One of the nicest responses to the pandemic that we’ve heard about comes to us from a class member who normally spends only the winters in Florida. But Bonnie Holzhauer Bean will be spending the summer there this year and she wrote to tell us about a project that David Slee is helping her with.
Here’s what she said: “The last time I planted a vegetable garden was 1978. The only thing I can remember about it is that there were lots and lots of tomatoes and okra. I loved that garden. By mid-March this year, when it was clear that our trek to visit the family cottage in northern Michigan was not going to happen, I decided to plant a small Victory Garden.
I bought tomato plants and various packages of vegetable seeds at the local feed and seed store. In the backyard, a 7' by 12’ plot (of sandy, unnourished soil) was raked and tilled with a shovel. Into the ground went the small seeds: green beans, lima beans, peas, lettuce, radishes, summer squash, zucchini, and a few whole potatoes (white and sweet). Tomato plants were put into old flowerbeds and pots. Trellises were made out of bamboo poles. (I have a continuing problem with runaway bamboo in my yard.) We are fortunate that there are no rabbits or deer in the neighborhood to nibble on a garden.
Next....water and wait. It only took a few days to see little green sprouts pushing through the earth. Keep watering, weeding and waiting. There is a calming and focused effect on one when you plant something and watch it grow. Teaches patience. Those feelings are needed during these uncertain times. Every morning I could see how tall the plants were getting. Two months later, we are eating delicious green beans, lettuce, radishes, and squash from our little Victory Garden. Tomatoes aren't quite ready yet, but I’m looking forward to picking one off the vine and popping it into my mouth.
I know my little garden is not a true 'Victory' garden in the original meaning. However, it has given me something that I need now during these scary times—hope. I'm sure there are many classmates who have big and bountiful gardens. Martha Gilson Phillips and Cathy Miller Travis are two that I know of. Okay, Class of ‘65.....plant something, anything!"
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