Thriving plants in dry times
By ALLAN TINKER
It was a work in progress over the past years since 1959 when DeLayne and Merwyn Krein moved to their farm home south of Goodrich. According to Merwyn, the yard was filled with Absinthe Wormwort, commonly known as stinkweed.
Over the years, with patience, much hard work and a love for growing their own food, DeLayne has been head gardener of their once three-garden plot effort. She said this year, she only had a “small garden.”
One should not believe her; the garden stretches the length of a football field along the east side of their farmyard’s shelterbelt. “Small” is only in comparison to the no longer used two other gardens that fed the family when the family had more mouths to feed and more hands to work.
She “only planted a few things,” she said. Among them were some old pumpkin and squash seeds (can’t throw them away), beans, zinnias and cucumbers. Volunteering throughout the rest of the garden are zucchini, dill, tomatoes, more squash, chard, and whatever made it through the gophers and winter with seeds or roots intact.
