From: KathleenD&D, Honestly I don't even know how people live without gardens. We have several gardens on our 7 or so acres and we supply ourselves, family and we contribute to a CSA program. (Community supported agriculture) We also grew enough to do several farmers market a week. But that was before my kids got their own jobs, and now we can't work them like we did. There's nothing like going out to the garden to pick supper. Love this column everyday!
**“Dad-gum Kathleen,” as Dub would say! You sure are very helpful to our column in all your advice and kind words! Please continue to read our ramblings, and help me out as much as you possibly can, in my mostly futile attempts… at keeping “ole Dub” straight!
From: Bonnie
Hey Dub and Deb,
I'm loving this garden stuff. Being on the "down side" of our golden years, we no longer garden the usual and accepted way! We have not plowed our garden space for years, and do very little hoeing. Now, we just mulch, mulch, and mulch some more. It is February now and we are once again adding bags of mulched leaves and then a layer of wood chips from wherever we can get them. We have both friends and family members who save their leaves every fall for us, and a tree trimming company kindly uses our side lot when in the area to dump their mulch trailer. Now this may seem like a lot of work for the elderly, but it is NOT as hard as plowing and hoeing! We start some plants in plug flats, buy a few, and often just dig down a little in the rich organic matter and plant seeds directly into the mulch. Very few to none as far as weeds go. We started a few years ago by layering newspaper all over the garden, followed by the leaves and other mulch. Now, we just keep on adding every year and have managed to build up a good bed of compost to plant in. The occasional weed that dares to be hardy enough to work its way through all of that is quickly dispatched with a swipe of the hoe! Picture attached; no weeds. The "ferns" in the foreground are asparagus. I cut some each year and then let it "go to seed". I think there is squash in this pic and black-eyed peas behind them. We grow a pretty wide variety in our little space; enough to share with neighbors who need help and also family members.
We have many fruit trees and vines also. Making our own jams and jellies can be a pain, but it sure is good. For the first time this past year, we made persimmon jam. I discovered that if you don't BOIL them, they are not bitter or acrid. I just seem to keep on a-learnin' new things every year.
Just wanted you to know that gardening doesn't have to be extremely hard work. Even our fruit trees, strawberry beds, and vines are all heavily mulched so the kind neighbor that mows our yard doesn't have to get close to them.
You guys keep on writing, and I'll keep on reading! BTW, our apricot tree bore last year for the first time! YES!
Thanks for a great service to all!
‘Ridin Out The Recession With Dub and Deb in “Miz Judi’s Kitchen’!
Note to Readers: There are a few things that Dub doesn’t know but one thing he does know is that the word ‘Riding’ (as in Riding Out the Recession) is spelled with a ‘g’ at the end. But Dub not only walks the walk, but speaks like he is: down home, true blue, and plain speakin’ country folk.
Dub and Deb are both native Floridians, live in Central Florida, and run a small business as well. They have five children, and seven grandchildren.
Both love to cook, love to laugh, grow a garden, and generally try to “aggravate” most anyone around them basically…all in good fun, of course!
