Gardener Stewart

Name: Mr. Stewart

Birthplace: North Carolina

Years gardening: 69 years (started when he was born!)

Produce  grown: Okra, string beans, lima beans, bush beans, peppers, sweet potatoes,  corn, cabbages, peas, tomatoes, and sunflowers.

Mr. Stewart learned how to grow food from his father on a farm in North Carolina. He helped during the growing seasons, and they grew tobacco, cotton, and corn. When he was growing up, Mr. Stewart didn’t enjoy gardening with his father, but now that he’s 69 years old, he gardens on his own everyday. Mr. Stewart grows food for his family, his 5 sisters and many nieces and nephews, even though they don’t help him at the garden. A friend of Mr. Stewart who also has a plot in Eastwick got sick, and Mr. Stewart stepped up to take care of his plot. He gardens during his free time, when asked why, he said there isn’t anything else to do.

Mr. Stewart has a special technique to keep rats away from his string beans that his father taught him. It’s called a trellis.First you need to find some poles that are about 8 feet tall- the poles can be wood, metal or plastic. Another interesting fact is you can reuse them year after year. You need to knock the poles deep into the ground to keep them from falling apart when the wind blows. Each pole is about 12 feet apart. Next, Mr. Stewart gets wire from a chain-link fence, unravels it, and ties them horizontally in three rows connected to the poles. It’s important that fence wires are attached tightly to the poles. After, Mr. Stewart takes strings and ties a knot to the top wire, then loops it onto a second wire, then pulls it to the third wire, and ties the string to a bunch of lima beans that are growing. This lets the string bean climb, and the rats can’t grab on. It also makes sure you get lots of beans. There’s no need to buy anything to make Mr. Stewart’s trellis, he reuses found materials. This saves money and decreases the amount of trash that goes into landfills.

Gardener Stewart’s Vegetable Stew

Ingredients:

• Turkey bacon
• Okra
• Onions
• Lima beans
• Broth

1.) Wash okra, onion, and lima beans

2.) Cut the okra into 1/2 inch pieces.

3.) Dice the onion.

4.) Unshell your beautiful lima beans .

5.) Place turkey bacon in the frying pan and add onions and okra. We use turkey bacon because it is a healthier choice. Gardener Stewart also uses ham hocks.

6.) Cook slowly and turn okra until the okra is no longer slimy.

7.) Once everything is done cooking, move ingredients to a pot and add lima beans and broth.

8.) Stir and heat until everything is tender and tastes delicious.

9.) EAT and ENJOY.