Betty Payne shows tomatoes she picked Monday from the community garden behind her public housing apartment on Sixth St. in Cleveland.CLEVELAND, Tenn. — Betty Payne was determined the community garden in her public housing neighborhood would thrive this summer.
“In the back are watermelons and pumpkins. Green beans are on the other side of the okra. Right here we have sweet potatoes and some gourds,” Payne said during a garden tour.
It’s the third growing season for a community garden begun by volunteers from the Caring Place, the Greenway Table and a UT Extension Service Master Gardener class. The garden is in the center of backyards shared by the apartments on Sixth Street SE.
The garden is having its best year yet thanks to Payne, Caring Place Director Reba Terry said.
“I was raised on a farm,” said Payne, who moved into the neighborhood about a year ago. “I have gardened most of my life.”