You CAN Teach and Old Dog "New Tricks"!

I've always been interested in different ways to grow garden food. First it was raised beds, then "square foot gardening", and then high tunnel green houses with row covers for "four season harvest".

Jim?

Not so much.

Did we ever try any of those? Only the raised beds for my herb garden, even though Jim was seeing good results from other gardeners' "alternate" methods of raising crops.

For instance, my uncle successfully grew potatoes by making raised beds in old tires. He filled the tires with compost and leaves, put in his seed potatoes and that was it. When it was time for harvest, all he had to do was pull up the potato vines and (viola!), perfectly formed potatoes that were easy to peel.

Jim was raised on a farm with big equipment. His family garden was huge, mainly because the space between the rows was large enough to accommodate a tractor with a back tiller. These gardens produced a lot of food, of course, but also a lot of weeds and a LOT of back-breaking labor. I learned to hate gardening in general because, to me, it is a waste of my time and energy to fight weeds when there is an easier, tidier way.


Jim made fun of my uncle's potato beds until he saw how easy it was to harvest the potatoes. But still he continues to grow potatoes the "old way", and ends up with gnarly vegetables. Some of the potatoes are comical to look at, but I am not amused when I need to peel them.

I guess the good thing that has come from Jim's stubbornness is that I gave up peeling potatoes and now leave the healthy skins on. I scrub the tubers to get rid of dirt and take out any bad spots before cooking, unless it is a holiday and I want creamy mashed potatoes without skins.

An article in  the April edition of Acres U.S.A. magazine caught Jim's eye. "Blooming Bales" (pg. 66) explains how to grow veggies in straw. I suggested that he "let loose" and go for it. Why not make gardening more interesting by trying a new method?

Today I see straw bales in the garden.

My eyes! Could it be that Jim is finally able to get out of a "rut" and try a (semi) raised bed?

And they say you can't teach an old dog new tricks!

Marcheta *stunned