SUMTER, S.C. — Passing on the love of gardening is what one Sumter County couple is hoping to do. They have been farming for decades, yielding lots of fresh veggies, which they share with the community.
“We’re born and raised farmers and it’s still in our blood and we love to see things grow,” Mary Goodwin explains. “And my passion is to see other people benefit from the fruits of my labor.”
Mary and her husband Robert have been farming in Rembert for over five decades, married to each other for 53 years.
“Working in my garden, and also my flower garden is therapy for me. And I just enjoy it. I work out here in the nature, just me and God having a good time together,” Goodwin shares.
As they’ve gotten older, the Goodwins tell me they’ve had to scale back their garden and rely on community members to come by and pick the produce.
“This is what we saw,” Chris Pate explains about when he and his wife Desi came to the farm. “This is what you found and we were so intrigued by the garden and we were so impressed with it. You know? We just asked a lot of questions. She's giving us a lot of info on how to actually grow our own garden.”
Information which Pate says is helpful for beginner gardeners because “you could waste a lot of money not knowing what you're doing when you're trying to garden,” Pate shares.
But the Goodwins pass on their knowledge — and their fresh vegetables — to anyone who wants to harvest.
“It's a great impact on the community for a simple reason is to have someone, you know, at her age, actually still doing things that she's doing. It’s definitely a blessing to me. You know, I mean, cuz you know, it makes me see that I can do more, and it's no limit. There's no limit and it doesn’t matter how old or how young you are, you can always learn and you can always pick up info,” Pate says. “And she’s just been a blessing to the community just by sharing info, not only just the info, her vegetables, her garden, her love, her time that she's put it in that God has blessed her to be able to do. So she shared it with us. So I think that's a blessing.”
“It gives me joy. It gives me joy. I smile from ear to ear, you know?” Goodwin laughs. “And then when they call me back and tell me how good they are, that’s the icing on the cake.”
Something the couple is hoping to keep doing for years to come.
“I'm praying that I'll be able to continue this as long as I can,” Goodwin shares.
