Farm therapy

Editor’s note: This profile is the first of a six-part series highlighting innovative growers who have overcome challenges and taken advantage of the opportunities in hydroponic farming.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Eugene Jones has an extensive background in horticulture and experience helping at-risk youth through greenhouse programs. Three years ago, he partnered up with Recovery Ventures Program — a therapeutic community for substance abuse treatment — in Black Mountain, N.C., this time to teach addicts of drugs and alcohol ages 18 to 62 with criminal backgrounds how to grow hydroponic lettuce. The two-year residential program helps participants avoid incarceration while they develop a new skill.

Produce Grower: First of all, can you tell us about your path to horticulture?

Eugene Jones: When I first started in college [at A&T State University], my major was agriculture education, and I got drafted into the military, so I stayed in the Air Force for 22 years, and after that retired. I came back and started working with at-risk youth, and I built a greenhouse to try to give these kids some background in work ethics and time management. I did that for about 10 years.

During that time I went to the Horticulture Therapy Institute [in Denver, Co.] and completed their training, and at the same time, I went up to Canada to Providence Farm and did their training, which is more hands-on.

I used to work in the court system, and my responsibility was to try to find alternatives to prison for those who had felonies and were looking at prison time. So rather than sending them to prison for embezzlement or larceny, or whatever supported their drug habits or alcohol habits, we could put them into a treatment program. They stay on probation usually for the entire duration of their time at the program.

PG: How does this Recovery Ventures Program work?

EJ: This program is so much different in that they’re all adults … They’re here for two years, and of course they can leave, but if they’re court-ordered and they leave, then they go serve their prison time.

They all live close by, and we have facilities. The men’s facility has housing for 64 men and then we have three houses for women that are within 15 miles of the farm.

And all the clients have to work. We have contracts with hotels, restaurants, resorts and the monies that are made through those contracts go back into the program to help sustain [itself].

PG: How is the greenhouse set up?

EJ: We have about 6,000 plants [in a 130 by 30-feet greenhouse] growing right now, and we are servicing 14 restaurants and two distributors. And I picked up three grocery stores yesterday. We’re at the point now where we’re having to expand to meet the demands. I started this three years ago, so the progress has been quite significant.

PG: What are you teaching participants in the greenhouses?

EJ: We’re teaching them marketing, we’re teaching them how to plant and care for the plants to get them to the market. We do the whole concept from planting the seeds in the very beginning to daily monitoring and making sure that the plants are getting the nutrients they need, and getting them ready for market. We’re primarily growing [hydroponic] lettuce, and we do some microgreens as well. but we use the growing of the plants as a therapeutic concept, and all of the guys I’m dealing with right now enjoy coming over because they feel [like], “I’m doing something that I can see the results [for] in the end.”

I also involve them in taking the plants to market — say to a restaurant that has put an order in. So they’ll see it from seed to table.

When we transplant the plants, each tray will have a tag, and it would have their initials, so they can go to that tray and find their plant. They monitor the entire process — if they want to see if their seeds came up … They can follow the progress of the plants that they started. It’s good in a way that they can say, “Oh, that’s my plant. I’m harvesting my plants today. We’re taking my plants to market.”

PG: After the program ends, what’s next?

EJ: That’s a very good question. We have transition houses where the clients can live for up to two years, and during that time they have to work, they have to maintain a bank account. We provide transportation, food — everything to and from work — and the monies that they earn on those jobs then is deposited in their account so at the end of two years, or whatever timeframe they want to go back to the community they have substantial funds.

PG: What’s ahead for the future of the program?

EJ: We are in the process of applying for a grant for [what] would be two units the same size. One would be used for lettuce, and the other one will be used for tomatoes because there’s such a demand for tomatoes year-round in this area. We’re in a high, high tourist area — Asheville.

PG: What do you find most rewarding about the job?

EJ: I think the end results, when the clients can see their lettuce they’ve worked on for four to six weeks and going to market; seeing the calm and the peace that they have they’re here working with the plants. From cleaning the trays to planting the seeds to maintenance and harvest.

So many of these guys have lots of experience in construction and plumbing and electrical work. Everything that we do here as far as construction, the clients basically do it.

And we even have folks — like I have one guy here today, he’s in the phase of what we call workout — he’s here and he goes to work at the Grand Bohemian Hotel next week, but during that time he’s waiting to start work there, he volunteers to come over and work with me rather than sitting around doing nothing … And that’s rewarding to me because I know they have the interest and they enjoy being with some of the other folks and interacting.