A new growing season starts, and a garden grows with it.
The community garden at Martin Luther King Boulevard and Laura Street in Kinston has grown in small steps since its inception in the summer of 2011, but advances are being made.
A grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture led to the establishment of an orchard over the fall, which will be expected to provide fruit — and nuts — as the year moves along.
Pointing out the trees Saturday, Jessica Seymour of Common Ground ENC said the orchard should provide pecans, peaches, figs, apples and pears.
“It’s for people to grow their own healthy foods and not be concerned with spending money on fresh produce that may be outside of their budget,” Seymour said. “This is an inexpensive way to supplement your weekly grocery bill, with something very inexpensive.”
With a $3,000 grant from the popular toy company Lego, Common Ground intends to install several bee hives. It’s one of the goals of the project to be environmentally sustainable while serving as a place for childhood education.
“We’ll be taking that Lego grant to build two or three bee hives, and of course that’s another great piece of teaching about science education,” Common Ground Executive Director Lee Albritton said. “It’s teaching kids about pollinating insects, and also gives them a chance to produce some honey to sell, because we’re very much into social enterprise, which means generating revenue, generating profits so we can reinvest in our goals.”
Also working on the property Saturday were members of Kinston Department of Public Safety Explorer Post 1033, cleaning up the area next to Laura Street and assisting in new planting at the garden.
“I enjoy it because, for one, it’s a better way for us to come around and help out the community, and we’re actually helping in the community by planting crops like fruit and things like that,” Post 1033 member Charnetta Sutton said. “And for people who are staying right here, close to Common Ground, they’re able to come and get fresh fruit and vegetables.”
A labor-intensive part of the job of cleaning up the site is clearing the area of trash and debris.
“It’s pretty good for somebody to come clean it up, instead of people throwing the trash out here and leaving it,” Post 1033 member Portrate Stokes said. “It helps the environment, so, somebody has to do it. I guess we’re just the people to do it right now.”
Before the 1999 flood, before the property was a mobile home park, it was a dumping ground. So in addition to litter, the soil turns up the refuse of years past. An area next to the garden was being developed for a run-off area.
“This is a swell that we tilled up, and once we get it cleaned out, we’re going to open up a real, open ditch where water can run,” Albritton said. “Because, this is low land and this is a place for water to go. In the meantime, they’re picking up glass, brick and metal.”
Broken soft drink bottles, engine pistons and a small pistol were among the items needed to be cleared.
Over the weekend, strawberries were going in near ready-to-harvest Brussels sprouts and flowers and greens meant to treat the soil over the winter. But soon, plots will open up as other produce are ready to plant.
“In the spring, we intend to plant the typical vegetables that we grow around here — squash, zucchini, corn, cucumbers, tomatoes, okra,” Seymour said.
People from the surrounding neighborhood and general area are being sought to tend plots in the garden — personal plots are available at $15 a piece — and to assist with the community efforts, of which gardeners can take home a portion of the bounty at harvest time.
Brian Jones of Common Ground said it provided a nice place for friendly competition for civic groups, and for older generations to impart their knowledge to younger gardeners.
“Our goal for spring is to get people out here,” Jones said. “This garden is for you to come share with us. You can plant what you like, and we can even provide it.”
Wes Wolfe can be reached at 252-559-1075 or wes.wolfe@kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter @WolfeReports.
Breakout Box
Contact Common Ground ENC at:
- commongroundenc.com
- commongroundenc@yahoo.com
- facebook.com/commongroundenc
- Lee Albritton, executive director, 252-560-2509