mom used some of the basil to make pizza.

The Columbus, Ohio resident was thrilled. “I was so excited to eat something that I had grown myself,” he says. “I immediately wanted to try growing other types of food.” For his next crop he chose mushrooms. His mushrooms did even better than the basil, and after a little while he had more than his family could eat.

In the years since, Te’Lario has been selling his mushrooms at farmers’ markets. But he’s not just a successful farmer. He’s also an activist, working to make sure everyone in his community has access to fresh produce. He wants people to understand the importance of eating all types of healthy, delicious food (not just mushrooms!). Read on to learn more about Te’Lario’s mission to make fresh food more widely available. 

He also grows tomatoes and salad greens. 

Fantastic Fungus 

Te’Lario loves all food, but he is passionate about mushrooms, which are a type of fungi. “Mushrooms really interested me as a little kid, because it was cool to learn about something you could eat that wasn’t a plant or an animal but an entirely different category,” he says. 

Additionally, mushrooms grow quickly and are easy to grow indoors. They also contain many important nutrients. Because they have a meaty texture when cooked, mushrooms are a good substitute for chicken or beef for people trying to follow a vegetarian diet. 

There are many different types of mushrooms. Shiitake mushrooms are Te’Lario’s favorite. They’re also a popular choice with customers at the farmers’ market. “You can cook them with anything, and they’re really tasty,” he says. He loves frying up shiitakes and eating them on toast for a quick and satisfying snack.

Te’Lario shares his mushroom growing kits.

Sharing His Passion

Working at the farmers’ market selling his mushrooms helped Te’Lario realize that not everyone can afford fresh produce. This didn’t seem fair to him. With the help of his parents, he applied for a $500 grant through Katie’s Krops. That’s a nonprofit organization that helps people start gardens. Te’Lario and his family used the grant money to create a garden in their backyard. They grew cucumbers and carrots, which they donated to local food banks. 

Te’Lario loved sharing the produce from his own garden with his community, but he wanted to do more. In March 2020, he started his own nonprofit organization, the Garden Club Project, which supports community gardens in Ohio. The Garden Club Project works with schools and libraries to teach kids how to grow their own edible plants. The kids grow mushrooms, of course, as well as the basil plants that got Te’Lario hooked on gardening when he was a kid. 

One of Te’Lario’s goals is to teach 1,000 students how to grow mushrooms. Recently, the Garden Club Project distributed mushroom-growing kits and mushroom-themed coloring books to 150 elementary school students in Columbus. Te’Lario visits classrooms to demonstrate how to use the kits. He says students have become so excited by how fast their mushrooms grow that they’ve asked for mushrooms to be added to their school lunch menus! 

A Delicious Crop

Te’Lario believes growing your own food can change your life for the better. “Food you’ve grown yourself is often much healthier than packaged foods from the store,” he says. The reason is that packaged food frequently contains chemicals and artificial ingredients to make it stay fresh longer on the store shelves. When you grow your own food, you know that it is fresh and has no artificial ingredients. And, Te’Lario says, it’ll probably taste better too. 

Aside from the health advantages of eating fresh produce, there are other benefits to growing your own food, even if it’s just herbs in a pot on your windowsill. “You learn so much when you plant some seeds, then water and take care of the plant,” Te’Lario says. “It’s a practice that teaches patience, and it’s also just really exciting when you see your first little sprout.” 

Growing His Future 

One of Te’Lario’s long-term goals is to improve food access throughout the country. “It is not right that some people cannot easily access fresh produce,” he says. People who live in food deserts may have many unhealthy food options but few places to find affordable fresh fruits and vegetables. 

Te’Lario knows that solving the problem of food deserts won’t happen overnight, so he plans to study the issue in college. He hopes to attend Ohio State University, where he wants to double major in agricultural engineering and computer science. He believes technology will play a big role in making sure everyone has equal access to fresh produce. 

Te’Lario’s message to other teens is to figure out what you want to dedicate your time to. Once you make this decision, stick with it. “Nothing grows instantly,” he says. “Be patient and don’t give up.” 

Set Up a Windowsill Garden

Want to plant your own food but don’t have a ton of space? No problem! You can plant a windowsill garden, either indoors or in a box that hangs outside your window. Pick a spot that gets a lot of sunlight. You’ll need to have containers, soil, and seeds, which you can find at your local hardware or gardening supply store. Choose seeds for plants that do great in a windowsill garden. Try herbs like basil, parsley, or mint; leafy greens like lettuce or spinach; and scallions and garlic. 

Te’Lario’s Favorite Mushroom Recipe

Sautéed Mushroom Toast

Ingredients: 

  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • ¼ cup finely chopped shallot or onion 
  • 1 garlic clove, minced 
  • ½ pound mushrooms, stem ends trimmed, chopped (Te’Lario recommends shiitake, but feel free to use other kinds.)
  • ¼ teaspoon salt 
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley
  • ⅛ teaspoon black pepper 

Directions: 

  1. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. 
  2. Add garlic and shallot or onion to pan. Cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes. 
  3. Add mushrooms and ¼ teaspoon salt to pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms have softened and released their liquid, about 7 minutes. 
  4. Raise heat to medium-high. Cook until liquid has evaporated, about 3 minutes.
  5. Turn off heat. Stir in fresh parsley and pepper. 
  6. Let mixture cool. 
  7. Spread it onto slices of your favorite kind of toasted bread.
  8. Enjoy! 
Real Teen
Social-Emotional Learning
Activism

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