Time for a better sweater
Barbee Oswego was as special as a bucket of beans. Her onions won first prize. If someone stepped with pep, Barbee’s step was pepper, but humble as a turnip. Barbee’s garden was wild as Barbados, and you should see her melons. She would back her 20-year-old pickup to her market stand, and the impressed witnesses would murmur, “Here comes the tomato tornado.”
Gardeners in four neighboring counties compared their production to Barbee’s. Blackberry thickets were everywhere, but locals preferred to buy a small basket of Barbee’s berries. “She must have a magic thumb,” a happy customer reported.
So, Luann Bellinger, a 19-year-old cub reporter from 53 miles away, asked Barbee for an interview on the subject of gardening in December. Apparently, the editor’s wife was at odds with the lady next door on the subject, city council was on alert, so the editor hoped Barbee could offer advice and calm everybody down. To locals, a comment from her might as well have come from the Dalai Lama.
When responding to Luann’s call, Barbee said, “You might as well stay for dinner. I’m making mashed rutabagas and parsnip soup.” Luann’s heart danced and she said, “On my way.”
Luann: Why work in a garden when it is so cold sometimes?
Barbee: I also garden when it is very hot. Weather matters, but so does gardening. I have learned to dress for the weather, and, Luann, you need a better sweater.
Luann: We’ve had freezes already, so why aren’t all your plants dead?
Barbee: Some died and I moved them to the leaf mulch pile. I put a cover over these chards and Asian greens when the hard freeze hit, and I watered the soil in the afternoon and stacked straw around them. The extra moisture helps the soil stay warmer which protects the roots. Straw on top helps insulate the soil.
Luann: What kind of cover did you use?
Barbee: Over these, I stretched a fold-out lawn chair and draped a tarp over it. I put plastic jugs and buckets over these smaller ones. You do the best you can in your garden. In times past, I have constructed small greenhouses over beds. They can be clumsy to deal with but effective.
Luann: Where did you learn to do all this?
Barbee: I learned right here. I learned right away that the natives we call weeds are powerful at perpetuating their species. I must strike an understanding with them. Rudbeckia were here before me. In some places in the world, they are sold in nurseries because of their striking flowers, and here they grow wild and with abandon. I like that, so I leave patches of natives around but move others to the leaf mulch pile. I also learned that attention to the soil makes all the difference.
Luann: So what are doing right now for the garden?
Barbee: Cold weather gardening is wonderful. I remove the old plants. They did all they’re going to do. All that fiber will decompose in the mulch pile and return as new soil in a few years. How cool is that! Once the old plants are gone, I give the soil what it asks for and cover as much as I can with leaves and straw. Proper cool-season maintenance makes spring gardening easier.
Luann: What are your favorite things to grow?
Barbee: My favorites are the ones that grow well in this area. Some varieties are considered natives, but others have never had a chance here yet, so I try different things. I especially like it when seeds I save produce healthy plants the following year.
Luann: So what do you say to folks who think gardens should be left alone when it’s so cold outside?
Barbee: I do what’s right for me. Folks should do what they feel is right. That’s not my decision. The garden and the plants will tell you if you listen. Are you ready for mashed rutabagas? They won first prize.