“It’s been wet!” Chief Deputy Jailer Joshua Brearton said of the “main challenge” to the Grant County Detention Center’s 2026 gardening project. “Inmates have ruined some shoes.”
The June 18 EF1 tornado that struck Williamstown was also unhelpful. “The storm that came through knocked over a lot of our plants [but] we have staked everything up and have had good luck getting them straightened back out.”
The goal of the gardening project is to supplement food preparations with vegetables grown right in the inmates’ own gardens tended by their own hands.
Corn is growing where an old volleyball court was located, the sandy soil helping the grasses to grow. Like most of Grant County, there were a lot of rocks that had to be removed to provide space for tomatoes, peppers and other plants.
The jail has had gardening projects in the past, however, when the COVID pandemic hit, projects were halted. Last year, gardening was brought back by Brearton and Lieutenant Arnaldo Arroyo.
This year the project has been expanded. Tomatoes, peppers, corn, cucumbers, squashes and cabbages are flourishing and some of the garden’s bounty is already being harvested for use in the jail’s own kitchen.
Along with vegetables, sunflowers and zinnias have been planted and tended this spring by upwards of 30 inmates.
Female inmates enrolled in the Substance Abuse Program (SAP) along with males in the Supporting Others in Active Recovery (SOAR) program work the gardens.
Gardening appears to fit well into both programs. According to the Department of Corrections, “SOAR focuses on relapse prevention, education and reentry skills based on the Therapeutic Community Model, a group-based, residential approach to treating substance abuse. The evidence-based strategy seeks to reduce recidivism and set the stage for long-term recovery before inmates return to communities.”
Substance abuse programs in prisons are structured interventions designed to treat addiction, reduce recidivism and support successful reintegration into society.
Inmates are learning a valuable skill thanks to the experience of Brearton and Arroyo, who grew up gardening. Their expertise has allowed the project’s scope and involvement to expand.
This year, Jailer Tonya Beagle and Deputy Jailer Troy Hale also joined in to teach the inmates how to work the ground, plant the seeds and plants, tend the garden and harvest produce properly.
“The goal is to teach the inmates new skills while also offering a therapeutic environment,” Brearton said.
“Everything yielded from the garden is sent to the kitchen and used in the inmate meals to share with the whole population.”
Additionally, Brearton and Arroyo said “no tax dollars were used” for any aspect of the project. Indeed, he said plants from Tripple Ridge Greenhouse as well as seeds from Tractor Supply Company were purchased with monies from the Jail Commissary.
Brearton said the plan for the project is “to go until growing season is over.” He said they “also plan to expand even more next year with some of the unused land at the jail and hopefully keep it going for the foreseeable future.”
While vegetables will be used to supplement meals at the jail, the plan for the sunflowers and zinnias is to create bouquets and give them to nursing home residents and others who could use the cheer flowers bring.
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