Higher prices and increased travel costs don’t have to be the last word on your summer fun. John Golf explores the simple pleasures of planting a large garden like of yesteryear and thinking about times gone by. Even if you live in an urban area, take John’s advice and find a community garden or other green space where you’re allowed to grow a few things. You may find it’s quite enjoyable!
It’s springtime!!!
As I travel around the Southeast portion of the United States, I have noticed a lot of farmers preparing their fields for new crops. It brings back memories of me being a person that reaped the rewards of someone else’s hard work.
My lovely wife of twenty-six years had been born and raised on a farm for twenty-five years. Her parents (best in-laws a gentleman could ever ask for) own a small farm in Southeast Tennessee. I remember fondly of them planting a garden just about every year. Yes, we were the benefactors when it came time to enjoy the fruits of her parents’ labor. Every now and then we would personally go out and pick a few ripe items for ourselves. This year was different. My 25 year-old son encouraged his grandparents to help him learn how to plant a garden. The planting of the garden started this past Saturday.
Gardens of Yore
As a child growing up, I don’t recall us ever producing our own food. I do remember my mom canning a few summers, but not many. When I met my wife, I was introduced to the country life that this country at-heart city slicker was searching for in life. Meeting her grandmother and listening to her tell stories of picking beans from the garden was a story I heard many times. She talked about how my wife, as a child, would help her with green beans and let her mamaw (a southeastern American word for grandmother derived from the Scott-Irish “Ma o’ Ma”) know if the beans had a bad spot. The planting of gardens goes way back for her entire family.
The gardens that my in-laws have planted over the years have produced green beans, tomatoes, yellow squash, zucchini, cabbage, Silver Queen corn, and a variety of peppers. Their gardens in the past usually had 6-10 rows of vegetables that would produce a lot of food for them, us and plenty of family and neighbors.
Step 1: Planting The Garden
You must plow the ground. This has to be done well and should be done when the ground is dry. My father-in-law plowed the ground first with the tractor and then used a tiller. The dirt was broken up wonderfully by the tiller which makes it much easier to plant the seeds and the vegetable plants.
Step 2: Running A String
We had two stakes with a string attached that we stretched across the garden. This helps us keep our plants and seeds in a straight line. The use of a yard stick helped us keep the space between each row consistent and allow the tiller to run between to keep weeds from overtaking the garden. We used a double measure of separation for the watermelons, because they are runners.
Step 3: Planting The Seeds
I must say that the tilling is by far the hardest work. The second hardest part is using a hoe to make a trench along the string the full width of the garden. The width of this garden is approximately 20 yards (it felt more like 50). I was the one to do this, as my wife and her father planted seeds and covered them. Finally, I asked them to wait until I finished the trench before they started. I think they were trying to kill me.
Last Step
After planting 22 rows of seeds and plants, it was now time to water and then put everything away for the day. My father-in-law proudly stated that the hard work is done now. He said the fun part is to come out and watch it grow and then watch them bloom. We planted 7 rows of corn. In a few weeks we’ll plant green beans beside the corn so the green beans will climb the corn which makes it a lot easier to pick.
We’re looking forward to see how this garden produces this year. My wonderful mother-in-law stated, “This is the biggest garden we have ever planted.” We have been the lucky recipients of eggs from this farm and now we have more food coming. The next adventure is learning to can all of these. How hard can that be?
For all the latest news that should be fun, keep checking out That Park Place!
Be blessed and safe travels!!!
*Editor’s Note: This also brings up memories in many of the other writers and editors of That Park Place! Thanks, John, for sharing! There’s much fun in remembering a grandparent showing us how to bury a seed when we were little… whether that was on a big farm or just a little kindergarten project.
