THE GARDEN

When growing up, we always had a summer garden.  I cannot remember a summer that we did not have a garden.  It was source of food for us for during the winter months.  My parents always had a garden when they were growing up and guess they continued the tradition.  My mom still has a garden each summer, though my brother does all the planting and watering, and most of the gathering now.

 At first the garden was located just north of our house.  Later it was moved to the east side of the driveway on the north side of our house.  Then it was located east of the barn, and later moved to various places in the field east and south of the house.

Each spring we would have to prepare the soil.  At first this was done with a shovel. I remember my mom and Eldon spading, and I am sure Weldon did some though I cannot remember it.  I never did as I was too little and could not get the shovel all the way into the ground. Then we got a rototiller which was much faster than spading.  I loved the way the fresh tilled dirt smelled and loved the way the soil felt, soft and moist.

Next rows had to be made.  Eldon and Weldon did most of this, though my dad did his fare share even with having to wear crutches.  Next we got out all the seeds.  At first I usually just walked with bare feet on top of the seeds in the top of the rows.  That was an easy way to get the seeds pressed down into the dirt.  Later I got to drop in the seeds and cover them.  Eldon always loved to play in the water, so he was usually the one that took care of getting the garden watered.  At first we used a garden hose, then when the garden was moved to the field, Eldon used the irrigation water. My mom and dad would also water the garden when needed.

We all had to pull and hoe weeds and gather the ripe produce.  We all had to take part in snapping beans, shelling peas, shucking and silking corn, gathering cucumbers, squash, okra, tomatoes, and melons.  There is nothing like the taste of fresh vegetables and we looked forward to the first crops every year.

After I got married and had kids, we had a garden in a few places we lived.  The best gardens were in Reserve and Bloomfield, New Mexico.  Our kids seemed to enjoy having a garden as much as I did, especially planting the seeds.  I don't think hoeing and pulling weeds were favorite tasks, nor at times did they care to gather the vegetables. As the girls got older, they actually liked to help weed the garden, to gather ripe veggies, and to can or freeze the produce.  Ethan was never a fan of the garden activities, but he did enjoy partaking of some of the fresh vegetables.

Some of the vegetables we grew were corn, blackeyed peas, green beans, potatoes, carrots, lettuce, green chilies, jalapenos, tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumbers, beets, okra, squash, and pumpkin.  Along with the vegetables, the girls liked to plant flowers and bulbs.

I am hoping that some day I will again have a place and an opportunity to have a garden.