Self-sustaining orchard becomes Jackson's first
Community volunteers and sponsors turned out Saturday to plant Jackson’s first self-sustainable community fruit orchard at the Rosemont Missionary Baptist Church in Jackson.
Organized by Keep Jackson Beautiful in partnership with the church and Entergy, the orchard uses permaculture techniques, meaning the 20 fruit trees, 20 blueberry bushes and 60 herbs will be nearly self-sustainable.
Fruit was planted on three swales — raised land over a dugout — which creates a mini reservoir.
"It’s mimicking what nature has already figured out,” said Gabe Porter, a Keep Jackson Beautiful board member. “We’ve always been working against (nature) and trying to control it, which costs us a lot of money. We have food shortage issues in Mississippi and Jackson is a food desert … We’re a subtropical climate and we’ve been producing food here for a long time; this is how our grandparents lived. We need to embrace our history and heritage and get back to having a tighter community.”
Porter has run a permaculture farm on his personal property for years. He said the Mississippi climate is particularly good for producing strawberries, blueberries and asparagus using permaculture.
The work Saturday on the land donated by the church was only the first phase of the orchard. In addition to apples, peaches, plums and pears, the orchard will expand to include kiwis, pomegranates and figs, “things you didn’t know could grow here,” Porter said.
The trees and bushes will begin to bear fruit within two years and will available to the general public, said Martha Hobson, executive director of Keep Jackson Beautiful.
“We want to teach people how to do this so we can set an example and hopefully do this in other areas of the city. No one is getting outside anymore, and it is important to get outside and let them touch the soil and realize the importance of the environment in their lives,” Hobson said.
Members of the Purple Diamonds dance team joined Entergy and Keep Jackson Beautiful volunteers. More than 30 team members helped plant, move dirt and fill the swales with water.
“A lot of them haven’t had the experience of learning to plant different things, so it’s been enriching for them,” said Purple Diamonds director Shanika Lee. “There is so much going on in Jackson these days, so something positive like this is great. They’re a part of something that is not only going to be seen now, but years on down the line. They’ll be able to come back and say ‘I helped plant those trees.’”
The Rev. Jimmie Edwards, pastor at Rosemont, views access to fresh food as a part of community outreach. He has also organized the construction of raised beds for vegetables.
“It is so important because the nearest grocery store is McDade’s up there on Ellis Ave,” Edwards said. “We’re going to teach individuals to not only raise their own vegetables but also teach them how to prepare it.”
Keep Jackson Beautiful organized the event to kick off Earth Month and will host an event at Presidential Hills from 9 a.m. to noon next Saturday before returning to the orchard site April 23 for continued expansion.
Contact Jacob Threadgill at (601) 961-7192 or jthreadgil@gannett.com. Follow @JacoboLaSombra on Twitter.