Wilmer Hall’s Garden Grows Again Thanks to Extension Master Gardeners

By Mary Wilson, Alabama Cooperative Extension System, Auburn University

The Rev. Pratt Paterson, deacon and executive director for Wilmer Hall, stands in the revitalized garden. Photo credit: Jan Wood, Mobile Master Gardeners.

Wilmer Hall Children’s Home has been a place of restoration in the city of Mobile since 1864. Recently, though, an area of the home itself was in desperate need of rehabilitation.

A garden on the grounds, built a few decades ago by dedicated volunteers, had seen better days. The garden’s numerous raised beds had sat fallow for years, until Pratt Paterson, the home’s executive director, signed up for the Extension Master Gardener Volunteer Program.

“I lived in East Tennessee for a while and thought I was a good gardener, but it turns out I just had the perfect climate and dirt up there,” Paterson said. “I realized gardening is much different on the Gulf Coast and that I needed to learn new things to be a successful gardener in Mobile.”

Along with completing his Master Gardener intern coursework earlier this year, Paterson built relationships with those in the Mobile County Master Gardeners Association. The group decided to take on the Wilmer Hall Children’s Home garden as one of their volunteer projects.

Earlier this spring, the volunteer group tackled its first project — installing a drip irrigation system. Alabama Extension Commercial Horticulture Agent Jacob Kelley offered his time and expertise to lead the installation along with about a dozen Extension Master Gardener volunteers. The group included Jan Wood, who stepped up to coordinate volunteer efforts at the garden.

“Seeing Jacob install the irrigation system was educational for a lot of us,” Wood said. “I wasn’t really knowledgeable about home irrigation systems before. It’s an added bonus when we get to learn new things during our volunteer hours.”

In April, new soil was added to the garden beds. Volunteers planted vegetables, fertilized, and established a caretaking schedule.

“Vegetable gardening requires a lot of scouting for insects and diseases, especially in Mobile in the summer,” said Wood. “When you look at pictures of where it was at the beginning of the year, it’s amazing to see how that garden has grown. Our volunteers have been stellar. They’re very diligent. One or two are out there every day to scout and harvest.”

When questions arise, volunteers rely on the expert help of Alabama Extension staff, including Kelley and Home Horticulture Agent Jack LeCroy.

“When they’re out scouting, they’ll send us pictures of insects or possible disease, and we send them our recommendations,” LeCroy said. “At Alabama Extension, our mission is to serve, but I can’t always be everywhere. Through working with the Mobile County Master Gardeners Association, they’re making it possible for Alabama Extension to serve even more people in the community.”

What once was fallow is now bountiful. The garden produces tomatoes, peas, okra, peppers, sunflowers, and more. Harvests are tracked and weighed.

“They have a friendly challenge going on,” LeCroy said. “They’ll know how many pounds of vegetables were grown this year, and they’ve already set a goal to improve on that number next year.”

For now, residents and staff enjoy the garden’s bounty. In the future, the food will be used in monthly classes where a chef teaches residents new ways to prepare meals. Any remainder will be distributed through the delivery-based food bank.

“We want to be as sustainable as possible and waste as little as possible,” Paterson said.

Even culled vegetables and plant clippings serve a purpose as feed for chickens they raise at the home.

“I think we’re all learning things through this garden,” Paterson said. “Throughout the history of Wilmer Hall Children’s Home, it has taken a village to keep this ministry going. That includes many community partners in Mobile, and we’re happy that now the Extension Master Gardeners are among our partners.”

The 2nd Episcopal Bishop of Alabama Richard Hooker Wilmer established what is now Wilmer Hall Children’s Home in 1864 as a home for orphans. Now in its 161st year of serving the Mobile community, the non-profit provides a home as well as education, job skills and life skills training for young adults. It also includes a delivery-based food pantry and a tutoring program with four locations around Mobile. Learn more by visiting wilmerhall.org.

The Extension Master Gardener Volunteer Program is a project of the Alabama Cooperative Extension System. To become certified, interns participate in classes and 50 volunteer hours. Learn more about the program by visiting www.aces.edu and searching for Extension Master Gardener.