Gardens

"We encourage you to grow all the food that you feasibly can on your own property. Berry bushes, grapevines, fruit trees—plant them if your climate is right for their growth. Grow vegetables and eat them from your own yard. Even those residing in apartments or condominiums can generally grow a little food in pots and planters. Study the best methods of providing your own foods. Make your garden as neat and attractive as well as productive. If there are children in your home, involve them in the process with assigned responsibilities." - Pres. Spencer W. Kimball, Conf. Report, Ensign, May 1976, pg 124

Did I ever tell you about the time I set what could have become a major fire on Fort Rucker? Whenever I think about it, I shiver. I can see the headlines now: Sergeant Lights, Rucker Ignites!

Fortunately, this didn’t happen in the housing areas or some other densely peopled area, but was out at the family garden plots. Another fortunate thing is that I was either on leave, or was off work for one reason or another and no one was out at the garden plots, so there were no witnesses. It was in the early spring and I had gone out to prepare my garden plots for planting. In the fall the plots over-grow with weeds and brush, then dry out over the winter. Every spring we faced the same problem with our plots, and it was easier to light the plots on fire and burn off the vegetation. Normally there are a few of us out there and we work together with our shovels and water to keep the fires contained in the garden areas. That being said, you know what is coming.

The day I decided to burn the plots was a warm day with no wind. Prefect. I could control the fire alone. I lit up one of my plots and things were going as planned, then the wind kicked up … not a breeze mind you, but a strong wind! In a matter of seconds I had a raging garden fire and it was now burning the neighbors plot as well. I only had to battle the leading edges of the fire because behind it there was nothing left to burn. It was bad enough that the fire had spread to my neighbors plot, but a particularly strong gust blew the fire across the access way into plots on the next row. Now things were getting critical as I had two fires to fight. Just beyond the new fires were “the woods”, as the kids called them. A few trees and lots of tender dry undergrowth. It would be clear burning right down to Beaver Lake, the small fishing lake a quarter mile from the plots. I don’t remember what was beyond the lake, but it couldn’t have been good!

The fire had spread past where my hose would reach, so I couldn’t use water. I had to be fast (I was pretty fast in those days) and use my shovel. After about 15 minutes, and thankfully, a dying wind, I was able to put out the fires. Making sure there were no hot spots, I went back to assess the damage to my fence, etc. I guess the fire was moving so fast that the tree limbs we used as fence posts didn’t catch fire. I went ahead and prepared the ground with the roto-tiller I had borrowed from Brother E. H. Hayes. I could have burned my car and the roto-tiller! I would be back another day to do the actual planting. When I think how things could have gotten out of hand, I am sure relieved that I was able to stay about one step ahead of the fire. Not a good way to roast your veggies!

A few days later I went back out to the garden and planted. As I remember I planted corn, beans, cucumbers, potatoes, and tomatoes. First I planted potatoes and tomatoes. Then beans and cukes. Then came the corn. Part of growing a garden is keeping ahead of the weeds. On one Saturday it was time to weed the corn rows. Todd was about 4 and wanted to go with me to help in the garden. Todd would always be my garden helper over the years we had garden plots at Fort Rucker.

We were ready to weed and I showed Todd the difference between the weeds and the newly sprouted corn stalks. I gave him an entire row to weed. We got down on our hands and knees and pulled the weeds by hand. As the morning progressed I would ask Todd how he was doing and he would reply that he was doing good. After a half hour we had finished and I was checking my work. Todd was excited about his work and couldn’t wait for me to come and inspect. He was beaming as only a 4 year old can. I got to his row and he had cleaned it slick as a whistle … every weed and every stalk of corn. He was so proud. All I could do was laugh. The corn had only been growing for a week, and I had plenty of seed, so with Todd dropping a couple of seeds in the holes I would dig, we replanted the row.

A few weeks later it was time to harvest our potatoes. I had planted several rows, about 25% of my garden, in potatoes. We were harvesting them early as “new potatoes”. Then Jannie and I would process and can them. Again, my helper, Todd, was with me. We had brought some buckets and boxes for the potatoes. I would go down the row and dig the potatoes and Todd would gather the loose potatoes and put them in the bucket. When he finished with a plant, he lugged the bucket to the next plant and gathered all the potatoes. He did this plant after plant, row after row. I noticed that as the bucket quickly became too heavy for this 4 year old to lug, he would gather up the potatoes in his shirt and carry them to the bucket. When the bucket was full, we poured the potatoes into a box, and began all over again.

About a year later, when I was stationed in Korea, I was asked to speak at Stake Conference. My topic was “Follow the Prophet”. In my talk, I used the story of Todd, and our gardening together. The visiting General Authority, Elder Adney Y. Komatsu of The Seventy, was the concluding speaker and spoke right after me. In the opening of his remarks he referenced my talk and my experiences with Todd. He said these are the experiences President Kimball had in mind when he counseled us to grow gardens. He said President Kimball felt that growing gardens would also grow families. Now, whenever I see a beautiful garden, I can’t help but think of our garden at Fort Rucker and of my little 4 year old lugging potatoes in his shirt.