Utica man goes viral for sustainable gardening methods

Chuck “Sandman” Collins is a Utican through and through and takes pride in it.

“Hey Utica, Upstate New York, Central New York – I miss you all. I want to thank you for your continued support,” Collins said.

Collins grew up in the Cornhill area of ​​Utica.

“Blessings, Cornhill. All of my people at Cornhill represent, ”Collins said.

He says his family didn’t have much, but his grandmother and uncle had gardens. Collins says gardening has helped unite his community.

“Whether it was from any culture, regardless of your racial background – we all knew how to grow things in the ground from seeds in Utica,” he said. “This is actually the reason why we got the name ‘Cornhill’.”

But Collins was busy with martial arts and other passions as he returned home. His green thumb did not appear until after he moved to Arizona. Collins had to leave his beloved town of Utica for a more temperate climate because he had difficulty breathing due to an injury he sustained in the US Navy.

“Due to my injury, I couldn’t practice martial arts anymore, so I had to find something to do with myself. clean, ”Collins said.

Inspired by work in the field of space studies, Collins got involved in sustainable gardening – creating a startup called “Together We Grow”.

As Collins posted videos about his efforts, Raechel Larsen reached out, in partnership with Collins, and helped create a Facebook page, YouTube channel, and website for “Together We Grow.”

Around the same time, a team of documentaries approached Collins.

“I am from Utica. You can’t put a camera on my face and I say “no”. This is not how we are built, ”he said.

The documentary was released in the spring and quickly gained a lot of attention. He now has millions of views on YouTube.

“We’re in the Mohawk Valley, so we’re kinda hidden and hidden. When one of us from this special place comes out and ventures out into the world, and we are recognized for something that we do, it means the world to me because I believe that each of the residents of Utica, all of us my fellow citizens have something special about them that they can bring to the world. They just need this opportunity, ”Collins said.

Collins says it was the gardeners of upstate New York who helped him get to where he is now, and his appreciation continues.

“We actually grow Italian Long Hots from seeds that were sent to me from Utica,” Collins said. “You can take the boy out of the Utica, but you can’t take the Utica out of the boy.”

Collins says he’s partnered with the World Health Organization, the National Research Foundation, and NASA to help make his methods available to any garden. Collins also hopes to bring his methods to the suffering nations.

In addition to his gardening, Collins works at the Kitt Peak National Observatory.

For more information on Collins’ efforts, click here. To learn more about Raechel Larson, visit his website.