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Gardening - A Relaxing Pastime





Gardening has always been a pastime. I believe my love for growing plants came from my mother. I still remember the Sweet Williams that she treasured so, and I use to think, she treasured the weeds more than the flowers.My job was to help weed.

Mom always told everyone, the story of the time she left me to dig the potatoes.I hired my friends for a quarter to pull the potatoes from the ground.We got about a six-quart basket of potatoes that day.The real problem was finding the potatoes that we left in the ground.
My Dad was not happy. Gee! I never knew there was that many potatoes left behind.

I worked most of my teen years for a Market Gardener. 8am till 6pm was the normal work day. I started at 8years of age weeding carrots for $.20 per hour. I thought I was the riches kid on the block.
I moved up to a greenhouse operation, mostly as a strong back. Never learnt nothing about plants,I was too busy slugging plants from one bench to another.

My first ever garden was in my In-laws yard, where we lived for a year saving money to buy our own home. They had never had a garden, or the interest in one.
First we had to clean up a rubbish pile along side the garage and then dig in a rock-strewn bed of rubble. Of course, in those days I never knew anything about ammending soil but my sights were set on a vegetable garden. I thought, soil was soil, I never even considered, unfortunately, that it was going to be a full shade garden. Another revelation! A vegetable garden needs sun.
There was only one thing to do, the large pine tree that was the only shade tree in the yard had to go. With my brother-in-laws help I cut down the tree, never realizing how miffed the Pops-in-law was going to be.
He sounded just like George Washington's old man, and we couldn't tell a lie either, afterall, we were standing there with axe in hand.
I will say, he enjoy that garden when he saw those first tomatoes ripening on the vines.

My first, very own house had never seen a plant, other than overgrown Spirea foundation plantings. A veggie garden was soon to provide food on the table to a rapidly growing family.

Soon, we were to move again. I'd like to think of it as expansion.
A brand new home in a subdivision. I hated it.
I had bigger plans, a home in the country, perhaps a small farm.It took 2 years but we found our piece of heaven; 10 acres and a century home in need of repair, a barn and a chicken coop. This is where we would raise our kids.
Besides kids,I raised just about every farm animal with the exception of sheep. Of course there was a large garden. At one time we could sit down to a meal and every bite of food was raised on our farm.
There was no interest in flowers,if you couldn't eat it; it was a weed. That was to change.
Suddenly,I found myself interested in plants (mostly veggie and herbs), just a few, but the greenhouse wasn't big enough. I guess, I did a few too many.
There was no need to raise all that food,when the kids(3 girls) married. It was time to relax, get rid of the animals and put up a small greenhouse (8x16) for sake of a hobby.

Early retirement,brought a need to have something to do. Greenhouse expansion was the answer.
Up went commercial size greenhouses.

Photo album is in the works, so check back often.

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