Old traditions with new beginnings

For as long as I can remember, I have been around gardening and canning. My Poppy (Rabbit Tipton) would spend all spring preparing his large garden, and it always seemed that everything became ready on the hottest days of summer. That’s when the women would take over.

Granny would get out her big silver canning pan and the work began. Beets, tomato juice, pickles, preserves, and my favorite green beans.

When I was young, we weren’t allowed to do much more than to stand and watch as they slaved over the stove, but as I got older I was allowed to help out more, to learn the art of canning and the patience of gardening.

This spring my father-in-law, Tim, and I are going to plant our own garden. A small one this first year so we can see how green our thumbs are. So, we sat down the other day and planned out what we would like to grow. Tim, being a chef, named off egg plant, squash, rosemary, thyme, sage, parsley, you get my drift. Me, being the simple country girl that I am decided on the basics; corn, green beans, tomatoes, potatoes, onions and peppers.

Well, this small garden that we had planned on having has turned into what seems like a produce farm. We agree on everything, except for me and the eggplant (Tim ruined that with his Eggplant Parmesan) and now we are going to have to figure out how much of each. I say two rows of the corn, white half runners and six week beans, one row of potatoes, onions and peppers and divide the rest into half rows. The tomatoes are going to be separate from the rest of the garden (that we agreed on) since they seem to grow best behind their house. I’m going to plant his herbs in small pots at the back of the house that way they are easily accessible for the family cook.

I guess we will have to figure it out as we go. I remember a few things on the gardening end and I know it will take a lot of love and patience and hard work a plenty not only in the field but in the kitchen as well. In the end isn’t that what gardening and canning are all about. “You reap the fruits of your labor,” as my Poppy use to say. I just hope we reap enough to enjoy our garden all summer and winter long.


This column was published in the Citizen Voice & Times on January 22, 2009