George Carr treats himself to fresh blackberries during one of his Saturday workdays in the Faison Community Garden. Carr eats very little of what is produced in the garden, but can’t resist the blackberries. ‘Ain’t nothing better on a hot day,’ he said. (Kathy Grant Westbrook|mountolivetribune.com)
The Faison Community Garden features a vegetable plot that measures approximately 100 feet by 60 feet. Around the garden’s perimeter are grapevines and fruit trees and shrubs. (Kathy Grant Westbrook|mountolivetribune.com)
Herbs — such as thyme, dill, basil, oregano, chocolate mint, cilantro, and sage — are grown in eight raised containers at the Faison Community Garden. (Kathy Grant Westbrook|mountolivetribune.com)
Sage has been plentiful in the Faison Community Garden this year. All are invited to harvest from the garden, but are asked by George Carr to observe one steadfast rule: ‘The food can’t be sold.’ (Kathy Grant Westbrook|mountolivetribune.com)
FAISON — It took years, but the Faison Community Garden has finally caught on.
“That’s what everybody else who has tried to start or run a community garden in a small town, that’s what they have all told me, is that…you have to be in it for the long run,” said George Carr, who spends evenings and weekends working in the garden.
The garden has been in place for 11 or 12 years, and Carr (who tackles the bulk of the work but does get assistance from others) recalled that sometime around year four, the garden was “amazing.” That year he received lots of free seeds and plants, put in a drip irrigation system that worked beautifully, spent lots of time in the garden himself, and had lots of help from his family. The result was a bumper crop of vegetables and fruits. Unfortunately, “most of it rotted in the garden,” Carr noted.
He continued, “And I can’t tell you how many people came up to me the next year and the year after and the year after, and said, ‘Yeah, I remember that garden that you had; everything looked so good out there, but I was afraid to come get anything, George. I just didn’t know how it worked and I didn’t know if I could or I should, I just didn’t know.’”
Now, people know. They know that the garden is open to all. “We don’t care about your income or anything,” Carr said. “The food’s here, just come get it. Whether you’re getting it for you or your neighbor, your mama or your kids or work or whoever.”
He did, however, add a couple of caveats. First, he said, “we ask people, don’t take everything; leave some for somebody else.”
And, he stated the garden’s one steadfast rule: “The food can’t be sold.” You’re welcome to any food you’ll eat, but it’s not here for anyone’s profit.
Carr recounted an evening when he knew for certain the garden had become a part of the fabric of the community: “One night I came over here at 8 o’clock after a FIG [Faison Improvement Group] meeting because I wanted to get some things watered, and from 8 to 9 o-clock, four people came and harvested while I was out here watering.”
He continued, “The happiest I am is when I know the plants have produced, and I come out here to work, and I see that there’s no food left out here, that everything has been harvested. So, when people come and say, ‘Yeah, I went out there the other night to get some squash and I couldn’t find any,’ I think that’s a great problem. That means we didn’t waste any food. And for the last three years, we’ve wasted very little food. Everybody has come out here and gotten almost everything.”
The garden’s vegetable area measures about 100 feet by 60 feet and is currently producing squash, cucumbers, gourds, three different types of peppers, and okra. Earlier this year, there were string beans, yellow potatoes, yellow onions, and broccoli.
On an old concrete slab, eight raised containers are filled with a variety of herbs; depending on when you go, you might find thyme, dill, basil, oregano, chocolate mint, cilantro, or sage.
Three sides of the garden’s perimeter are lined with grapevines and fruit trees and bushes. Blackberries are ready for harvest now, and, Carr reported, “Figs will hopefully be coming soon, and grapes will follow them,” probably in late August or early September. Four different varieties of muscadine grapes are available.
Carr admitted that he eats very little produce from the garden himself. “I grow it because it reminds me of childhood,” he said.
He does have one exception though: “Blackberries, I’ll eat the blackberries. Ain’t nothing better on a hot day.”
Other fruit trees on-site include: plum trees, apple trees and a persimmon tree. There are also two pawpaw trees, which produce a fruit Carr described as looking like a cross between a pear and a mango. And goumi berries are being grown here.
Goumi berries? Carr explained that the goumi berry is an “exotic” that produces bright red berries. “They fruited for the first time this year and ripened like they were supposed to,” he said. “It’s got a unique flavor. You either like it or you don’t.”
Goumi berries are not native to the area; nor is the variety of persimmon tree on-site — but these are exceptions to the rule, as Carr strongly focuses on native plants, including those that are grown for reasons other than fruit or vegetable production, like serving as pollinators or simply adding visual appeal to the garden. Among the plants in these categories are: Virginia sweetspire, Carolina jasmine, witch hazel, wax myrtle and milkweed.
In addition to promoting native plants, Carr also aims to keep the use of chemicals to a minimum. He noted that in any given year, the garden is 95 percent chemical-free. “This year, we’re 100 percent chemical-free,” he stated. “So you may not get fruits and vegetables that are the size of what you would get in the grocery store, but you are getting it fresh and you are getting it 100 percent chemical-free. There’s something to be said for that.”
Carr noted that the garden contributes more than just food to the community. For some people, it brings a welcome sense of nostalgia. He said that some seniors discover the garden through social media and then have their grown children bring them for a visit. “It’s always been real sweet to see adult children walking with their elderly parents through the garden and hearing [the parents] tell their children about gardens they had or worked earlier in their lives,” he recounted.
Along these lines, he shared his dreams for the future. “What I would really love is for this to be not only a community garden, but a botanical garden,” he said, “and just draw people and have educational programs and youth programs and kids’ programs.” This is beyond the scope of anything he can do alone, though, so he’s always open to others who would like to volunteer to help him take the garden to the next level. Until then, he’ll be content to manage a garden where no squash or cucumbers or apples — or even goumi berries — ever go to waste.
The Faison Community Garden is located west of the railroad tracks, bordered on three sides by Sampson, Goshen, and Center streets.
