dle out your
new potatoes without hurting the vine.”
Len never gave much
thought to passing on his ideas when he designed his garden beds.
But when a Springfield horticulturist gave him a guest spot on
a radio show, he offered to teach classes on the method if any listeners
were interested. Before the show ended Len had signed up 57 students.
teaches one class on building raised beds and another on planning
“We don’t do rows anymore,” he says. “It’s
totally different but they’re loving it. And it darn
He encourages students
to consider what they want to plant and to plant in two-week
intervals so crops don’t come in all at once.
walls of Len’s raised beds are made with concrete blocks.
The blocks don’t leach chemicals into the soil the way railroad
ties or landscape timbers would.
the harvest begins Len plans to offer other classes,
including one on canning produce and another
about making jams and jellies. He also wants to offer
regular cooking classes. “So many people
now, if it doesn’t come out of a
box or can they don’t know what to do with
it. They don’t realize
if you cook them right they have flavors they’ve
never experienced before in their life.”
says he gardens because he’s concerned
about the safety of the food supply. “They
are using the type of stuff now that’s
been hybridized and genetically engineered
so that it will have a thick skin and ship
good. And all the taste is gone.”
nothing but heirloom seeds from Mansfield’s
Baker Creek Seed Company. These seeds come
from plants that have been passed down for
have some of the most wonderful flavors.
what I was raised on 60 or so years ago.”
of pesticides he plants onions, marigolds
and garlic to keep bugs away. An 8-foot fence keeps
deer out, and the squirrels that bury walnuts and
acorns in his loose soil are just a minor distraction.
“I grew up in the
Depression where if you didn’t garden you didn’t
have it,” says Len, who just turned
70. “We had a big family and
yes, we gardened. I wish my dad could see
what I am doing now. He wouldn’t
Len offers five gardening classes at $25 each or all five for $99.
To learn more, contact him at (417) 736-3251.