We are trying to grow stuff at the nursing home. We could use some help. Okay, I know folks usually start planting about March, but it was June when I discovered all those last seasons seeds Lowe’s had given us. I know our staff appreciated them, but nobody had time or expertise to start a garden project right then. So those beautiful seeds were shelved and forgotten. I was looking for something else, and when I found all those seed, I felt like I had struck gold, if only we could figure out how to use them. I thought the middle of June was too late to start planting things, but the packets were so pretty and there were so many different ones, I figured some of our ladies and I would have fun digging in and sorting them, and we did. We had a blast. And when some of them accidentally got mixed up, we sorted them again. Just looking at them and talking about things we loved to plant kept us entertained for a long time. We will be doing a lot more of that, because these seeds will still be good for planting next spring and beyond. We then noticed the back of the packages of some said they could still be planted NOW! I called Jeanne Brown, at Holder Hill Plant Farm, and she told me sure enough, we can plant some stuff now, and reminded me about Fall Gardens, that whole new world of planting, which is just around the corner. And that okra, a big favorite of ours, is just fine to plant in hot summer. Also Zinnias, marigolds, and radishes among others. So I started buying all the potting soil and garden soil and growers’ mix I could find on sale, trying to figure out how we can afford enough dirt to plant all the seeds we want to. Then we got us some small pots and planted some zinnias and marigolds, which are coming up nicely, and then we got some big horse tubs and put some holes in the bottom for some serious planting. We put upside down cans on the bottom, and then some leaves to take up space and make them lighter,(and save soil expense) and then topped them off with a good mixture of fertile soil. Our residents and I are not speedy farmers. So far all we have planted besides the flowers are two horse tubs of okra, and another with two kinds of squash. We transplanted some of the okra, planting it right beside the wall of one of the building wings. Surprisingly, it is living, but probably has too much shade. We have to plant more okra tomorrow. A lot of the squash will have to be transplanted, I guess into more horse tubs. Luckily, now we have recruited my grandson Landon, who is doing most of the grunt work on all of this. Residents planted the seeds, but dirt moving and transplanting in mid-July is more of a spectator sport for most right now. It is just too hot. It is too hot for me too, but I am determined we will learn how to do this and have us a mess of okra, maybe a squash or two, and some flowers in pots in the next couple of months, and a raised bed garden of tomatoes this fall, as well as whatever else we can manage. Jeanne Brown is advising us and will come help us start our raised beds when we get ourselves together enough to make it worth her time to show us how. Getting this going is very tough. But the idea that we can grow something, pick it, prepare it, take it to the kitchen to have it cooked for us is amazing. If we get a lot of help, we can raise a lot of stuff. If you have a green thumb, and some time, come help us. Maybe you’d like to partner with a resident and the two of you manage one horse tub of produce. Or build another raised bed for fall planting. Or two or three. If any of that interests you, talk to me. You can find me most weekday mornings at Cedar Lake Nursing Home, call or text me at 903 681 2880, or through Facebook messenger.
Loretta Humble is owner of Cedar Lake Nursing Home in Malakoff, going on 52 years now.
