MY DAD THE GARDENER

All I learned about gardening I learned from my dad.  He and my grandfather (also an avid gardener) used to compete to see who would have the first ripe tomato in the summer.  My grandfather always cheated by starting his tomato plants under grow lights in the cellar but dad always conceded that he was the victor. When I was a small kid my dad had a huge vegetable garden about one-half an acre.  He raised everything up there including strawberries and all kinds of fruit.  They didn't have much at that time so the garden kept the family free from hunger.  My mom canned stuff like stewed tomatoes, peaches, pears, pickles, and piccalilli relish.  Those were good times!  I have such a fond memory of that yard and garden which no longer exists.  The hillside was excavated and all the fruit trees and pines trees were taken down.  There are some houses there now. I remember going to the farm to get cow manure for the tomato plants.  The car smelled bad for weeks after that. But we had the best and biggest tomatoes.