Local vegetable gardeners rooted in the soil

I have long suspected that there is something in the blood of vegetable gardeners, who toil the soil long and hard and put wonderful garden-fresh produce on their tables year after year. And I think I know what it is. Scratch one of these gardeners and you will likely strike blood chock-full of dirt. Yes, good, rich garden soil.

Meet four veteran vegetable gardeners

Wanting to discover just what makes these gardeners tick and to learn some of their secrets of success, I recently visited four great gardeners and their gardens. Together these four have combined vegetable gardening experience that adds up to more than 200 years. Let me introduce them to you.

* BOB BRADEN is a retired bank trust officer. He grows a surprising amount of vegetables including peas, tomatoes, spinach, bush and pole beans, winter squash and peppers in his small garden along the sheltered south side of his house. Bob and his wife, Vicky, have developed a beautiful landscaped backyard and north side that includes not only a wide variety of flowering trees shrubs, roses and perennials, but also Bob's Boysenberries, blueberries and two productive peach trees.

* CAROL WILLIAMS, who once taught school, lives north of Selah with her husband, Don. He doesn't garden, but he fenced her garden, filled it with loads of fertile soil and built a long grape arbor that is truly a masterpiece. Carol grows her own transplants and tries several new varieties each year. Her garden includes most of the usual vegetables, plus okra, sweet potatoes, parsnips and Galia melons, which she says is the "best melon in the world."

* KAREN PILON lives in the Terrace Heights area, where she grows a variety of vegetables that often include cabbage, cauliflower, potatoes, peas, cucumbers, lettuce, carrots and tomatoes, along with a number of other vegetables. Her garden also includes several aromatic culinary herbs. Raspberries, blackberries and strawberries are also an important part and kiwis.

* TOM PERRY is a retired dermatologist who gardens on a north-facing slope in suburban west Yakima. Perry used the tons of rock (excavated when his and Carol's home was constructed) to terrace a sizable garden. He irrigates using a drip irrigation system controlled with a timer. In addition to many of the vegetables, herbs and small fruits the other three gardeners grow; he also has several unusual vegetables not often grown in our Valley, including collards and kale.

There are several commonalties among these four gardeners. You will find flowers growing in and around all the gardens. All four grew up on farms. Their families all grew large gardens to put food on the table needed during the Depression and during the World War II years. And they all worked in the garden as youngsters. (Aha! Maybe vegetable gardening is in their genes and there's not soil in their blood, after all.)

Vegetable gardening tips you can use

Here is just a small sampling of the many helpful tips I picked up from my conversations with these four outstanding vegetable gardeners. The following tips would be especially helpful to novice gardeners.

* Perry advises, "Try to eliminate weeds before you start your garden." Pilon added that she has seen beginning gardeners fall behind in controlling weeds once their gardens are up and growing. And they become discouraged with gardening.

* Braden says, "Stagger planting dates so produce doesn't come on all at once!" This keeps the gardener from being inundated with crops ready to be harvested and then having unused garden space that could be growing another crop.

* Williams warns, "Don't walk on wet (soggy) soil and don't mess with wet plants." Soil compacted by walking on it doesn't allow the soil to take in needed oxygen and moisture. Brushing against wet plants can spread disease pathogens to other plants in the garden.

* "Grow stuff that works in your area," Perry said. Even within in our Valley there are different microclimates. Williams and Perry have both been successful in growing sweet potatoes, which need lots of sun and heat, but they may not mature in your garden.

* Many gardeners, like Braden, do not have a lot of garden space. Follow his lead: Grow up, not out. Turban squash is one of his favorites, but it takes up a lot of space. "Grow winter squash in cages with slings to hold the squash to utilize small areas," he said. Growing up in cages and on trellises can also be used with many other fruits and vegetables, including small melons, pole beans and cucumbers.

* Williams believes, as do the other three gardeners, in the magic of mulch. "Mulch those tomatoes and peppers after the soil and weather are good and warm with natural (organic) materials that enrich the soil." Perry also uses black plastic to warm the ground even before he plants when he grows heat-loving fruits and vegetables, such as sweet potatoes, cantaloupe, peppers and tomatoes.

Don't assume that these four gardeners just while away their days playing in the dirt. They keep busy outside their gardens, too. For example, Williams is a longtime member of Bel Canto, a well-known choral group in the Valley. Braden sets aside time to help at his church's recycling center, which keeps tons and tons of recyclables from filling up our overused landfill. Perry is an ardent hunter, fisherman and hiker. Pilon uses some of the skills she garnered from years of secretarial work to be secretary of the League of Women Voters. She is also an active member of Master Gardeners.

* Gardening columnist Jim McLain can be reached at 697-6112 or ongardening@compwrx.com.

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