Inmates proud of jail's garden project
By Kat Russell, Reporter
The Paducah Sun
June 3, 2015
http://www.paducahsun.com/news/local/060315_PS_Inmate_Garden
Kat Russell / The Paducah Sun
For a handful of McCracken County Jail inmates who are taking part in the facility's new garden program, every day is a beautiful day when they get to work outside.
In April, the city of Paducah gave the jail two vacant lots - one at Sixth and Adams streets and the other at Seventh Street and Oscar Cross Avenue - so inmates could start planting vegetable gardens.
This is not the first time the jail has had a gardening program, McCracken County Jailer Bill Adams said.
"We had one several years ago, but it was all the way out at the county road department," he said.
The program was discontinued about 12 years ago because it was too inconvenient to load up the inmates and equipment every day and transport them.
The new gardens were planted at the beginning of May, and already inmates are starting to see the fruits of their labor - peas, tomatoes, okra, bell peppers, green beans and squash have sprouted and are flourishing in neat rows.
"They run the tiller, they weed, they've planted everything," Adams said. "They've done every bit of work that's been done."
Currently only men are allowed to work in the gardens, Adams said, but he is considering having men and women alternate shifts next year.
"The problem is we just don't have that many women who qualify to work outside," he said. "We have about 400 men and only 60 women in the jail, and most of the women either have cases pending or do not qualify to work outside."
To qualify for garden duty, inmates have to be non-violent offenders who are designated on a state or county level as able to work outside and in the community, Adams said.
Although the garden was started only last month, Adams said there is already a long line of inmates who are eager to get to work.
"It's a good job," he said. "Any job that they get that's outside is a good job."
Inmate Jesse Rodriguez of Paducah concurred, saying that he enjoyed working in the garden, being outside and getting to work with his hands.
In April, the city of Paducah gave the jail two vacant lots - one at Sixth and Adams streets and the other at Seventh Street and Oscar Cross Avenue - so inmates could start planting vegetable gardens.
This is not the first time the jail has had a gardening program, McCracken County Jailer Bill Adams said.
"We had one several years ago, but it was all the way out at the county road department," he said.
The program was discontinued about 12 years ago because it was too inconvenient to load up the inmates and equipment every day and transport them.
The new gardens were planted at the beginning of May, and already inmates are starting to see the fruits of their labor - peas, tomatoes, okra, bell peppers, green beans and squash have sprouted and are flourishing in neat rows.
"They run the tiller, they weed, they've planted everything," Adams said. "They've done every bit of work that's been done."
Currently only men are allowed to work in the gardens, Adams said, but he is considering having men and women alternate shifts next year.
"The problem is we just don't have that many women who qualify to work outside," he said. "We have about 400 men and only 60 women in the jail, and most of the women either have cases pending or do not qualify to work outside."
To qualify for garden duty, inmates have to be non-violent offenders who are designated on a state or county level as able to work outside and in the community, Adams said.
Although the garden was started only last month, Adams said there is already a long line of inmates who are eager to get to work.
"It's a good job," he said. "Any job that they get that's outside is a good job."
Inmate Jesse Rodriguez of Paducah concurred, saying that he enjoyed working in the garden, being outside and getting to work with his hands.
Kat Russell / The Paducah Sun
Rodriguez, who has served 44 days of his 90-day sentence for trafficking in marijuana, said he keeps a vegetable garden every year at home and being able to do that in jail adds a little bit of normalcy to an otherwise abnormal situation.
"I've learned a lot," he said. "I keep gardens at home, but everyone does it a little differently, so I've learned lots of different methods doing this."
Another inmate, Nicholas Barbee, also of Paducah, said he has been working in the garden since "day one."
"It's amazing to see what's here now considering what we started with," he said.
Barbee explained the two lots were full of old bricks, concrete pieces, rocks and junk - all from the old homes that used to stand there - that had to be removed before they could begin planting.
"It was a lot of work getting it to this point," he said.
Adams said that for some, the garden program has been a learning experience.
"Some of these guys working in the garden didn't know what a garden was," he said. "They didn't know how to plant a seed in the ground, and they didn't know what it was to grow a garden."
All the food grown in the gardens will be used in the jail's kitchen.
"If we have an overabundance of product that we can't use or that will go to waste, then we'll offer that to community kitchens," Adams said, adding that the food grown will help cut the facility's food costs.
Overall, Adams said the program has thus far proven successful and the inmates are eager to get a taste of their work.
"I think a lot of people have their doubts when you try something like this and they think, 'Oh, they're just a bunch of inmates.' But the garden looks good, and they've done a good job. I think they're proud that they did it themselves."
Contact Kat Russell, a Paducah Sun staff writer, at 270-575-8653.
"I've learned a lot," he said. "I keep gardens at home, but everyone does it a little differently, so I've learned lots of different methods doing this."
Another inmate, Nicholas Barbee, also of Paducah, said he has been working in the garden since "day one."
"It's amazing to see what's here now considering what we started with," he said.
Barbee explained the two lots were full of old bricks, concrete pieces, rocks and junk - all from the old homes that used to stand there - that had to be removed before they could begin planting.
"It was a lot of work getting it to this point," he said.
Adams said that for some, the garden program has been a learning experience.
"Some of these guys working in the garden didn't know what a garden was," he said. "They didn't know how to plant a seed in the ground, and they didn't know what it was to grow a garden."
All the food grown in the gardens will be used in the jail's kitchen.
"If we have an overabundance of product that we can't use or that will go to waste, then we'll offer that to community kitchens," Adams said, adding that the food grown will help cut the facility's food costs.
Overall, Adams said the program has thus far proven successful and the inmates are eager to get a taste of their work.
"I think a lot of people have their doubts when you try something like this and they think, 'Oh, they're just a bunch of inmates.' But the garden looks good, and they've done a good job. I think they're proud that they did it themselves."
Contact Kat Russell, a Paducah Sun staff writer, at 270-575-8653.
