Helping Others

This week, Scott Christian Care Center received a call from one of its community gardens. Mr. Gayther, who over sees the garden at Scott County Justice Center, wanted to give fresh produce to the Center’s Food pantry, so it could reach more people in Scott County who are in need of nutritious and fresh food. His generous donation aligns with the mission of the Center’s Food pantry which is to provide those in need in Scott County foods that are not packed with preservatives and lack nutritional value.

Mr. Gayther got to the Justice Center’s garden early that morning. He was not only picking produce for the Center, but also, for other people and organizations such as the Senior Citizen’s Center. Inmates known as trustees are are allowed help with the garden.

Having the inmates tend the garden, not only helps with harvesting all of the crops produced from this size of a garden, but also with keeping out all the nasty weeks that try to take over any garden.

In this year’s garden, Mr. Gayther grew rattle snack beans. Actually, he isn’t the only person who is growing them from the program; however, this was the first year that some of us have heard about this variety. It was different seeing beans that have purple stripes running through them. He told us that he prefers rattle snack beans to any other type of bean. I can’t wait until I get to try them for myself and compare which beans are better.

This little berry is known as a ground cherry. A plant some of us had not heard of until this year. As you can see, it grows inside of husk which is similar to that of a tomatillo. Because of its relation to the tomato plant, it is susceptible to the same diseases and pest problems as tomatoes. Once the fruit has ripened, it will fall off of the bush and is ready to collect; however some recommend waiting a week until eating. A good way to tell is when the color changes from a pale-yellow to a yellow orange.