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Community interest...and even watermelons...grow in Ludlow garden |
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| By Vince Paravecchia | ||||||
There’s quite a bit that could be done with a vacant lot in North Philadelphia.
So, why not grow watermelons? That’s exactly what Ludlow resident Paul Hernandez hopes to do over the next few months. He, along with a number of other community members, has claimed a small section of the dirt lot on Fourth and Master streets with the plan to turn it into a bountiful garden by the end of the summer. “I’m going to try,” Hernandez said of growing watermelons. “Melons don’t need too much taking care of. All they need is lots of sun.”
It wouldn’t be the first time Hernandez successfully yielded a watermelon crop in the state. Coming from a long line of farm workers, he also grew
a watermelon garden in Scranton, Pa., when he visited that area years ago.
“I always liked it. My family’s always liked it,” said Hernandez.
Now, he hopes to carry on the tradition in a place much closer to home. He also wants to give cantaloupe and maybe even honeydew a try this summer, and could be planting blueberries during the fall months.
However, Hernandez expects the watermelons to take about three months to grow, which will prevent him from growing flowers and other vegetables.
“They’ll grow,” said Hernandez’s friend, Papo Santana, who is also the garden’s primary caretaker.
While he won’t be growing watermelons, Santana also is carrying on a tradition at the garden. His brother once handled the maintenance duties at the garden, even during his struggle with cancer over a number of years. During the terminal stages of his illness, he still came to the garden nearly every day as his hobby. He finally succumbed in his battle with cancer four years ago, and Papo decided to continue tending to the garden in his memory.
“He used to give people sections. He used to give people water,” said Santana, a Puerto Rican immigrant and former city cab driver, of his
brother. “It [the garden] helps anybody. I want to help anybody.”
The garden itself may not look like much yet, with weeds and overgrown bushes dominating much of the fenced-in landscape. But those within the community say that changes once the summer months come. As the weather gets warmer, the tenders of each of the sections will start sifting through dirt and weeds left over from the winter. Gradually, they will plant flowers, vegetables and fruit, with the goal of not only beautifying their small section of Ludlow, but also grow delicious produce.
“It brings them all together, so that way they’ll all work. We’re all working for the same thing,” said Winnie Mager, a former Ludlow resident who now works at Project Rainbow across the street from the garden. “The young kids, they get the benefits from a diverse community. “And the tomatoes taste like tomatoes, not like, whatever,” she continued. “They taste almost as good as a Jersey tomato.”
The garden has been a community gathering spot in Ludlow for over 10 years, according to Mager. After years of private ownership, the city acquired the property and kept the garden intact. Further, Santana said water for it is also provided by the city through a hydrant system located just a few feet away.
There are about 30 different plots within the lot, most of which are cared for by Ludlow residents or organizations. One of them is Project Rainbow, which was given a section of the garden a week ago that some of the older children in the program will have a chance to maintain.
“It’s for them, because we try to show them different things,” said Francisco Martinez, a volunteer at Project Rainbow whose class will primarily tend the section. “They really don’t know about gardening.”
Martinez hopes to use the garden as a way to teach his students how things grow. To show this, he is even planning a trip to a professionally-grown garden in the next few weeks to demonstrate the beauty planting and maintenance can result in. “We’re going to see,” said Martinez. “I like doing things like that. I like adventurous things.”
The activity in the garden won’t stop when the weather turns colder, either. Throughout the winter, decorations are placed around it to celebrate holidays like Valentine’s Day. There are also a number of scarecrows throughout the garden that are touched up from time to time.
“Some other guy comes here and puts them all up,” Santana said. “That’s his hobby.”
Just as the garden was a hobby for his brother, and for many others who call Ludlow home.
“You got to have patience for it. You’ve got to have a green thumb,” Santana said. “It keeps me going.” |
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