Sowing Seeds of Tradition

The 1930s brought much more to then mostly-rural Guadalupe County than the economic ravages of the Great Depression. It actually brought about an increased awareness of the need to be self-sufficient - especially to non-rural residents.

Much like the resurgence of an interest by many in learning how to do more for ourselves during this current economic recession, there was a scurry of activity each January during the depression as local residents were learning about and actually preparing and planting home vegetable gardens.

Not unlike today, those with an interest in vegetable gardening turned to "older" (senior citizen) friends and relatives for guidance as they worked towards providing fresh home-grown food for their tables.

But, quite unlike today's busy society, many Guadalupe County residents kept their heirloom vegetable seeds and often would trade seeds with others in the community. If pumpkins didn't "make" during last year's growing season for one family, they probably did "make" for another.

Back then, it was just common "country" courtesy to share seeds with each other.

Fortunately, many county residents kept the tradition of country-life alive by passing on gardening information on to the "younger" generation.

Even today, as Guadalupe County transitions from rural to semi-rural to "rurban," a small but active local group of the Guadalupe County Master Gardeners Association and other horticultural-rooted organizations keep the gardening traditions alive.

This January is no different than those Januarys during the depression. Hopefully, the compost pile has been "cooking" for many months and is ready to be added to be applied to the vegetable garden spot.

Some readers are probably now saying "You needed to do that last October!" ... and, you're correct. However, with compost ... it is never too late! Our county's 1930s rural gardeners had the advantages of having all of the compost "ingredients" readily available, i.e., once-living vegetation refuse, livestock manure, moisture, pitch-fork, hands-on experience ... and a little extra time.

Today's gardeners can have a working compost pile "almost" anywhere they live. Or, if resources are available, then can alternatively obtain organic compost material from a variety of local providers.

As of today, the weather forecast "predictions" are for a couple of local early-morning freezes about the same time that you would logically be reading this column Freezing weather is not unusual for the month of January.

And, it was not unusual for those in the 1930s to continue to work their vegetable gardens during our infrequent cold spells ... to include "planting" during the month of January.

The same holds true today. English peas were and are a favorite of Guadalupe County gardeners set to be planted early in January with subsequent plantings all the way up to about mid-February. Today's recommended varieties for Guadalupe County include Wando, Lincoln and Little Marvel.

The months of January (mid-to-late) and February also welcome the plantings of other garden vegetables such as turnips (try Purple Top White Globe); radish (good varieties include Champion and Cherry Belle); potatoes (including white Kennebec and Red LaSoda); parsnips (consider trying Large Hollow Crown or Harris Model); parsley (Moss Curled or Plain Italian); and many different varieties of leaf lettuce, leeks, kohlrabi, beets, cabbage, carrots, Swiss chard and collards.

As the days get longer and the soil warms, you'll be able to add tomatoes, peppers, squash, beans and more to your growing home vegetable garden.

Most of these "early" vegetables do well when planted in raised beds with lots of organic materials mixed in with good top-soil.

Hopefully your chosen vegetable garden site is located where it will receive as much direct sunshine as possible, is near a good water source, drains well and is located close enough to the house so that you will tend it when needed and harvest and use the bounty of your garden often.

Raised beds (with dirt-holding frames built to almost any size) can be easily made using 2"x8" treated lumber with treated 2"x4" for corner and splicing stakes. Use galvanized screws for fasteners. The ground inside the framed-in raised-bed "box" should be scraped (usually with a hoe) clean of vegetation to a depth of about one inch. Multiple layers of newspapers, magazines, cardboard and other biodegradable paper products should be placed on top of the scraped soil area to provide an effective weed barrier before adding top-soil and compost.

New plantings will require gentle watering (or rain) to keep the seedbed soil just moist. The compost will help in draining off excess water keeping seeds and new trans-plants from effectively drowning for lack of oxygen.

When your garden starts to flourish, don't forget to begin planning for your next crop. In Guadalupe County you can grow vegetables successfully all year long.

Good gardening.

Bob Grafe is a former managing editor of the Seguin Gazette Enterprise and a former chief juvenile probation officer for Guadalupe County.