Members wearing bright yellow shirts can be seen all throughout the one acre garden near Jimmie Lee Edwards’ home in the community of Pastoria (Jefferson County).

A volunteer with the Pastoria 4-H “Agri Kids Club”, believes in the educational benefits of gardening, and has been helping kids grow produce since 1991. “There is a lot of education out there,” Edwards said about the garden near her home.  The club, which consists of 12–13 members ranging from 7–16 years of age, grows a variety of produce on the one acre plot.

The garden serves as a way to educate students about eating nutritious foods, money management and gardening. 

“Kids get to see how the seed grows, how it’s not just in the grocery store,” said Beverly Edwards, club founder and leader.

Members come from several local schools, including schools in the Dollarway, England, Watson Chapel and Pine Bluff school districts.  They work in the garden twice a week and on weekends during the school year and every other day in the summer during harvesting. 

Not only do members help with harvesting, they also plant the seeds, hand pick weeds and help with canning and preserving the produce.

Members also learn soil testing, irrigation, harvesting and marketing techniques.

“The kids learn the same techniques as the big farmers, just on a smaller scale,” Jimmie Lee Edwards said. 

Members say their favorite part of working in the garden is picking and eating what they have grown. Members also share the production by taking food baskets to the elderly in the community during various times throughout the year. 

The garden doesn’t just provide food for members and others, but serves as a way for members to learn about the different crops and different crop varieties. 

This year the club is growing four different varieties of peas, three varieties of green beans, four varieties of strawberries and several other types of produce.

Members learn such things as what are good conditions for growing crops, how the variety of seed was developed and nutritional benefits of a particular crop. Dr. Obadiah Njue, a horticulture specialist with the Extension service, often visits the garden and works with students.

“The garden teaches life lessons,” Jimmie Lee Edwards said “When the kids leave they will know how to garden.”

Club members have also learned about beekeeping. An area beekeeper allows the club to maintain about seven hives.  The beekeeper will later come out and harvest the honey from the bees. The club uses the bees to pollinate crops, specifically the club’s seedless watermelon crop.

Jordan O’Guinn, a club member, explained that the beekeeper will have a queen bee shipped in a tiny box from California. The queen is then placed inside of the hive where she will start a new colony. 

The garden is more then an educational tool and to satisfy members hunger, it is also a way to make money. A lot of the produce grown in the garden is sold to members of the community and at the Pine Bluff farmers market. 

The club received the best-in-show award with their corn at last year’s market. “We usually plant to have the first corn crop in the county,” Jimmie Lee Edwards said. The club also had blue-ribbon-winning, cabbage, plums, okra, green beans and peas at the farmer’s market. Members have also received numerous awards at the district fair.

“It teaches them to work for money and how to budget and manage that money,” Beverly Edwards said.

The money earned at the market is used to purchase seed and equipment for the next season or other club activities.

Club members also take part in other 4-H activities such as: summer camps at the 4-H center, broiler barbecue-cooking contest, modelling contest and talent shows. 

On occasion, the club has sponsored trips to such places as California, Memphis and the State Capitol as a way to reward members for all of their hard work. 

The club has been recognized several times for its achievements.  Last July a garden tour was conducted for government agencies, master gardener clubs and members of the community. Those in attendance got to tour the garden, hear presentations from members about various crops being grown and taste watermelon and cantaloupe grown in the garden.

The club, which was originally started for Jimmie Lee Edwards’ grandchildren, has grown into a real family event. Members of the Edwards family are now in their third generation of participating in the club and garden.

The Edwards family is not the only family involved. Several of the club members are related in some way, siblings, cousins, even nieces and nephews join the club together. 

When the club travels or has functions two grandmothers and one mother of club members will go along to help.

Njue said the club will be one of the few people who get green beans this year.  He says because of the extreme amount of rainfall and high heat most green bean crops have been lost. Njue attributed the club’s success to the black plastic placed on the ground before planting, which protected plants from excess rain. Jimmie Lee Edwards says the plastic also holds in moisture and helps with weed control.

The club is lucky to have green beans this season because a survey of the members showed green beans along with corn to be the members’ favorite vegetables.