By Chelsea Vance | The Selma Times-Journal

Grow Selma will be up early Saturday working at 8:30 a.m. in its Mill Village Community Garden and Food Park.

Clay Carmichael is a member of Grow Selma and is looking forward to serving the community this Saturday.

“We really hope to grow the neighborhood and use the garden as a community development tool. We want to be able to supply food, and we want them to be able to come out and enjoy it,” Carmichael said.

The garden will produce greens, Brussels sprout, beets, garlic, onions, peas and carrots. Fruit trees that have been planted include blueberry, fig, pomegranate, pear and plum.

The park is located at 306 Morgan Ave. in Selma. All volunteers are asked to bring gardening tools and be prepared to get their hands dirty. There are about 15 members in the group, but volunteers are encouraged to come out and participate.

The group will be working to build the main entrance of the park with a butterfly garden. They will also be mulching, sorting room for a soon-to-come greenhouse and starting a compost process called huglekultur.

“You get wood, old tree limbs, roots and you pile it up. Then you come back over it with mulch and leaves and come back over that with soil. Over a period of years, everything starts to compost. It’s the best soil that you can get,” Carmichael said.

He believes the process is a sustainable way to grow food.

The butterfly garden will be composed of shrubs, plants and flowers that appeal to and attract different kinds of butterflies that will add to the beautification of the park.

“It is important to do community work. Selma is in bad need of community effort. People should come together and work,” Carmichael said.

The group meets every third Saturday of each month at 8:30 a.m. at the Mill Village Community Garden and Food Park. Those interested in volunteering can call Carmichael at 410-0582.