The following article is brief memoir written by my father, Roger Duncan. These are some of his childhood memories of rural Iowa and family gardening:
I grew up in the 1950's in an economically depressed area in rural Iowa. We lived on a farm, and my parents grew much of our food themselves. Though I did not realize it or appreciate it at the time, I know now that we had our own type of wealth, and that is the wealth that comes from living independently without having to rely on others to make your lifestyle possible.
Each year in February, my father would build what he and my mother referred to as a "hot box" just outside our kitchen. Mom's hot box was a rectangular lean-to built on the south side of the summer kitchen. My father built it using barn planks for the three sides and some old storm windows for the roof. These windows were set on at an angle, forming an approximate 40 degree slope downward that faced south. Dad had determined that this was the perfect angle to create a greenhouse effect and protect seedling plants from the elements, allowing us to start our seeds in February. Hot boxes like this are sometimes also referred to as cold frames.
In late January, Mom would get a seed catalog in the mail. She would spend hours planning out her garden and determining exactly what seeds she needed to order. Ordering seeds by mail was more economical than going to the local nursery, and much more economical than buying seedling plants.
In mid February, a package would arrive in the mail carrier's jeep with all the seeds for the year's garden, which was totally in Mom's charge. As a child, I never thought much about my Mother's planning skills, but looking back, I am impressed that she was able to plan and raise a garden that fed four people: me, my sister, and both parents. Not only did this garden serve all our vegetable needs during the summer, but it also produced enough food for us to can and store so that we would have vegetables to last us throughout the winter months and until the following spring.
Some of the vegetables Mom grew included corn, green beans, butter beans, beets, tomatoes, and potatoes. We kept our potatoes in a large potato bin, and this served all our needs until the following year. By March of the upcoming year, many of the old potatoes were withered and beginning to sprout from the eyes. Dad and Mom would carefully cut some of these potatoes to plant in the garden for next season's potato crop, yet another way that they saved money by using what we had.
As a child, I would spend hours watching Mom plant and nurture lettuce, another one of the many crops she grew. Lettuce was always ready to begin harvesting and eating as early as March. After all the lettuce was out of the hot box, Mom would start the sweet potato plants, which would get transplanted to the main garden in June along with the cabbage and other plants.
While it was a lot of work, my Mother did all this gardening year after year without complaint. From all this, I learned the value of planning to feed the family all year long, as well as the value of making do with what you have to save money and live independently. These basic lessons can help all of us, even in today's modern world of grocery store shopping convenience. With a little planning and patience, we all can find ways to take care of ourselves and our families, regardless of what economic changes may be on the horizon.
