I grew up surrounded by farming and gardening, with vivid memories of my grandma hoeing in the garden, my father operating the rototiller to prepare the garden beds each spring, and my grandfather selling sweet corn by the roadside. My mother spent countless hours in the kitchen canning tomatoes. These are just a few of the many cherished recollections from my childhood. As a young child, I was quite naive; I picked up a few things here and there, but my understanding was limited. I would simply do whatever I was asked, often dreading tasks like picking rocks and weeding. I recognized the necessity of these chores, but I didn't enjoy them.
We had our own garden separate from my grandparents, but when gardening became too strenuous for my grandmother, my dad decided to merge the gardens at my grandparents' house. This allowed my grandma to contribute when she could, while my dad handled the heavier work after his job. Our family cultivated a variety of vegetables, though I was unaware of the specific types. I only knew the basics: we had slicer tomatoes and paste tomatoes, fresh eating cucumbers and pickling cucumbers. I did know that grandpa grew Peaches and Cream and Silver Queen sweet corn, along with peas, beans, peppers, onions, and squash and other various things.
One of kids' responsibilities was to help pick the ripe vegetables. We learned to distinguish between what was ripe and what wasn’t. Grandpa even taught us about pest management, using a little Seven Dust on the potato plants to fend off potato bugs.
Us girls also participated in preserving the harvest. Mom would chop the peppers, spread them on a baking sheet, and freeze them. Once frozen, she would transfer them to zip-lock bags. We spent many hours bagging sweet corn into freezer bags. We would shuck the corn while Mom and Grandma blanched it and prepared ice baths. They tackled the tricky job of using a mandolin to cut the kernels off the cob. When it came to canning, we helped fill jars, but we were unaware of the rules and regulations regarding processing times.
As a young adult, I navigated gardening and preserving with a sense of pride, even though I went through phases of inactivity. However, everything changed when Rick entered my life. After his heart attack and stroke, we took a hard look at our lifestyle and realized that prioritizing our health was essential for our future together.
Let me tell you, we fell down the rabbit hole of research. The more we learned, the more disheartened we became by the broken food system. It made us wonder how different our lives might have been if we had been eating real food all along.
Four seasons ago, we planted our first garden. It wasn't large, but it was a start. We built a raised garden using cinder blocks in our backyard. Rick made a trip to the landscaping store to buy quality gardening soil, and we filled the garden with seeds and some starter plants. We didn’t have any specific varieties in mind; we simply planted whatever we could. We tended to that garden, and to us, it felt like a success, even though our carrots failed to grow and some plants were stunted.
In our second year, we attempted to grow our own starts, having tried the previous year as well, but our systems were still not quite right. We bought more seeds and starter plants, added fertilizer, and watered diligently. We even created mounds at the back of our property to grow melons and pumpkins. Despite our efforts, the garden was a disappointment. The harvest was minimal, and we wondered why it had gone so poorly. It was a hot summer, but we watered consistently. We noticed that the mulberry tree was dropping its fruit on one side, attracting flies. Ultimately, we concluded that the city water, with its added chemicals, was likely the culprit. A few years later, we discovered our water was contaminated with additional harmful substances as well.
The following season, we were in the process of selling our house, so we didn’t plant a garden. We cleaned up the area and covered it to keep out weeds until it was time to list. However, we used this time to research extensively. We wanted our future garden in Tennessee to be the best it could be, especially since we would be on a fixed budget and wanted clean, real food. After living in a camper for eight months and in an unfinished cabin for three months, we realized that our kitchen gear was mostly in storage, and our eating habits had suffered.
While still at the house and in the camper, we focused on improving our preservation skills. We fermented vegetables, maintained a good sourdough starter, and even managed to bake a decent loaf of bread. We froze bulk items from the store and got into water bathing for banana jam and other preserves. We delved into Amish canning techniques, which felt like a perfect fit for us. Yes, I am a rebel canner; we canned meat, potatoes, and green beans, and even experimented with canning dried beans.
I have been diligently gathering knowledge about various categories of vegetables, such as tomatoes and peas. My research has focused on understanding the specific nutrients these plants require. I've been purchasing seed packets and organizing them in my binder, carefully selecting only those seeds that allow for seed saving at the end of the season. Additionally, I've been collecting seeds to cultivate future trees and medicinal herbs, often referred to by many as weeds.
We've discovered a gardening style that resonates with us: the "Lazy Garden" approach by Anne of All Trades. It’s more aptly described as smart gardening. When designed correctly, this method effectively minimizes weed growth, and the few that do emerge are easy to remove. The water retention in these beds is remarkable; unless you're facing a drought, regular watering shouldn't be necessary. We constructed our beds using materials available on our land, supplemented with nutrients we purchased before packing up our belongings, along with a 55-gallon barrel of compost we created before leaving Michigan. Establishing a thriving garden takes time, but with ongoing inputs and accumulated knowledge, it will transform into a prolific food-producing machine—our version of a victory garden.
I hope you feel inspired to get outside and start growing, or at the very least, to do some research.
Remember Small Steps Get You Miles
Rick & Cat
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