“We had a lot of community members coming in and talking at the library,” said librarian Joy Williams. “And gardening books were getting a lot of circulation.”
From such small seeds gardens often grow, and before long, a group of Kent County citizens sought approval from their county commission to repurpose a fallow spot of ground behind the old nursing home facility in Jayton.
The facility—which had been used most recently as The Sparrow’s Nest Maternity Home, said Williams— offered some necessary amenities, such as fencing and some old raised planting beds. It also has a water source, vital when the West Texas sun starts baking down on vulnerable crops.
“We’re trying to learn the most economical methods for gardening in our area,” Williams said. Jayton is located in USDA plant hardiness zone 7 (Texas zone II).
The library will be central point for communication, and Williams will maintain a signup sheet there. The group is still discussing how volunteers will manage their work hours and exchange for the produce they hope is soon to come.
The group has scheduled a planting day for Good Friday, March 29.
Williams, who is a gardener herself, recalled that a group of locals worked on a community garden a decade or so ago. Now, she said, residents are “looking to glean information from others who have done this as a lifestyle, while they are still able to share.”
