SOUTH CRENSHAW : New Store Cultivates an Earthy Reputation

As parts of South-Central went up in flames nearly three years ago, Anna Carter stood on her apartment balcony overlooking the riot-torn city and thought primarily of one thing: food.

“I thought, ‘Where are people going to buy things, what are they going to eat when this is over?’ ” she said. “That’s when I decided to do something I had thought about doing for a long time.”

That something was establishing a neighborhood business offering organically grown seeds, produce and plants--a unique venture in an area long underpopulated by even food stores and supermarkets.

But on New Year’s Day, Carter realized her dream and opened the doors of the Seed Lady at 7423 S. Crenshaw Blvd.

The storefront, the former site of a beauty supply shop, is small but draws customers with the colorful arrangements of goods that Carter puts out on the sidewalk when she opens at 8 a.m.: sweet potatoes, limes, garlic, peppers, celery, spider plants, ferns and ficuses.

Juanita Bailey braved torrential rain last week to stop in at the Seed Lady for some organically grown oranges, mangoes and her son’s favorite: corn.

“I hate going to the market when I know things there aren’t as fresh, and they taste funny,” said Bailey, who routinely walks to the store from her nearby South Crenshaw home.

“There’s a big difference. I’m from Kentucky, and I know what fruits and vegetables are supposed to taste like,” she said.

Carter, 37, took the name of her store from what friends, neighbors and even her mother have long called her--the “seed lady.”

For two years, she sold organic seeds out of her home and spread the gospel of home-growing fruits and vegetables to people who had never seen Brussels sprouts on the stalk. By encouraging others to start gardens, Carter believed, she was helping them bring more to their tables than just food.

“The problem in the community, particularly in the black community, is that we’re consumers. We don’t produce anything,” said Carter, an Oakland native who credits her passion for organic foods to a Muslim upbringing.

“The problem has also been, when you want good, fresh foods, you have to travel far to get them.” Carter said the impetus to start her business couldn’t have come at a better time. She had just started an entrepreneurial training program at Bethel A.M.E. Church with only vague notions of what she might eventually do.

But after completing the program six months later, she immediately started researching how food is processed and grown, how to raise it organically, the health risks that go along with preservatives and other food additives.

Carter buys her stock from California organic farmers, though she plans next month to start growing her own in a plot of land in the back yard of the store.

Although fruits and vegetables are what bring people in the door, Carter says the seeds and house plants sell best.

Seeds, which customers select after consulting Carter about soil conditions, go for $1 a pack; plants are priced between $9 and $15.

Yet the most valuable payoff, said Carter, will be simply operating the sort of community oasis she has always envisioned. She is in the midst of starting what she considers crucial: a “Flower and Sprout” program that will teach young schoolchildren the joys of gardening.

Anthony Elmore, 11, has already begun his education. He and several of his friends come on weekends to help the “Seed Lady” set up, dig up plants for re-potting, and other chores.

“It’s fun,” he said with a shrug. “I like the stuff here better than at (other markets) . . . Besides, I like to play in the dirt.”

Information: (213) 758-3368.