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SHALISHA BYNOE/Palatka Daily News Morris Alston stands in the community garden he maintains at the intersection of River and 12th streets in Palatka.
By Shalisha Bynoe
Special to the Daily News
On the corner of 12th and River streets in Palatka is a medium-sized garden with big leafy greens sprouting from buckets.
Morris Alston, a warm-hearted and hardworking local in his 90s, recently tended to his vegetables by stuffing his hands inside a large planter. As he did this, he reflected on the community garden, his family and his love for growing vegetables.
“Keep Putnam Beautiful started this garden, and it was here before I came,” Alston said. “When I first came to this area, I lived at a senior citizen building — the same one I live at now — and I talked to the manager and told her I was interested in helping with the garden.”
Keep Putnam Beautiful is a nonprofit organization that creates solutions for waste and litter by collaborating with town officials, organizations and schools. In addition, they provide educational programs for adults and youth.
Alston was excited that the manager allowed him to grow vegetables in the community garden, but it came with a condition.
“She said you can do a container garden, but you can’t dig up the grass,” Alston said. “A container garden is above ground, and you take your little plants, put the seed in these little trays and put them in the small 1-gallon pot. Some plants can grow in a little pot, but others need a bigger pot.”
Alston followed in the footsteps of his great-grandfather by growing produce and has been a gardener since the 1940s. Proudly lifting his green thumb for nearly 80 years, he knows how to care for various types of vegetables and provide positive advice to those who need it most.
“My father owned a cotton tobacco farm,” Alston said. “But we raised what we ate. My great-grandfather was also a farmer but didn’t buy anything from the store except salt. He raised the cows for the milk and pigs for the meat. And there was a certain type of tree with bark used as a dye for clothing.”
Managing the community garden alone, Alston remembers those who have visited the garden and contributed their time to watering vegetables and sifting the soil.
”I remember one gentleman that was here when I came, but he passed away,” said Alston.“ Young people visit but become discouraged. “Sometimes they plant stuff during the wrong time of the year.”
Alston provides insider advice on the spring growing season and how long it takes to grow some vegetables.
“A pepper takes like 85 days from the seed to the table,” Alston said. “And a tomato takes from 85 to 90 days. Onions are very slow growers, taking 90 to 120 days to become a large big onion. I start with seeds and flats. Then I put them in the trays, but you must know how to can and freeze vegetables as well.”
For more information about the community garden please visit the community garden on the corner of 12th and River streets. Alston is available from 8–11 a.m. Monday to Thursday.